Introduction
Because of issues interviewing adults who raised there own livestock, our group consisting of myself, Christie Johnson, and Kaitlyn Bill, decided to start with a different approach to our primary research question. On April 16, 2012 we had the pleasure of sitting down with two middle school students, Victoria Bill and Danny McDonald, to discuss with them the topic of raising their own livestock. We met on the back porch of the Bill household and the questions began to fly. Because they were only ages twelve and thirteen, we thought it would be interesting to see a child's perspective on this topic, as most adults and children view situations on two totally different levels. These two middle school students raise market hogs for a local 4-H club, and because of this we believed that the only benefit they would see was the money aspect. During this interview the duo sums up why they raise their livestock, the benefits of raising their own livestock, and the lessons that they have learned from raising their own market hogs.
Conclusion
Who would have thought that two middle school students would produce such a well-rounded interview. After meeting with them we were surprised at how seriously they took during this interview. The duo answered all of the questions that were presented, and most consisted of more then a one word answer. What we got out of this interview is that it is important for these two children to know all about the animals that they are putting into their stomachs. They enjoy knowing that the animals they are eating were treated with love and care as they were when they were raised. The duo plans to continue to grow livestock as they get older as long as their spouses approve.
If we were to conduct a follow-up interview we would have gotten more into why they feel it is important to know what their animals are being fed. Also we would have tried to ask more of the why questions. By doing this we feel as though we would have gotten even more knowledge as to how the children feel about the topic and how they got to the point that they have with the raising of market hogs. Finally as an interviewer we should have had the duo be a little more serious even though the not so serious commentary shows that they aren't adults, they are children.
If we were to conduct a follow-up interview we would have gotten more into why they feel it is important to know what their animals are being fed. Also we would have tried to ask more of the why questions. By doing this we feel as though we would have gotten even more knowledge as to how the children feel about the topic and how they got to the point that they have with the raising of market hogs. Finally as an interviewer we should have had the duo be a little more serious even though the not so serious commentary shows that they aren't adults, they are children.