Tag Archives: Education

Just Not Posh Enough? Social Mobility and the “Class Ceiling”

Posted on July 6, 2015 by

This autumn marks twenty-five years since I went to college at Durham University in the North-East of England. Durham is the third oldest university in England, and one of its colleges is housed in the Norman castle on top of … Continue reading →

Posted in Class and Education, Contributors, Issues, The Working Class and the Economy, Tim Strangleman | Tagged , , , | 11 Comments

Our Overeducated Workforce: Who Benefits?

Posted on September 29, 2014 by

There are two “college jobs” (jobs requiring a bachelor’s degree) for every three “college graduates” (people 25 or older with a bachelor’s degree). What’s more, according to projections by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, this will not change much in … Continue reading →

Posted in Class and Education, Contributors, Issues, Jack Metzgar | Tagged , , , , | 8 Comments

The Culture of Success

Posted on September 22, 2014 by

This semester I am teaching a freshman seminar on the college novel. We started with This Side of Paradise, Fitzgerald’s bizarre, Princeton-set contribution to the genre. The main character, Amory Blaine, starts life in Minneapolis with many material advantages. But … Continue reading →

Posted in Class and Education, Contributors, Issues, Kathy M. Newman, Working-Class Culture | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Adjuncts, Class, and Fear

Posted on September 23, 2013 by

The biggest obstacle to organizing adjunct (part-time and full-time non-tenure-track) professors, who now comprise 75% of the faculty in higher education, with part-timers working for $2700 per course on average  — is fear.  Most people assume that adjuncts fear retribution … Continue reading →

Posted in Class and Education, Contributors, Guest Bloggers, Issues, Labor and Community Activism | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 24 Comments

Back-to-School Blues: Moving Kids from Playgrounds to Workstations

Posted on September 16, 2013 by

The end of summer:  back to school, back to work.  No more play — at least that’s what the usual end of vacation and the resumption of routine mean. Aside from the return of football, play seems pretty low on … Continue reading →

Posted in Class and Education, Contributors, Guest Bloggers, Issues | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

The Changing Working Class

Posted on November 19, 2012 by

In the old progressive narrative of American culture, everyone would do better over time. The son of a miner with an 8th grade education would graduate from high school, and even if he got an industrial job, stronger unions and … Continue reading →

Posted in Class at the Intersections, Contributors, Issues, Sherry Linkon, Understanding Class | Tagged , , , , , | 10 Comments

Vandals in a Steel City School District

Posted on October 8, 2012 by

If you weren’t sure, let me remind you, Pittsburgh is a 21st century city that still has a rusty, bricked out, working-class soul. I know this because I live here, but also because I finally saw the agit-prop-weepy that is … Continue reading →

Posted in Class and Education, Class and the Media, Contributors, Issues, Kathy M. Newman | Tagged , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Education, Jobs, and Wages

Posted on March 5, 2012 by

Most people are surprised when I tell them that only about 30% of Americans over the age of 25 have bachelor’s degrees.  This is especially true of professional middle-class folks who went to high schools where almost everybody went to … Continue reading →

Posted in Class and Education, Contributors, Issues, Jack Metzgar, The Working Class and the Economy | Tagged , , , , | 21 Comments

Teaching Unequal Childhoods

Posted on September 12, 2011 by

As an adjunct I teach two Working-Class Studies courses – one for adult union leaders and staff pursuing a master’s degree and another for (mostly) traditional-aged undergraduate students.   In both classes I use Annette Lareau’s wonderful study of how child-rearing … Continue reading →

Posted in Class and Education, Contributors, Issues, Jack Metzgar, Understanding Class | Tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments

Anger Management, Anyone?

Posted on June 13, 2011 by

Compared to the US, Britain is generally regarded as having more rigid, tightly enforced, and widely understood social class barriers. With its well-known scene of blindfolded children moving on a conveyor belt toward becoming ingredients in a social sausage, the … Continue reading →

Posted in Class and Education, Contributors, Guest Bloggers, Issues, Understanding Class | Tagged , , , , | 31 Comments