Week of March 30, 2009

Perhaps one of the most affecting moments in the Harvest of Shame documentary was when children in the school for migrant workers were asked about their life plans. You’ll remember that all of them responded with visions of becoming doctors, lawyers, or nurses. You’ll also remember that the teacher wasn’t optimistic about the possibilities of fulfilling these dreams. Chapter 9 speaks to the same issues. As you read it, consider the complex relationships between school and family as influences in the lives of the poor. Look too, at the kind of education which happens in schools in areas of poverty. The No Child Left Behind Act is the centerpiece in an attempt to raise the achievement level of children by raising the standards of schools through a rigorous program of achievement testing. The Act itself is over 1,000 pages long. A summary of it and the philosophy behind it is provided by the Department of Education. The act is not without its critics. Some of the most vigorous criticisms can be found a website called No Child Left Behind.

It includes a searchable database with much free information available. Plug in the word "Education" and see what you come up with.

Choose one to read, and post your reflections on it in your journa.

You’ll have a chance to use this as well as the rest of your outside research when it comes time to write upon Shipler’s book shortly.

Some of you know I'm an inveterate blog reader. Here's a story from the Los Angeles Times which I ran across in 2006 (free registration required) and series at the blog, Daily Howler which is appropriate to the issues at hand. I urge you to read it. It's still pertinent today.

The Dining Room at SOME, the not-for-

profit orgaganization through which

"Peaches" made her way back from the

brink.

Mission: SOME exists to help the poor

and homeless of our nation's capital.

We meet the immediate daily needs of

the people we serve with food, clothing,

and health care. We help break the cycle

of homelessness by offering services,

such as affordable housing, job training, addiction treatment, and counseling, to the poor, the elderly and individuals with mental illness.

Visit the SOME (So Others Might Eat) website by clicking on the picture. Some has job openings. Some of you might find fulfilling careers working for non-profit organizations like SOME.

` Idealist.org is a clearinghouse for non-profit

organizations and those interested in working for

them. When I prepared this the first time, (March 16, 2006) the website listed 5,312 jobs available, and just about double the number of volunteer opportunities, as well. This time, (April 27), the number has fallen to 4,486. This reflects the current recession which has hit not-for-profit organizationsm severely. There are, however, 15,353 volunteer opportunities. Click on the logo above to explore the many resources available there (including many studies related to issues of poverty and class).

This completes our work in Shipler.

Chapter Ten suggests some rays of light in the pretty gloomy picture we’ve been considering to this point. (Remember that Chapter Three was entitled Work Doesn’t Work). Shipler suggests here a number of factors which separate work experiences which make a difference from work experiences which don’t make a difference. You'll also learn about some enlightened companies making a difference through their employment policies.

Shipler recounts successful (though perhaps underfunded) government programs as well. One of them is the Job Corps Training program, represented in The Working Poor by the program in Cleveland, Ohio. Learn more about the Job Corps at the Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration (ETA) Website devoted to it. Reach it by clicking on the picture at the left: two successful graduates of the program

Chapter 11 is the capstone to the book. (The Epilogue just reports what happened to some of the more central characters between the period of the first and second editions of the book). Shipler uses Chapter 11 to synthesize and present his best thinking on the problem of enduring poverty in the United States. The title suggests two necessary components: skill and will. Understand what he means by both, and recognize that he sees both the individual and the community need both components.

I began our study of Shipler with a quotation. I’ll conclude it the same way:

Opportunity and poverty in this country cannot be explained by either the American Myth that hard work is a panacea or by the Anti-Myth that the system imprisons the poor. Relief will come, if at all, in an amalgam that recognizes both the society’s obligation through government and business, and the individual’s obligation through labor and family–and the commitment of both society and individual through education.

Workers at the edge of poverty are essential to American prosperity but their well-being is not treated as an integral part of this whole. Instead, the forgotten wage a daily struggle to keep themselves from falling over the cliff. It is time to be ashamed.