Unit 10: My Ethics as an Intepreter
So here we are, finally rounding out the end of the semester, the last round of blog posts. This course has given me the opportunity to analyse and reflect on many different aspects of a topic I had a lot of intuitive understanding of, but one which I had not given much serious thought before now. I was also able to learn about several topics I had never considered before, and learn from a variety of different points of view through all of your posts. Of course, this week’s prompt is just as thought provoking as ever.
In considering my personal ethic as a natural interpreter, I was forced to analyse the ethical views I hold in all aspects of my life. As a human being interacting with other human beings in this thing we call a society, I value things like honesty, responsibility, integrity, empathy, and above all, respect. These are important character traits that I try my best to embody in my own life, and hope that others offer to me. They are also important traits when acting as a nature interpreter, both for my own interpretation and as a group interpreter.
As interpreters, we all bring certain biases into our interpretations. To be human is to be incapable of objectivity. Because of this, the next best thing is to be conscious of these personal biases, and let them affect my interpretation as little as possible. In a previous unit, we did a bit of reflection on our unconscious biases and unpacked our ‘invisible backpacks’ to get a better understanding of where each of us are at as we each come to the table as interpreters. This exercise was a good reminder of some of the parts of my identity as an interpreter which cloud my interpretation. No matter what, by virtue of the fact that we are all individuals with unique lived experiences, I will have inherently different points of view, which I have to make sure I am conscious of as I present various elements of nature and the world around us through an interpretive lens.
Some of the things which influence me whether I like it or not are things like the circumstances of my upbringing, my education, my gender and my ethnicity. These are things which play a role in how I view the stories I will be sharing as an interpreter, and they have the potential to alienate my audience, or help us connect. There are many other factors which will influence my effectiveness as an interpreter. For instance, I have a strong inclination toward enjoying the outdoors, and get a sense of fulfillment from being in nature and learning about the various processes which make up the world around me. I conduct my interpretation through a naturalist lens, informed by my study of biology and general interest in pretty much all aspects of science. This offers me many advantages in explaining certain concepts and offering an interpretation consistent with our modern understanding of the world, but it also has the potential to alienate or just plain bore some people.
Respect is, in my opinion, the most basic and important ethics and character trait to reflect on. Respect for the environment we are interpreting, respect for the people I am helping in interpretation, and their respect for both of us are crucial elements of effective interpretation. It almost goes without saying that without this basic respect, nothing really meaningful can come of any interpretation which is done. From this basic understanding, all the other ethics come fairly naturally.
Honesty comes with respect, and it is a vital part of building interpersonal relationships, and being an effective leader. Part of my role and duty as an interpreter is to be honest and truthful with my audience. A blog post that I began to write and which slowly morphed into a couple of thousand words’ worth of rambling focused on the HBO series Chernobyl. This 2019 miniseries focuses on the cost of lies and the value of the truth when disaster strikes and people’s lives are at risk. Eventually I may finish that essay (?), but at least I get to reference it here, along with the excellent show which inspired it.
Responsibility is another crucial element of being a good environmental interpreter. I feel an inherent responsibility to be a good steward of this Earth, and in my role as an interpreter, I have that same feeling of responsibility to instill that sense of stewardship through my interpretation and storytelling. I also feel it important to have a sense of responsibility towards those I am leading in interpretation, both in terms of their physical safety, and ensuring that they are receiving accurate, measured information, and hearing as many well reasoned points of view as possible.
Integrity goes hand in hand with honesty, but in my mind encompasses a general sense of not only being truthful, but also having that sense of responsibility and duty to what is true and what is right, even when no one is around to see. It means not being compromising in one’s ideals, while at the same time not being afraid to change one’s mind when new information is provided. This is, in my opinion, the trait which ties the rest together, and is especially important in education.
Empathy is, if you ask me, an underrated virtue. It invokes a sense of emotional vulnerability, but I find that it also aids one in understanding and being receptive to other people’s feelings, and one’s own. I think if more people were more empathetic, there would be far fewer problems in the world. I also think that when considering nature interpretation, or any kind of education, empathy is crucial to being a good teacher and understanding a student's needs.
As we close out the semester and look to the future, there is a lot to think about. With each passing day, I feel more and more that we now stand on the precipice of several monumental changes. Anyone reading this now has already lived through many of them, both good and bad. The 24 Hour news cycle, the Internet, climate change, social media, the pandemic… “we didn’t start the fire!”
It is not inconceivable that a person alive right now will set foot on another planet. It is extremely likely that they will be doing so in an effort to help our species find refuge from an increasingly inhospitable home. As nature interpreters, we must do our part, working in classrooms and board rooms and recording studios and maybe even in the stars, to work ethically, with respect, integrity, duty, honesty, and empathy, to offer truthful and meaningful lessons about the world around us.
Hi,
I really enjoyed reading your post this week!
I really like the ethics that you chose to talk about this week. We share a lot of the same ethics and desire to implement these into our everyday lives.
I agree that humans are incapable of objectivity and need to be self-aware in order to better understand each other. The ‘invisible backpack’ was a great opportunity to reflect personally and see how others reflect. This is something that I try to do daily. It can be uncomfortable, but it is essential.
I really liked that you acknowledge our privilege hinders accessibility to others, especially when educating. Accessibility is an ethic that I am really passionate about and also discussed in my blog post this week.
Respect was also an ethic that I discussed in my blog post! Respect is such a general and broad ethic, but it is so important. I believe having respect for others, yourself, the environment, and the list goes on, is important for forming healthy relationships.
Honesty, responsibility, and integrity are great ethics to value. These ethics lead to an intelligent, reliable, and trustworthy interpreter. This can further lead to intelligent, reliable, and trustworthy learners.
Wow! Empathy is an ethic that I haven’t seen mentioned a lot this week. I do agree that this is a great ethic to have. I think the world has made us loose empathy for each other and nature. Humans have become numb and forgotten about other living things.
Really great thoughts this week!
Thank you for sharing and best of luck in the future!
Makayla
