James P. Brochin
My urban public high school students already show an interest in related topics to that covered in the unit, including racial inequality, class inequality, the minimum wage debate, and educational inequality. I have developed an interest in related topics during and after a number of economic downturns (circa '76, '83, '87, '00, and '08) which have suggested various ways to analyze their effect on ordinary Americans: 1) Is the Middle Class shrinking? 2) Have Americans developed a fear of downward mobility? 3) Has that fear increased conformity and careerism among the "iGeneration"? and 4) What effects might an increase in the minimum wage cause? I am confident that topics for analysis and concentration will become clearer, as will the lesson plans.
New Haven School District’s social studies curriculum is sorely lacking, with the exception of AP Economics courses, in wide ranging courses that may examine economic inequality’s causes and effects. In most courses and textbooks the subject is limited to The Gilded Age, The Roaring Twenties, The Great Depression, and post-WWII prosperity.
Designed for a large urban high school’s upperclassmen in a Journalism class, in Wilbur Cross High School in New Haven, Connecticut, the unit’s central thematic focus is the causes and effects of economic inequality on the middle class. The unit would open new windows for a deeper understanding of what are some of the most serious, and growing, problems in American society, income inequality and its consequences.
My Journalism students will have had little if any knowledge of economics. All classes will be block classes of about 80-90 minutes each, two to three times a week. This should present greater opportunities for a rigorous, rewarding and deep treatment of the subject. On another level, students may find themselves inspired to escape from pessimism about the future, and might even be inspired to greater civic action and political involvement.
Assessments will include articles to be published in
The Proclamation
, Wilbur Cross’ student newspaper, podcasts (in depth discussions and interviews), and surveys about student attitudes on the subjects covered. The process of surveying and interviewing the community is a valuable introduction to the skills required of a journalist: listening, interpreting data, careful question planning. Through the activities in this unit, students in journalism have opportunities to gain confidence in themselves.