The Impact of Jane Goodall
“You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you.” Jane Goodall
Jane Goodall is world-renown for her ground-breaking research on chimpanzees. Stephen Jay Gould called her finding that that chimpanzees are able to fashion and use tools “one of the great achievements of twentieth-century scholarship.” She also discovered that chimpanzees are omnivores, form social tribes that may exhibit violent behaviors and often display deep social bonds.
“Now we must redefine tool, redefine man, or accept chimpanzees as humans.” Louis Leakey on the importance of Jane Goodall’s scientific work
Even in the face of her significant scientific discoveries, I consider Dr. Goodall’s language relating to the bonding behaviors of chimpanzees one of her most important contributions to the field of science.
A Different Kind of Research
Jane Goodall made a choice to be anthropocentric in her descriptions. First, she chose to name the chimpanzee participants in her study instead of numbering them. Conventional scientific research utilizes numbering in order to minimize emotional connection to the study. Instead, Jane employed names including David Greybeard, Passion and Fifi. Second, she described many of the displays of emotion she saw in the field using language normally reserved for human affection. At a time when researchers trended towards observing animal behavior without interpretation, Dr. Goodall prescribed the chimpanzee community with social behaviors including compassion, sorrow and familial bonding. She insisted that the animals exhibited emotions and displayed unique personalities.
“You cannot share your life in a meaningful way with any kind of animal with a reasonably developed brain and not realize that animals have personalities.” Jane Goodall
In the last decade, this allowance for anthropomorphism in ethnology has been more pronounced. Indeed, books including Carl Safina’s Beyond Words: What Animals Think and Feel and Sy Montgomery’s The Soul of an Octopus celebrate our ability to prescribe human emotions to other animals. But, decades ahead of her time, Jane Goodall had a hard road to pave. With quiet determination, she fought her critics through the publication of several successful books and a plethora of scientific articles.
Decades ahead of her time, Jane Goodall had a hard road to pave.
“If you work hard and be persistent, you will achieve whatever you want to do.” Jane Goodall
Dr. Goodall’s ability to stand firm in her voice had a lasting impact on the field of ethnology. In the professional field, it broadened the scope of what it meant to study animal behavior. In her personal work, it allowed her to view the interconnected nature of chimpanzees and human communities. This led to a legacy project that impacted the personal course of my life.
Roots and Shoots
I became aware of the Roots and Shoots program when I was a first-year science teacher in a high-needs urban school in New York City almost ten years ago. Roots and Shoots encourages teachers and students to come together to create community projects based around academic curriculum. The foundation strives to promote leadership skills, teamwork, critical thinking and compassion, in order to allow young people to become agents of community change.
For me, the first year of teaching was a stressful, lonely time. There is nothing quite so final as closing the door to your classroom on your first day of teaching, realizing that you have been left alone to impact a (sometimes hesitant) generation of young minds.
The Roots and Shoots program provided me with three things any long-term educator needs to survive. First, through the weekly meetings and online chats, the program inspired a community. Second, the larger goal of community change inspired a framework for the importance of my work. Third, the language of the program, based in compassion and teamwork, provided me with a larger goal.
This unique look at education reminded me of the unique vision Dr. Goodall had for her original research. Dr. Goodall should be celebrated as an original thinker, motivated to pursue her vision no matter what obstacles stood in her way. This is the legacy that I carry from her work.
Has the work of a renown public figure impacted your life? Leave a message about it in the comments.
