Lifeguards of Nelsonville Water Park:
An Ethnographic Study
Stephanie Maccombs
English 1510
Instructor May
November 2, 2012
A
discourse community ethnography study can enable one to explore genres,
language, and possible complications or advantages within that group. For this
ethnographic study, I will study the lifeguards of Nelsonville Water Park. To
verify that that they are in fact a discourse community, comparison to John
Swales’ six characteristics of a discourse community is exhibited. Furthermore,
emphasis is directed toward the novices, or newcomers, to the community. From
personal experience, observation, and interview responses from fellow guards,
it is apparent that these members appear to have difficulty in assimilating
with current members. Authors such as Elizabeth Wardle and James Paul Gee offer
theoretical explanations for this difficulty. Based on their work and their
connection to the lifeguards of Nelsonville Water Park, it can be argued that
enculturation into this new work place may be hindered by current practice. Due
to the overall goal of swimmer (or patron) safety, it is necessary for a guard
to be distinguishable as a commanding figure by patrons- and that may be inhibited
by their faulty integration into the community. Existing members should
facilitate this experience though an introductory initiation class at the
beginning of each summer session that encompasses all terminology, procedure,
and literature necessary for one to be appropriately identified as an
authoritative figure by patrons.
The
Lifeguards of Nelsonville Water Park engage in discursive practice as well as
social practice every time they go to work. Such procedure would signal that
this community might be a discourse community. To verify such notion, I tested
it with the six characteristics of discourse communities presented by Swales.
The first
characteristic that Swales describes is, “A discourse community has a broadly
agreed set of common public goals” (471). At the Nelsonville Water Park, lifeguards have one main goal- protect the lives of
swimmers. To do so, every lifeguard knows that first aid, AED, and CPR
certification is necessary. Knowledge of proper save techniques is essential as
well as cooperation with fellow guards and knowledge on how to check, change,
and maintain proper chemical levels.
Swales then claims, “A discourse community has mechanisms of
intercommunication among its member” (471). To adhere to the goal of protecting
swimmers, it is necessary for guards to always have their eyes on the water.
Thus, the main mechanism for communication is face-to-face contact on the deck
(area around the pool) or in the office. Telephone calls, texts, and social
media sites are used for outside communication regarding meetings, scheduling,
and input on the happenings of the pool.
Thirdly, Swales explains that, “ A discourse community uses its
participatory mechanisms primarily to provide information and feedback” (472).
As stated previously, there are several communication options for the lifeguards
of Nelsonville Water Park. Face-to-face contact usually involves sharing
information of possible hazards around and in the water, feedback on
experiences with particular swimmers, and the sharing of knowledge regarding
precautionary measures that may need to be taken to ensure the safety of
swimmers. Phone calls, texts, social media sites, and the meetings themselves
usually regard information on scheduling or new rules and feedback on the
performance of the staff.
A fourth characteristic that Swales describes is, “A discourse
community utilizes and hence possesses one or more genres in the communicative
furtherance of its aims” (472). Genres utilized among the Nelsonville Water
Park Life Guards include memos, first aid incident forms, work schedules, the
American Red Cross Life Guard Guide, and the procedures for first aid, CPR, and
AED use. Also, any communication via phone, Internet, or word of mouth could be
considered genres. All of the genres that are used promote safety, stability,
and organization of the pool.
Furthermore, Swales claims, “In addition to owning genres, a
discourse community has acquired some specific lexis” (473). Lexis is
essentially jargon. Jargon used among the Nelsonville Water Park Life Guards
includes deck, patron, surface dive, rotate, splash, lanes, chemical check,
zone, duty, break, and many more.
Finally, Swales states that, “A discourse community has a
threshold level of members with a suitable degree of relevant content and
discoursal expertise” (473). At the Nelsonville Water Park, experts are the
managers and head guards. Regular members are returning guards, and novices are
the new guards hired each summer. Experts and regular members heavily
outweigh the novices in most summer seasons.
Elizabeth
Wardle states (in reference to work by Etienne Wenger) that, “authority is
continually negotiated within communities of practice” (525). At this
particular water park, there are managers, head guards, veterans, and novices-
all of which are trained lifeguards. Managers oversee all workers, head guards oversee
the workers that fall below them, veterans have particular expertise, and
novices are the new guards that come in each summer who are essentially in training.
There is a clear division of labor at this facility. This division of labor also
suits as a division of authority. Authority in this sense is derived from
seniority, level of expertise, initiative taken in opening and furthering
communication, and extended use of the genres within in the community. Authority
is an important quality for a guard to have. Outside of that division of labor,
all guards have authority in regard
to patrons. It is essential that a patron recognize who to listen to and who to
go to for help in a swimming area.
To put it
simply, identity is incredibly important for a lifeguard. As mentioned before,
there is a division in the staff. Each member knows their job title and can be
identified as such. Wardle refers to identity as well when stating, “Joining
new workplace communities [is] …a matter of… fielding new calls for identity
construction” (525). Personal and social identities change as guards further
assimilates into the community, learn the full lexis, and habitually use all
the genres available.
The
changes that occur in regard to identity vary, but are nonetheless important.
As new guards learn the use of the different genres, they are essentially
becoming multiliterate and each new literacy leads to the acquisition of
“identifiers.” Identifiers can be associated with personal identity or social
identity and are attributes attached to a member that highlight their
qualities. Personally, one may have a sense of importance, accomplishment,
responsibility, and intelligence. For example, a guard may identify themselves
a chlorine and chemical manager, a safety enforcer, or an emergency expert.
However, what is most important on the deck of a swimming pool is social
identity, and thus, social “identifiers.” Attire alone will not render the
“identifier” of lifeguard. If patrons do not know who has authority- how do
they know who to respect as an authority? A guard must submerse themselves in
their discourse community and learn the body language, terminology, and
knowledge necessary for patrons to recognize the social identity of a
lifeguard. This is important to avoid confusion in times of crisis.
[Interviews
inserted here to provide evidence for the following conversation]
It is
clear that authority and identity are crucial to enforcing the goal of the
lifeguards at Nelsonville Water Park, but new guards may have issues with
identifying themselves and presenting themselves as authoritative at first. The
real issue is not exactly that novices do not “get it” right away, but that
they might fake it. James Paul Gee describes this as “mushfaking,” or,
“strategies to ‘make do’” (490). Though mushfaking may be appropriate in
several other discourse communities, it may be deathly here. The lifeguards of
Nelsonville Water Park have other lives in their hands. There is no room for
error, miscommunication, or confusion. This marginalization chance must be
removed.
Novices
must be assisted in a different way. Gee provides another term, which can be
related to the issues that novices may have: apprenticeship (484). Gee coins
the term apprenticeship as another way of discussing enculturation (both terms
mean assimilation). As I proposed earlier, novices are essentially in training.
This apprenticeship, enculturation, or training is proving to be inadequate in
preparing new guards for use of all the genres within the community, on top of
the authority and identity issues.
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