I was looking for something else when I came across this "poverty" activity in an unlikely place. Didn't look over it carefully, but it could be worthwhile.
http://www.usccb.org/cchd/povertyusa/edcenter/aded_activity.shtml Quoting Andi Stepnick <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>: > Hey Elizabeth, > > Here's one that I'm working on...need to update figures, etc Modify it > as you like. I've mixed it up over the years...for certain types of > families. Sometimes it's fun to give them a "working poor" life and a > life as upper middle class to see the contrast. Or put "rich" familes > next to "poor" ones in class. The rich have great fun, the poor get > pissed! Not sure how I'll revise it this year but I am pondering....I > actually do this as a graded small paper assignment now...and have made > it harder. I let them do the budget in class on day one and I bring > newspapers to class--job ads, car adds, real estate. I also clear out > the lab so they can use the computers to look up bus costs, diaper > costs, health insurance etc. You might explicitly note that rising > heating costs will really squeeze the poor this year. > > Students have a hard time with it...(part of the goal is to think about > information literacy, navigating systems, cultural capital, etc) > > It really surprises them in the end and most like it. > > > > Let me know if you see glaring errors or ways to improve it. > > In fact, does anyone else want to share their "favorite" assignments > (for in or out of class) > > Andi > > > ---- > > > This activity is designed to help you understand how income influences > the organization and quality of lives. You should complete Part 1 in > class as a group. Part 2 can be done individually or as a group--your > choice. > > BEFORE YOU READ FURTHER GET GROUP CONCENSUS ON WHAT YOU THINK IT WOULD > COST FOR A FAMILY OF FOUR TO: > 1. Live for a year at a "basic" standard of living. Include food, > health care, shelter, and whatever else you consider basic but necessary > (e.g., phone service, gifts, transportation). Write your group's > estimate here: _______________________ > 2. Live for a year at a "comfortable" standard of living: Include > food, health care, shelter, and whatever else you consider necessary for > your comfort (e.g., cell phones, cable tv, high speed internet, > vacations, clothing, entertainment, eating out). Write your group's > estimate here: _______________________ > > YOUR LIFE: For this section of the course, you will work out a budget > for one of the following families to see how income influences life > quality. Please complete a budget for (do what's highlighted below): > > . Two adults and a one-year old girl and six-year old boy living at > the Official poverty level for 2004 of $19,157. > > . A single parent household with three children ages 1 and 6 living > at the official poverty level of $15,219. > (For more on the official rate see > http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty/threshld/thresh04.html) > > Part 1 > As you work on your budget, be realistic. To complete this activity > today, you should divide your labor. I suggest that you go to a computer > lab. For example, you can't move your family into the house of a parent, > friend, or into a home that's unfit two children (e.g., NO abandoned > houses, please). Do not count on grandparents, etc for child care. You > cannot already own a car or home. Be diligent and don't over look > "hidden" costs. For example, don't forget to include sales tax on all > items that you buy such as clothing and food. > > Part of this assignment is about cultural capital and the ability to > find and use information. You may be eligible for certain kinds of aid, > but it's up to you to find it. What are the requirements? If you find > aid, find out the average waiting period and note how easy it is to > navigate the system/find information. Several people can get online at > the Tennessean.com to find apartments/homes or use or Realtracs.com, etc > to find homes. Use Google to find health insurance, car insurance, and > estimates for your other expenses. You are information savvy so if you > have difficulty, note that. > > 1. Calculate your disposable income. All earners also pay 6.7% of > income towards social security so you should deduct this from your > earnings off the top. Then use the chart at the bottom to calculate > your federal income tax. Tennessee has no state income tax. Take the > new total and divide it by 12. This is your monthly income. (If you > like, go to IRS.GOV to learn about additional benefits you might be > eligible for based on your income and marital status.) > > 2. Use the following categories to construct your monthly budget. > Include items your group sees as necessary while being realistic in your > choices and estimates. > > a) Rent or mortgage. Find a place to live. What is it like? Where > is it located? How far is it from your job? Do you have access to > transportation if you need it? What schools is it near? How do good > are they? > If you are renting, use the paper to get a more accurate estimate of > what you can afford. If it's an apartment, what is the deposit that you > need? Do you have it? If not, what is your plan. > To purchase a home, use an online mortgage estimator such as > http://www.mortgage-calc.com/. If you buy a home, you generally need to > put a deposit down. If you put down less than 20%, you will need to pay > PMI. Also, the amount you put down and your credit rating can affect > your interest rate and points. Don't know what any of this means? > That's part of the point--to learn how to navigate the financial waters. > Don't forget to include your yearly property tax. (However, you may > also save money on taxes if you own a home and file an itemized return. > You'll need to look this up. Not everyone saves money. The annual cost > of your interest may be less than the single tax deduction.) Lastly, you > should also factor in about 5% of your home's total cost for home repair > expenses each year. > Don't forget to include Renters or Home insurance if you can afford it. > How is their home furnished? > b) Food. Where do you shop? What kinds of food can you eat on your > budget? What is the influence of this food on your body? What is the > cost of baby food? Don't forget to factor in 6% food tax. > c) Utilities. Estimate based on your apt./house size or call the > Electric Company for an estimate using your address as the locator. If > your house uses gas, find an estimate with the gas company. (Hint: My > 1100 sq ft home with a fuel efficient pump, kept at 65 degrees all > winter, cost about $80 a month during the winter months (Oct-March). > Electric runs about $55 a month, every month.) What do you pay for > water? (I pay about $10 a month.) > d) Clothing. Where can you shop? What can you buy? How often? > e) Sales tax on all items such as clothing and durable goods (factor > in tax of 9.35%) and food (6% tax). > f) Child care. Does your job provide hours that allow you to care > for your children? If not, what is your plan? (What time does your 6 > year old get out of school?) Do the child care facility's hours fit > with your work schedule? What is it like? What are the student-teacher > ratios? What is its sickness policy? What is the extra fee if you are > late? (Keep in mind that it needs to be close to work or home.) What > will you do with your children during the summer when school is out of > session? > g) Transportation. Estimate the cost of a car payment or bus > transportation around town, to and from work, to and from school, and so > forth.) Include the cost of gasoline and related car expenses (e.g., > oil changes, other maintenance). If you don't have a car, you need to > be located near a bus line or find a job near your home. Do the hours > fit your work schedule? How close are you to a stop? Factor in the > "time cost" of waiting for the bus and traveling with stops. > h) Health insurance. Do you get health insurance with your job? If > not, you need to find it. You might see ehealthinsurance.com. > Regardless of whether it comes with your job or not: What kind can you > afford? What services does it get you? Does it cover preventative > care? What about dental care? Glasses? Mental health? If you don't > want (or can't afford) more children, does your health care cover birth > control? If so, what kinds--diaphragms and condoms are usually not > covered. If you want to protect yourself from possible disease and > abstinence isn't for you, you'll need to factor in the cost of condoms, > too. (In the BU policy, birth control pills run $30 a month.) > Don't forget to factor in the cost of yearly deductibles (In the BU > policy, singles pay $400, families pay $1,200). That means you *after* > you pay the deductible, the plan covers 80% of your "in-network" costs > and you pay the other 20%. Additionally, you need to include the cost > of co-pays for doctor visits, usually around $20-30 each for each visit > or medication. Lastly, what is the cost per month to "buy in" to the > plan. (At Belmont, it's $366 per month for a family, and $32 per month > for a "single" employee.) Note that you need to pay the deductible > before you can take advantage of the co-pay rates. What do you estimate > your family's total annual health care costs to be? > > i) Auto insurance. What kind of coverage can you afford? > j) Phone/Communication. Estimate both local and long distance > charges as well as special features you may want. For example, will you > have a cell phone, beeper, or internet access? (Can you afford a computer?) > k) Entertainment (e.g., bars, movies, dinner out, concerts). What > activities can you afford? How often? Don't forget to include the cost > of babysitters. > l) Vacations. How do they spend vacations? > m) General spending money (e.g., cleaning supplies, hair cuts, > vitamins, durable goods, vitamins/OTC cold/allergy/pain medicine, toys, > school books, supplies, or fees for your older child/children--such as > band uniforms, birthday/holiday cards and presents). > n) If you are using plastic diapers (expect to use about 6-8 per day > for the 1 year old). What do these cost? (HINT: Get online at an > online grocery store or drugstore.com to see prices). What about cloth > diapers? What does it cost in time or money to clean them? > o) Laundry - If you don't have a car, is there a convenient laundry > facility nearby? What does it cost? If you bought a washer/dryer, what > did it cost-including taxes and any delivery or installation fees. > p) Credit card balances and interest. > q) Savings or stocks. Can you afford to save anything? How much? > What kinds of investments can you make? > r) Tithing and donations to charitable organizations > s) Luxuries (e.g., gym memberships, vacations, massages, manicures, > gifts for the holidays, throwing parties, having help with the yard or > home care, SAT/tutoring for your kids, band/school field trips for kids, > pets/pet care). > t) Private school tuition for your kids. College fund for your kids. > u) Other expenses.: Anything not covered above. > v) Emergency reserves. For example, I broke a crown a few years > ago. Total cost $900...with insurance $450. Also, I ran over two nail > and needed two new tires. Total cost = about $100. > > Part 2 > > Your income reflects your class position and influences many of the > decisions you will make about work, personal and family relationships, > and community involvement. Use sociological concepts and your readings > to analyze how your budget would shape your life and the choices you > would make in each of the following areas. > > 1) Costs. What do you estimate it would cost your family to meet its > basic needs (by totaling up basic expenses in your budget). What kind > of wage/salary do you need to meet your family's basic needs? What > kind of job would you have? What kind of education, networks, skills, > etc would it take to get a job that pays such a wage? > 2) What is the difference between your original estimate for a family of > 4 to "live comfortably" and your poverty budget? Looking at your > original estimate, how would you change it, if at all, now that you've > seen what things cost? Were there items in the budget that you hadn't > considered? Does anything about this surprise you? (Note: To answer > this question you might need to work out the costs for things you > couldn't afford on your poverty budget. So, be sure to have factored in > ALL items A-V above.) > 3) Paid Work. What kind(s) of jobs do you currently have? Look at the > local paper and see what kind of jobs pay a salary or wage that would > give you your assigned yearly income (multiply the hourly wage by 2,000 > -- assuming it is full-time work--to approximate yearly income). Be > sure that you "fit" all the qualifications required in the want ad. Do > both you and your spouse (if you have one) need to work? Do you work > full or part-time? What do most of the ads say? Does your spouse work > full or part-time? Do you need to work more than one job? Is it a > "good" job? What makes it a "good" job? Does it have prospects for > improving your occupational position (i.e. does it provide upward > mobility - the chance to get promoted and "move up")? Does it provide > further educational opportunities? What kind of emotional and > intellectual rewards does it give you? Do you have freedom to determine > how your work day is set up and what tasks to prioritize? Do you have > any autonomy? Do you earn benefits? If so, what kind? In what ways > might your race, gender, or age would affect the type of job you can get > and the salary that you'll be paid? > 4) Relationships with your partner and/or child(ren). How much free > time do you spend together? What kinds of things do you do (according > to your budget)? How much do you see each other and when (for instance, > are your work schedules compatible?)? How do you arrange for childcare > and work (and don't rely on "grandma!")? How does having a child affect > your monthly budget? What would you have to cut from your budget to > allow for the cost of a child? Although it doesn't take money to be > happy, money does help raise families. What are the parents dreams for > their kids? What do they worry about most these days? What do they > hope to be doing 10 years from how? > 5) Civic Involvement. How involved are you in community and civic > organizations? What kinds of organizations and/or groups are you likely > to become involved in? Why? > 6) Money and Savings. How do you make decisions about how to use your > money? What are the things that you want most to do with your money? > Can you afford them? Will you be able to accumulate savings based on > your income or does it take most, if not all, of your income to meet > your monthly budget. > 7) Other issues. To what degree can you build a better life and how > will you do it? What are the primary struggles for you and the working > poor? How are these struggles related to social forces, institutions, > and culture? What kinds of things might you have to do to make ends > meet? How might your health be affected by your class status? What > emotional or psychological effects might there be to such a situation? > Are you prepared for emergencies? Apply at least four concepts or > theories in your analysis. > 8) What policy suggestions do you have for government officials who are > trying to deal with poverty? Is the government's role to assist with > poverty and to what degree? Why or Why not? Be specific and > realistic. In other words, don't tell me that you don't know what would > be good. Use the Internet to research ideas and policies that are > currently in place to help working families. > 8) What did this assignment help you learn? > > > > > Elizabeth Durden wrote: > > > > > hello all, > > For my discussions on stratification in Intro, I am searching for > > directions on the "income game" (for lack of a better phrase). Some > > sort of activity exists where student groups are given different > > family incomes to figure out how much life costs, etc.... > > > > My details and descriptions are fuzzy, but I hope I am being clear. > > Any assignment or help would be much appreciated. > > > > Thanks for the help, Elizabeth > > > > Elizabeth Durden, Ph.D. > > Department of Sociology and Anthropology > > Bucknell University > > Lewisburg, PA 17837 > > > > -- > > > > Andi > > > > > > Every object, every being, > > Is a jar of delight. > > Be a connoisseur. > > ~Rumi~ > > > > Life is raw material. We are artisans. We can sculpt our existence into > > something beautiful, or debase it into ugliness. It's in our hands. > > ~Cathy Better~ > > > > Things which matter most should never be at the mercy of things which > matter > > least. > > ~Johann von Goethe~ > > > > ---------------- > > Dr. Andi Stepnick > > Associate Professor of Sociology > > 314 Wheeler Humanities Building > > Belmont University > > Nashville TN 37212-3757 > > > > Direct Line: (615) 460-6249 > > Office Manager: (615) 460-5505 > > Sociology Fax: (615) 460-6997 > > > > >
