Looking at Labor

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Objectives

“Looking at Labor” is designed to help students:

  • discuss how society views different forms of employment;
  • reflect on their own views towards various jobs and explore their personal biases, and
  • recognize the value of jobs that they may not have previously thought important.

Materials:

Overview

In this lesson “Looking at Labor,” students will participate in activities designed to highlight the variety of work that people do.  They will consider why certain jobs are better paid and typically more respected than others and will decide whether such assessments are valid.

Essential Questions

  • Are all jobs created equal? Why or why not?
  • What would happen if everyone was paid the same regardless of what job he or she held?
  • Why do people take the jobs they do?
  • Does everyone have a choice when it comes to his or her career?
  • What is your dream job?  What is a job you would never want to do?  Why?

Glossary

day laborer |dā ˈlāb(ə)rər|
(noun) Work done where the worker is hired and paid one day at a time. There is no promise that more work will be available in the future.

socialist |ˈsō shəˌlizəm|
(noun) One who advocates or practices Socialism, the economic and political theories advocating collective or governmental ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods.

CEO (abbreviation)
(noun) Etymology: chief executive officer: the executive with the chief decision-making authority in an organization or business.

Procedures

1. In pairs or small teams, review the handout listing occupations. Then rank the jobs in order of which you think are most important with 1 as the most important and 25 as the least. When you have completed this task, discuss whether you think it was hard to rank the 25 jobs and why.

2. Now imagine you live in a society where there can only be five jobs. In the same pairs or small teams, create a list of the five jobs that you think are most important to society. This list may be based on occupations listed on the handout, or it can be your own creation.  As a class, share your five jobs and reasons for picking these jobs. Examine the differences/similarities of the job choices and reasoning behind your choices.

3. Divide into new teams of three, and discuss: Why do you think some jobs are generally more respected and better paid than others? What would happen if everyone was paid the same regardless of what job they held? What could be the benefits? The drawbacks?

Some points to consider:

  • the level of skill or education required can affect salary;
  • jobs are typically held by women tend to be lower paid;
  • jobs involving physical labor and "blue collar" jobs, even if they are highly skilled, often command lower wages, and
  • jobs that are often held by immigrants such as taxi drivers, house cleaners, janitors, nannies, dishwashers and handymen, are often poorly compensated, even though they provide crucial services.

4. Randomly pick one job. Imagine there is a benefactor who wants to give a grant to improve working conditions for one form of employment. Make a convincing argument explaining why that particular job should get the grant.  Form a small group and take turns sharing your arguments orally. After presenting your argument, provide feedback to each other as to which aspects of the argument you found most persuasive.

 

Assessment

As a diagnostic tool, respond to these questions before starting the lesson.  You have five minutes.

1)    What does the holiday Labor Day represent?

2)    Should a doctor be paid more than a truck driver?  Why or why not?

3)    What three jobs do you think are the most important in keeping your community functioning?

As a self-evaluative assessment to see how well you improved, respond to the same three questions after completing the lesson. Again, you have five minutes. Then, reflect on your results in your journals, responding to the prompt: To what extend did the lesson enhance your achievement of our lesson’s learning objectives?

 

Additional extension activity questions:

True or False

_____ Immigrants take jobs away from native-born Americans.

_____ Immigrants concentrated in low-skilled jobs drive down wages.

_____ Immigrants don't pay taxes.

_____ If there weren't so many immigrants taking jobs, unemployment would be lower.

_____ Immigrants send most of what they earn to their home countries and as a result, they don't stimulate the economy.

 

Extension Activity

1. Individually, make a list of people you think of when you think of a day laborer. Then with a partner, share your lists. How is your partner’s list like yours? With your partner, predict what percentage of day laborers are male and female, make sure the total percentage equals 100. Share your predictions with the class. Discuss what informs your predictions.

Teacher Notes: Some likely responses: a farm worker, construction worker or an undocumented immigrant. While many of us think of day laborers as male construction workers or farm workers, women make up 44 percent of day laborers.

2. Read the New York Times article: Invisible to Most, Immigrant Women Line Up for Day Labor By Nina Bernstein (Published: August 15, 2005, New York Times). Available here.

In pairs or small groups, discuss:

  • Are male and female day laborers viewed differently? If so, how?
  • Why are some jobs, like taxi drivers, house cleaners, janitors, nannies, dishwashers and handymen often held by immigrants?
  • Do these professions get enough respect? Why or why not?
  • How does race factor into day labor?
  • Do some jobs become "racialized"-- that is, associated with people of particular races or ethnicities?

3. Break into small groups.  Each group has one of the following five statements focusing on myth or fact about immigrant labor.  Visit the library to determine if your group’s statement is a myth or a fact.  When you return, you will present your findings to another group.

  • Immigrants take jobs away from native-born Americans.
  • Immigrants concentrated in low-skilled jobs drive down wages.
  • Immigrants don't pay taxes.
  • If there weren't so many immigrants taking jobs, unemployment would be lower.
  • Immigrants send most of what they earn to their home countries and as a result, they don't stimulate the economy.

Note: All five statements are common beliefs, yet each can be disproved. This section of the activity is based on the book, “‘They Take Our Jobs!’ and 20 Other Myths About Immigration,” by Aviva Chomsky. Excerpts, including explanations of the listed myths, can be read here.

Standards

Economics 

Standard 5.  Understands unemployment, income, and income distribution in a market economy.

Life Work 

Standard 4. Studies or pursues specific job interests

ESL Standards 

Goal 1, Standard 2: 
To use English to communicate in social settings: Students will interact in, through, and with spoken and written English for personal expression and enjoyment.

Goal 2, Standard 1: Use English to achieve academically in all content areas: Students will use English to interact in the classroom.

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