Online Class Assignment 4/13

1. Review the families in Unequal Childhoods, and see if you can create a chart that reflects the following demographic and cultural information.

See chart.


2. Turn to the NJRCL report and pay specific attention to the information provided about Essex County, and the concerns, challenges, and recommendations in the report. Review the six families in Unequal Childhoods, and make connections between the NJRCL report and the realities these families might face if they lived in Essex County, NJ.

Considering the annual self-sufficiency wage in Essex County, NJ is between $39,299 and $40,413, only four of the families described in Unequal Childhoods would be able to live comfortably: the Tallingers, the Williams, the Handlons and the Marshalls. The rest of the families described make significantly less than this amount and would face formidable economic constraints if they were to live in Essex County.

The Williams family could survive comfortably in certain suburban neighborhoods of Essex County. Likewise, the Marshalls and the Tallingers, who make about $100,000 annually, would fit in well with many suburban Essex communities. Although with the prices in some communities, even they could find money constraints to complain about.

Families like the Yanellis, who cannot afford health insurance of roughly $339 per month, would certainly be struggling daily to make ends meet. While the NJRCL factors in childcare in its calculations, families like the McAllisters or the Taylors would probably have to forego this expense altogether. For transportation, these families would be limited on where in Essex County they could live. The suburban communities, which tend to have the better school systems, lack adequate bussing and train systems. Most of their residents own cars. Because the cost of owning and maintaining a car is so expensive, families like these are really limited to living in city environments.

The cost of living inevitably goes up with more children, so families like the McAllisters with four or more children, would ultimately fall into poverty in Essex County.


3. Look at the two reports from the LSNJ on living in poverty. What further information can you glean from the reports regarding the struggles the poor families in Unequal Childhoods might face if they lived in NJ?

Health care, transportation, food and home maintenance are all daily issues that families like the Taylors, Brindles, McAllisters, Drivers and Yanellis struggle with on a daily basis. Although the federal poverty level is $17,600 per year, the self-sufficiency wage in Essex County is between $39,299 and $40,413.

The Taylors, who have only one source of income from the mother, would have an extremely difficult time making ends meet in any community of Essex County. Although both parents are working and bringing in money, would have to face significant cutbacks if they were to settle in Essex County. Food, while in ample supply in the community they live in, might become more expensive. Their three-story home may need to be swapped for another living arrangement that is only half as nice as the one they live in. Because they don’t have any vehicles, the Taylors would have to rely on public transportation and would almost certainly be limited to living in a city environment.

The Drivers, whose family income is about $40,000 annually, would also have to cut back on expenses. Although they are within the annual self-sufficiency wage for Essex County, they would still have to sacrifice many “luxuries” like extra-curricular activities and creature comforts to make ends meet. Although life family already faces economic constraints, they would face even greater difficulties if they chose to live in Essex County.



4. Finally, turn inward and think about who you are as a budding urban educator. In what ways is this information useful (or not) for you? In terms of better understanding a community? What do you need to learn, or what skills and dispositions (frames of mind) do you need to develop related to demographics and economics to be a successful urban educator?

As an urban educator the most important thing to keep in the back of my mind would be the realization that each and every student comes from a different background. It is difficult to really know the hardships that all students’ families may face on a day-to-day basis. Because of that fact, it’s impertinent that I maintain a certain degree of understanding and compassion for where my students may be coming from.

For example, teachers regularly deal with students who do not do their homework. Many times the student is just being lazy. Other times parents allow their children to skip doing their work. Yet in other circumstances, homework may be the least of some children’s concerns. Unstable parent relationships, a lack of a clean or safe home, and even the absence of food could all force schoolwork to the back burner. It’s important to truly understand why or why not a student is not achieving academically as they should. I’ll really have to get to the root of any classroom related issue and understand the reasons

Another important – and often forgotten – fact is that students, just like teachers, do have lives outside of school. Children have numerous after-school activities, family functions and religious obligations to attend to in addition to their schoolwork. Pressures from school officials, parents and community leaders ultimately fall on these students, sometimes making the goal of “success” a stressful and difficult one to reach. Teachers in an urban environment, as in any schooling environment, must be wary of these dynamics and take them into consideration with their own students.