TEACHSOC: Re: Fw: TEACHSOC: need advice

[Del Thomas Ph. D.]

Hi, One of my off spring lives in the park slope section near the park.... huge rent... Works at a wall street law firm..  Like many young in the city... You can't have as car there is what?  I don't get it. I keep saying Ann Arbor has more at a lower cost. We live on several acres....lots of trees too many deer, Fox and never enough hummingbirds and squirrels to watch. I have exhibited my paintings in NYC but never wanted to live there.  Our "block" is about .5 mile long.  But there are kids who grew up here who have won Emmey's, developed the Xbox and a play write with drama awards.   They don't live here any more... some in NYC. Chester co. has great restaurants..... people's light theater... ...  I don't know what the gain of the NYC struggle is.. Tell me why...  please. Del Sarah Murray wrote:   ----- Original Message ----- From: Sarah Murray To: Karen Loeb Sent: Thursday, April 06, 2006 10:15 AM Subject: Re: TEACHSOC: need advice Karen... I have encountered this exact scenario!  Many of my students would prefer not to get the news of the widening gap in this country between the haves and have-nots.  I just tell then that awareness is the first step in over-coming this dilemma -- that if we don't acknowledge it, we surely will just drift even deeper into a polarized social and economic state.   When telling my students that it takes 2 incomes today to experience the buying power of one income 30 years ago, I advise them to think about relocating to another part of the country (we are 15 minutes outside Manhattan); to consider a life with no children, or one child (in other words, don't feel pressured to have kids if one's instincts are inclined not to have them; and to measure whether or not they really need luxury cars, designer fashions and any gadget affordable only when purchased on credit.  I make them aware of the pressure of consumerism, and contrast that with "family values", pointing out the irony of a president who "won" on morals and values while pandering to "big business" which perpetuates the "need" to accumulate more and more unnecessary material items.  I also emphasize that social class is more than just income -- it is education and values, and that they can achieve a high degree of social status (though not buying power maybe) by living in "genteel poverty" like their professors! Sarah ----- Original Message ----- From: Karen Loeb To: teachsoc@googlegroups.com Sent: Thursday, April 06, 2006 9:41 AM Subject: TEACHSOC: need advice Hi all,   Yesterday I was discussing the "myth of social mobility" in this country and a boy in my class (who happens to be African-American) raised his hand and said, "so maybe being in college isn't worth my time. . .if I can't buy a better car than my parents or own my own house, what's the point. . ." Other students piped in, and although it was a lively and worthwhile discussion, it left me feeling really bad about, once again, being the bearer of bad news. How do I respond to these students? I told them the whole shpiel--college grads make more money than high school grads, it opens doors, etc. But, is there anything else positive I can say to encourage them and make the picture a little rosier?   Karen --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Teaching Sociology" group. To post to this group, send email to teachsoc@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/teachsoc -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---