"I would be an audience before whom she could make an honest analysis of her life" (pg. 31, "Like It Was")

    I think that initial quote pretty much sums up the importance of an oral history interview. As in interviewer, I must make sure whoever I interview is comfortable and knows that I will not be judging them about what they say. The interviewee should be encouraged to be open and honest about their experience and their personal reaction to it. This also leads to another point made in the chapter about avoiding "leading questions". Interviewers should have questions prepared, but they should not be "assuming" questions that would make the interviewee afraid to disagree with the interviewee. At all times, the interviewee should feel comfortable expressing their deepest feelings about whatever topic they are speaking on.
    So far after watching a little of FoodInc., I think I want to do something with school lunches, but that will all depend on my group and such. Yet if I do get to explore this topic, I would like to interview a child, a adult (perhaps a parent), and maybe a lunch aide/server. In doing this, I have to be sure not to push my thoughts and opinions on them (frankly, I am disgusted with the food that is served to our kids now at school). I want their true, untainted opinions about the issue. I know this will be hard for me, but I will try my best.  I also think that this part could turn out more like a feature story like the chapter reading suggested. Because I will be collecting histories from different perspectives, my part may be more topic-driven, yet I will be sure to follow the same rules/suggestions and make sure my interview stays like a monologue, not a dialogue. The whole point of an oral history is to get the interviewee to talk as much as possible about the topic at hand.  The interviewer needs to be sure not to talk to much, as this will delude the perspective and thoughts of the interviewee.
    After reading this, I am actually really excited about starting my research/oral history project. I think it will be really fun and enlightening. I have never really done anything like this, and I can't wait to start.

    Clandinin and Connelly provided interesting examples in "Narrative Inquiry-Experience and Story in Qualitative Research" to persuade writers, and everyone for that matter to use narrative inquiry when they write, and really throughout the whole writing process. They explained how different our points of view can be at different times of our lives and in different situations by using characters and examples throughout their piece.
    The first quote/passage that struck and kind of explained narrative inquiry was:
        "With this sense of Dewey's foundational place in our thinking
        about narrative inquiry, our terms are personal and social (interaction);
        past, present, and future (continuity); combined with the notion
        of place (situation). This set of terms creates a metaphorical three dimensional
        narrative inquiry space, with temporality along one dimension,
        the personal and the social along a second dimension, and
        place along a third" (50).
In this thought, Clandinin and Connelly stressed the importance of writers thinking along these three lines. Any situation researched has to consider the interaction the writer has with it and the past, present, and future of that interaction. In other words, research can not really remain in one place forever. Outside variables are going to effect it and change it, and that is OK. Research should be in fact, re-researched by others to confirm its validity, and also to place its relevance in a new time period.
    Another point that I liked was found in one of quoted sections. Clandinin and Connelly talked about writing and remembering from a "place within a place". A group of educators met and Karen Whelan talked about how she struggled with always marking a kid as "failing" (57). When another researcher, Jean, in her group heard her remarks again via tape-recoder, she was instantly reminded of her childhood classroom and childhood struggles. By recounting her own past, Jean was better able to connect with the difficulties that present students were having. Both situations were situated in the same place--school, but the times and contexts were different. Even still, Jean was able to mentally go through her narrative and use it to her advantage. And that is exactly what narrative inquiry is supposed to do.
    The last quote I liked was, "Narrative inquiry is a relational inquiry as we work in the field, move from field to field text, and from field text to research text" (60). Infusing narrative into all of these steps is important. I think of narrative as a relationship, and that relationship must grow and develop through all of these stages in order to be effective.