So for about a week now I’ve been working with Detroit Public Schools. I’ve had a lot of people ask me if I’m working with teachers or with the kids or even how this relates to my major (environmental science). Most people don’t think of the all the components that go into running a school system let alone the 100 or so schools that DPS includes. Working with the administrative office has opened my eyes to all the behind the scenes things that are necessary for schools to operate. Even though I’ve been in the education system for about 15 years now, lots of things I’m doing at DPS had never occurred to me. For one there is a huge amount of money that goes into paying for the utilities of schools. You have to have electricity and water to learn, and many sustainable action can improve students abilities in schools tenfold. Along with all the bills that need to be paid, the filing system is expansive. I could spend days going through bills, fixing/updating old records, and finding savings. Other than this side of my job I am focusing on evaluating the Go Green Challenge. So far I’ve been analyzing survey results, creating graphs, and making suggestions for certain projects in the program. In the next few days we will be starting on creating a new survey for just the gardening aspect of the challenge. So far I like the experience I’m gaining in this type of research, but I know I would love to be doing even more things along the lines of sustainability. I have lots of ideas for improvements for the program, but I suppose the first step is to see what the people who participated think. I have to remember not to get ahead of myself!
Working in an office space has been a whole new sort of experience for me. Before this I have only had entry level jobs such as working at hotels and restaurants. I’ve realized I wouldn’t mind working in an office and researching or dealing with financial records for a living if I had to, but that I would much rather be doing field work or more face to face work. Within this week I’ve been able to confirm that I prefer more hands-on work. Living in Detroit has also improved vastly this past week. At first I had a rough start with car pooling and prescription problems, but after getting to know people in the dorms better and going out to explore Detroit and have fun my outlook on Detroit has improved greatly. Below are some fun pictures from this awesome weekend. Woo! I can’t wait for all the adventures to come!
