Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America by Barbara Ehrenreich.
The objective of this exercise is to become familiar with the trials and troubles of the working class poor. We lead privileged lives – many of us never having to face the difficulties of surviving on poverty-level wages. As you prepare to enter the workforce, a basic understanding of these inequities is the first step in acting upon them. In addition, you may find that some of the issues faced by the author parallel those you face in your internship.
Based on your experience, knowledge, insight, and intuition, your assignment is to write a reflective paper in response to the book. Though I want you to use your imagination, ideas that you may want to explore include:
· Do you suspect that anyone at your current place of employment (internship) holds a job similar to those you read about? How do you feel about it? Have you had an opportunity to discuss their situations with them? What did you learn?
· Have you ever held a job that is similar to those held by the author? Explain these experiences. Were you providing your own support at the time? If not, how would your experience have differed? How would it have differed if you were also supporting a family? Have you had bad experiences with supervisors or unreasonable hours?
· What is your perception of the stories explored in the book? Should something be done about it or is that “just the way it is?” Is there anything that you, individually, can do about it now? Later?
The paper must:
The due date for this assignment is Tuesday, June 26, 2007. Assignments turned in late will assessed a penalty of 10% per day or part of a day.