journal entry # 4..teeth matter

Which mouth do you like better?

While at work today, I was reminded of something Professor Schuster had told us about the connection between teeth and social status in America. When she said it I actually was really interested for her to talk a bit more on it, but I actually forgot to ask her. Yet today at work I pretty much got a “real life” answer of what my interests on the subject wanted to inquire further about.

While working with two of my co-workers a male customer walked in. The customer was a handsome man, and I commented on that to the other female who I was working with…then she disagreed. As the man left, I asked her why she did not think he was handsome, and her response was “ he had crack head teeth”, and I immediately thought of our class. 

Prior to this course, and our learning’s of social status factors, I would have never thought of the ever apparent relationship between socio-economic status and dental hygiene. Then, I thought about the issue a little further. Evidently, good teeth are a vain sign of wealth, and how well a person has the ability to take care f themselves. Things like normal biannual cleanings are covered by health insurance (which so many people today are without), but further procedures that go above and beyond (getting braces from an orthodontist, or a root canal from a surgeon) are probably not be covered in health insurance. Consequently if a person is without health insurance or cannot get braces because they cannot afford them, it is actually a very sad reality that this will predict .how they will be treated in their life….Sometimes when your eyes are opened to these sad realities it makes you embarrassed to be part of such a vain culture. It truthfully just feels bizarre that point was proven to me today. So bizarre that a person’s teeth can be such a huge social setback in their everyday lives with something important such as receiving a job, or as miniscule as being viewed as handsome or not by s couple of pizza shop girls.

Third Journal Entry

For this journal entry I was prompted by the title of a book a recently saw while I was looking up some interesting readings for this course. The title was called Limbo: Caught between blue collar roots with white collar dreams. That title alone had my mind thinking in a million different directions about how that statement rings true in my own life as a student, and also I believe for  other students as well. Assuming that for the most part all new college students experience a huge range of emotions in the unfamiliar school setting like I did, I think most students from working class families are more prone to be nervous. Wondering if they are smart or “capable” enough (like what we saw the single mother in the movie played in class go through) for what they are about to endure with school, and wondering if they belong at all. The transition can be much harder for working class students surrounded by middle class and upper class societal peers, because of one major reason being that they do not feel socially and cognitively prepared for the setting they were placed into. Feeling as though you are not “smart enough” or do not know enough as your peers is something I actually went through when I chose to attend URI for my Masters in Public Administration (MPA).

Because of gaps in previous education, there might be fairly basic material that students don't know and skills they don't have. That was certainly the case for me. I received my undergraduate degree in communications from RIC, and yes I thought I received enough education in that area to get me through life, but my knowledge of political issues, histories, policies, budgets etc. was so spare that I had fearful incomprehension every single time I started a new class with my masters program.  I felt like I was the only person in the room that was going through this transition, because it seemed like everybody in my program had graduated from elite schools for their undergrad’s, or had a history of professional backgrounds that went side by side with what we were being taught in the public sector field of our state and other states.

Along with not being completely aware of the materials we were studying, I had completely different strategies than most of the other MPA students when it came to studying or writing papers for our classes. All throughout my time at RIC I was with kids who just like me, came from working class backgrounds, we studied the same, we dressed very similar, and surprisingly we all had comparable backgrounds (I also was in the same major as my brother and two cousins, plus my other brother and sister took classes in my building so it was like a family for me at RIC). We all had similar note taking strategies and highlighted in our notebooks what we thought was important for the tests, and one maybe out of every 20 students in a class had a lab top to take notes on. Yet, in the MPA program everybody had laptops to take their notes on, and those notes aren’t bulleted lists like I was used to the Professor organizing for me. They are of thoughts and ideas now, they are no longer something I can underline and memorize the day before to pass the exams, and they require me to think about the theory or idea that was being presented and talk about it on paper or even aloud to my fellow peers. This was completely different for me! I had such a difficult time because I wanted to just regurgitate what I thought the teacher had said and I would pass the test with flying colors. Well, I was wrong.

I also found some research recently while reading again for this course that some working-class students are hesitant to ask questions, fearful of seeming unintelligent. Yes, these reservations are not held solely by working class students, but I know I went through this when I knew I had come from a working class background and my other peers had not. Yet over the year I learned the skill of asking a question the right way without sounding like you are completely dumb, which I believe is a defensive skill. Phrasing my questions with a part of the discussion that I do understand, and asking how it relates to what we are talking about in the literal sense is an example of this which I would never do previous to entering this program. Asking a question when you are with “people who are like you” is like second nature, yet when you are around people who you feel are “smarter” than you, your learned behaviors and culturally influenced strategies on how you learn is something you use as defense mechanisms and strategies on how your deal with every situation.  Our class backgrounds really do affect so many aspects of our lives, and it’s how we personally can cope with it in order for us to succeed in what we want to do.

Are these people feeling what women have felt for years?

http://news.yahoo.com/video/featured-24306389/remake-america-income-inequality-27188238.html

Check this out!

The Wage Gap Exists Within Racial/Ethnic Groups

"White men are not the only group that out-earns women, although the wage gap is largest between white men and white women. Within other groups, such as African Americans, Latinos, and Asian/Pacific Islanders, men earn more than women (Source: U.S. Census Bureau). " A quote and picture representation from an article titled The Gender Wage Gap: Debunking the Rationalizations


Ladies! Does this make you as angry as this makes me??

by: Hilary M. Lips, Radford University

Bringing our class home

Second Journal Entry!

Most likely the first thing that comes to our minds when we think of what it means to be in a upper or lower class societies is the financial status’ of the two groups. Yes, upper class societies are generally wealthier, and lower class societies tend to be less wealthy. This I knew before taking this course, which many people probably do as well. However, last class we spoke briefly about the values and characteristics of what some scholars believe go hand in hand with particular social classes. I was extremely intrigued by this. I thought the examiners who came up with the certain characteristics and values hit the nail on the head to be honest. Though some others in our class did not feel that all of the characteristics were dead on, I truly did, and I thought it was a very interesting way to examine the different social classes in that respect rather than just with money as it always is.

With that said, I brought the hand outs with the compared values to my family to take a look at, to see if they agreed with me. They did agree as well, and I actually made a copy for my Nana because she said the handouts actually answered a lot of questions she had for her daughter who she feels “married above her class”. (I am not sure if you remember but in class I briefly spoke about this family member who was told by their father that they could not associate with their cousins when they came to RI for college). I would love to actually show those family members the two comparisons to see what they thought of the different values listed to see if they agreed, but my Nana asked me not to since it may seem like I am starting “trouble” with the family so I have to listen (a value listed for the working class of the patriarchal system).

It is clear that each class appears to feel more comfortable surrounded by individuals in the same situation, and this may not be wrong for each class to do this. Yet, many of these comparison fuels thoughts of what the distinctions between the classes means to us and how do these differences influence our behavior? I think that by seeing these differences, in my Nana’s case it may answer questions she had as to why her daughter acts differently from her other children who married spouses with similar class background may be a good thing but it may also be a detriment as well. Like many other occurrences in life, once something is labeled and given a direct characteristic for example opinions are then able to be formed good or bad, and it is inevitable for this to happen. IT is no longer something that people cannot put their finger on to be specific enough about the differences, nut it makes the differences more real and in our faces.  There are actually papers, documentaries, studies etc. that have been performed on this subject and now it is something that feeds each class into forming opinions about the other, only fueling more separation amongst the classes..I don’t know if these distinctions are good to know or a harm at the same time.

Journal Entry #1

 First Journal Entry!

What is happening with Occupy Wall Street?

I have been out of the country for the past two weeks, and while I was away I turned to the only English speaking news station at night time to catch up on the news. From what started out to be a small protest when I left, Occupy Wall Street has turned into a huge movement that has gained national coverage. It is being talked about in the little coffee shops of Greece, and people are proud of the Americans for “showing some passion for once” a quote from an 85 yr old Greek man I met.

Although many are proud of what is going on, since there is not actually one real demand that is out there there are many folk who believe that is the reason why the protests are worthless.  Yet, I am going to try and provide here the answer to why you are wrong. Specific demands have not been enacted for the simple reason that it would be pointless to make those directed demands until the movement has become stronger in the political arena. Instead, occupiers have chosen to make their demand the occupation itself, and the direct democratic state occurring…which may or may not come up with some specific demand…which is OK.

 This position of “OK” is actually a fantastically powerful statement for what Wall Street Occupiers have come to represent. This goes against what all of us have grown up thinking we should do in order to be heard. 1.Know the issue  2. Formulate a plan of attack 3. Attack…Yet, since truth of what the issues are of the REAL problems is often too much to ask of the American mass media, the question of demands has turned into an enormous PR question.. Which I think is brilliant.

Numerous people I know, and even those while I was in Greece asked me, because I was American, what is the point? Who are the organizers, is there any type of organization? They look for that step by step recipe they are accustomed to. They are used to group being formed with a charismatic celebrity spokespersons (the organizers supposedly), trendy slogans and advertising occurs, and lists of resolutions, or demands are compiled .These “organized” groups do a little research host little lobbies, gain some press, and always have a few specific people that speak to the media  for exposure. It is the number one formula embedded in people's minds as how things should be done or problems should be solved.

Historic movements that have changed unequal human states, influenced governments and societies to modify directions are people based, movements. Movements where people demonstrate through their actions as a mass that  they will no longer be silent and as a mass they will overturn what  has occurred. They no longer can be ignored because they are out in the open, and with determination they do make change.  Look at the freaking 1960’s people!

News reports (even in Greece) have been calling the protesters nonspecific, yet in a world as complex as ours, we’re all uninformed about most things! Yet, being aware of the wealth from Wall Street and its huge influence in politics does not require a comprehensive knowledge of what stock trading is or a masters degree in finance. Everyone in the movements come with their own way of thinking of “people before profits”.  Yes, a variety of other issues varying from ending the wars, to affordable healthcare, to more welcoming immigration policies have arisen so it can be confusing. I get that. However these issues are all at some level interconnected, and why not protest for all of the other disparities that is wrong with our Government if you are out there already? Why does it have to only be one specific issue per protest? The answer is seriously as simple as that! As word spreads, the crowd has been getting older, more diverse and everybody’s demands have been different which is OK once again.

One thing that is certain with this movement is that hope for a better world for us to live in is there. These occupiers deserve to be taken sincerely by all; they are contesting for what we have complained about within closed doors. PEOPLE oriented movements such as Occupy Wall St have messages that are very clear if people decide to actually listen.

Food for thought on Education and Class

Check out this interactive "how class works" site put together by the NY Times, I thought it was interesting and wanted to share them with you fellow social class enthusiasts!


http://www.nytimes.com/packages/html/national/20050515_CLASS_GRAPHIC/index_02.html