Chapters 1-9: Family Discussion Reflection

Research

From the Dust Bowl to the Sahel talked about how the Dust Bowl in the Great Plains was similar to current conditions in the African Sahel.  According to the article, the Dust Bowl was caused by soil erosion in the Great Plains, which took place because the land was better suited for grazing than for farming.  This same process is taking place in the Sahel region, where human activities are causing desertification, and therefore dust storms.  This article connects to The Grapes of Wrath because just as the Joad family had to move during the Dust Bowl, many African farmers are being forced to move off their land to find work.

Schmidt, Laurie J. "From the Dust Bowl to the Sahel." Earth Observatory. NASA, 18 May 2001. Web. 4        Dec. 2013. <http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/DustBowl/>.

Philosophical Questioning

      1.       Is it more important to preserve the natural environment or to provide work for people?

      2.       What do you predict will happen to people living in the Sahel?

      3.       Do you believe that foreign financial aid is the only way to solve the problem in the Sahel?

Reflection

The most memorable moment of my conversation with my mom was when she highlighted the importance of education in the Sahel as foreign aid.  I thought this was a memorable comment because I had only considered foreign aid to be financial in order to buy better agricultural machines.  What she said made me rethink my question because it is true that with education, the problems that the people in the Sahel could learn how to manufacture agricultural tools themselves.  Something that surprised me in our conversation was that my mom found a solution to whether preserving the natural environment was more important than providing work for people.  She said that people could find work that involves protecting the environment, something I had never thought of before.  One way I could improve my questions for the next discussion would be to make them more open ended.  I think this would allow for a more diverse and in-depth conversation.