Since I have been taking this class, I have been trying to keep my eyes open more to the subtle prejudices, misconceptions, or discrimination that occurs in day-to-day life. I had some interesting feedback due to my new jobs this semester, and it kind of reminds me of the discussion my group was having last week about the "faceless" people that do the jobs that are often considered to be the "menial" jobs. It also seemed relevant to some of the issues brought up in "So Mexicans Are Taking Our Jobs" and "And What Will Become of Children Like Miguel Fernandez".
It is clear that certain jobs carry a stigma with them. I experienced an example of this through my own experience in minimum wage campus dining jobs. For the last two years, I have been working a few shifts a week for minimum wage campus dining service jobs. In previous semesters I worked at a deli and a bakery. This semester I was placed at both Burger King and Pizza Hut. Since I accepted jobs this semester at both venues, I have been getting very different reactions from others than I ever got when I worked at the deli or the bakery. Reactions I got included:
"Wow, your parents are going to be proud!" (sarcastically)
"Why would you want to work there? These are mostly Mexican jobs."
"Why don't you just work at Subway with your sister? Those jobs are much trashier."
In continuing the conversation with the ISU student who made the comment about a minimum wage Burger King job being trashier than a minimum wage Subway job. He had no rationale to support his comparison between Subways and Burger King. When we continued to talk he said that "as 'the big house with a white fence and a dog' is the stereotypical image of success, working at a low-paying fast food establishment is the stereotypical image of failure." He also went into a "what about the adults who consider this their career" speech.
The second statement that I encountered which labeled minimum wage fast food jobs as "Mexican jobs" reminded me of the article "And What Will Become of Children Like Miguel Fernandez" by Pedro A. Noguera. The article addresses the idea that "Latinos are trapped in the lowest paying jobs" and that they "specialize in doing the dirty work, the work that U.S.-born Americans reject".
These comments really struck a nerve with me and they brought to life how real some of these issues are. I wonder how other people would react to such statements and how people reacted to the article and the poem.
10 comments:
The sad fact about conversations like this is that they happen every day. If a large group of people happens to work in the same field/place, a stereotype begins to form. There are job stereotypes for literally every race/culture. I won't go into any more detail, because I think we all know which stereotypes I'm referring to. In fact, many of us in this class (myself included) are perpetuating a stereotype that many people have about teachers--most of us are white females. While in many instances this could be the case, I am not sure what exactly can be done. On our class Stop-Start-Continue someone mentioned talking less and acting more. It's not like I can stop being a white female or that I don't want to go into teaching because it's a stereotyped job, but I still think some things can be done.
Spreading awareness of culture is one thing I think we can all do both in our classrooms and in our own lives. The only way to stop sterotyping is through education. And what better way to do that than to teach our students about this issue? Lately I've been spending a lot of time looking at children's lit for C&I 209. Many of the books I have decided to purchase were multicultural books. This is not an easy task because many "multicultural" books involve stereotypes. For example, several of the books I found about the Mexican culture involved migrant workers on farms. I come from a town of many Mexican-origin immigrants, and I guarantee the majority of them are not working on farms. As a teacher, our challenge will be to expose our students to their own cultures and other cultures by discouraging the use of stereotypes.
What are some other things you think we can do to remedy this problem?
I think Andrea and Katie make great points here. I do not necessarily agree with the remark on the StopStartContinue list about talking less because "talking" is not what we are supposed to be doing in class anyway. We have discussions in which people express their views, their ideas, their stories and ALL of that is vital to learn how to take more action. I think that I am learning a lot in our class; I see room for action everywhere and as cliche as it may sound it starts with our own self. You cannot change the world if you share the same views you are fighting against. Little things make a difference because they set examples to those around you. For instance, making sure it isn't you that is saying "These are mostly Mexican jobs" or other demeaning remarks based on stereotypes, generalizations, and prejudice. As humans we get caught up in the caddy talk and the flow of society's norms, but as future teachers we should not be bringing a close-minded attitude into the classroom. So, my initial way of taking action is being responsible for my own actions, both in my private and professional life.
I have a lot of thoughts running through my head about this one. To start, reading those articles for class really struck a chord for me. My mom is always saying stuff about how Mexicans are taking our jobs..it is hard for me to argue with my mother to an extent....but that's neither here nor there. Moving on...
As I read the two articles, I got chills, especially with the poem type reading. I try to tell my mom that it is silly to think they are taking our jobs...when my unemployed dad is trying to get a job at a corporate business. So...why does it matter if someone takes that burger king job down the street? I completely agree with Andrea. People are making blanket statements like that for jobs that "Americans" are "rejecting." And that sucks. Those jobs totally have a stigma...even with me saying "those jobs." Everyone knows what I am talking about..which means there is a stigma. I am not surprised at all that Andrea got all those questions for taking those jobs. It just brings up an even bigger issue of how ignorant we all truly are. No one realizes the little guy..but if we didn't have the janitor at the school (like the story Greg told about how kids call janitors by their first name, and every other adult has the Mrs., Miss, or Mr.) our school would be a mess. No one sees the parts of the whole anymore. Every job needs someone to take it..that's way the job exists. Who are we to demean some jobs and praise others. They all need to get done. Yeah, some get paid more, but the people that do the jobs shouldn't reflect their pay check. But they do. And they always will. A CEO of a company will drive the nice car, and their pee-on worker who's name they don't know will take the bus to work. It is how our world works. And it sucks. How do we change it? By changing our stereotypes. That leads me into the comments made by Katie and Trish.
I completely agree with Trish. As cliche as it sounds. We have to take responsibility for our own actions...we have to start with ourselves to create change. Coming to college, I have made it a point to meet as many people as I can. I want to meet so many people of so many different backgrounds so that I can squash the stereotypes that I have been brought up with. I am willing to admit the areas I am ignorant in. I am willing to be wrong. I am willing to make a fool out of myself in order to increase my awareness of diversity. That is me. It has to start with you.
I don't know if it is because I'm obsessed with public speaking and communication as a whole..but I disagree that talking is not essential. The stop/start/continue comment is true to an extent. We can't JUST talk, we have to act. But everything starts with communication. Without expressing ourselves, we cannot learn and grow. Without communicating our opinions, we cannot change others opinions. Does that make sense?
I am a white female as well. That is what people first see when they look at me. I am going to be a teacher. But then I tell people that I want to teach in the poor areas of Boston...and it squashes a stereotype they have of the Naperville white girl teacher. But I had to TELL them that to squash the stereotype. I feel like I'm rambling...but all these issues just make me so upset...and so helpless at the same time. I don't know where I'm going with this response. So I should just stop. But I rarely do what I'm supposed to...so...
Back to the readings...the "So Mexicans Are Taking Jobs From Americans," left me with chills. The last paragraph..or stanza, "Mexicans are taking our jobs, they say instead. What they really say is, let them die, and the children too." Yep. I started to cry. Don't judge. It is true though. So we don't want those "Mexicans" to get a job? We don't want them to pursue happiness and put food on their table. The jobs that are stereotypical for "Mexicans" are minimum wage jobs. We should be more pissed that they are taking higher paying jobs. If we really cared about human beings, we should be upset that the minimum wage jobs are the stereotypical Mexican ones...how can people survive on minimum wage. We want them to die? We want them to starve? I really liked the readings from this week. They made me think and put into words what I couldn't myself. And now I've REALLY begun to ramble, so I'm done. But I agree with Andrea, Katie, and Trish. The end. I know it doesn't seem like I've responded to their comments...but scroll up and reread the beginning, I kinda responded there. :)
This post really made me think. I take a great interest in Mexican immigrant affairs. I studied for a summer in Mexico at a language and cultural institute and ever since then have a new found respect for Mexican-immigrants. I hate it when people call them lazy, they are the hardest working people around. Many come to this country, leaving families behind. They work 2 and 3 jobs without complaining. I understand the politics behind the illegal immigrant problem and do agree something needs to be done. I however, do beleive that they are here now and until we figure out a solution, we need to accept them. We need to educate their children and treat them no differently then anyone else. To answer the question of them taking our jobs; my opinion is that they are doing the jobs most Americans would not stand to do, especially for the pay they are receiving and the lack of benefits. Here in lies the problem, our economy is using their cheap labor and lack of skills in order to compete in this global economy. It saddens me to think about my friend who left his wife and three kids behind in Mexico while he is here earning a living for them. He is one of the hardest workers I know and is being used by the system. I don't know what the answer is, but something needs to change!
I agree that a lot of minorities take jobs that a lot of other people will not take. And i respect them a lot for that. Over the summer I did not get enough hours at my job, so I decided to take another job. The McDonalds in a nearby mall was hiring and I figured it wouldn't be too bad to work there. After a week I quit. I know it is not the best work ethic, but i was too overwhelmed. There was a lot of work to do, a lot more than i thought from a fast food place. I now have so much respect for those people that work there. Especially those who are there every day and doing the best they can in a job that might not be so pleasant or in jobs that don't even give them enough money to live off of.
This topic really struck a chord with me. I think something that American's do not stop and think about are the kinds of jobs that people do that help keep our country moving. I was in the library last week, and it was one in the morning and this woman who looked about 60 was walking around the library with a big garbage can picking up all of the scraps from the tables. My heart went out to her, who would want to work this late? I don't taken enough time to thank people who work these jobs, I take them for granted. Yes, these people are getting paid, they work because they need the money and the job, but how many of you would like to clean the library at one in the morning? I know I wouldn't. I think that this post is just a reminder to thank those people who do jobs that are often forgotten about, because we would be lost without them.
There are a couple of things I wanted to comment on this post. First of all, I work at Subway in Manchester Hall. Trust me, I do not think it is more glamorous than working at any other minimum wage paying job. What I do helps pay bills. There is in fact 2 Latino guys who work there. It has never crossed my mind to think that they are taking my job (maybe because I already had a job there, but I do not think they are any less qualified than other applicants). Second of all, I do believe that many people feel that Latinos are taking away "white" people's jobs. I have heard it before myself and have even been guilty of understanding where people are coming from. I think that many people feel that if something goes wrong it is easier to blame it on some one else than to take responsibility for their actions. I think spreading awareness is definitely key to understanding. I believe most of the time people make accusations because they do not know the whole truth. Instead of taking responsibility and learning more, it is easier to pin the blame on some one else.
oh, where should i start. Though I agree with everybody, Sarah's response really struck a chord with me. When people complain about how Mexicans are taking our jobs, half the time it is a job they don't even want and the other have of the time they may feel that way because its one of the only type of jobs they may be able to get due to job cutbacks or something. But that doesn't change the fact that everybody needs to work, and if people are upset about Mexicans taking the low-income jobs that they can get, I wonder how they would feel if there was a Mexican CEO of a company and it was a positioned they wanted. Being so racist or prejudice is stupid and petty. I say who ever can do the job deserves the job no matter if they are Mexican, black, white, or yellow. In our society, you don’t what you can to make it. I’m going to leave it at this…I don’t even want to get started on the A**hole that Andrea talked too. He just needs a dose of reality.
Perhaps it is a different view...but I've never seen what is a mexican job and what is a white job. Maybe it was my surroundings because my parents both worked in offices but my husband's mom, who is Polish, works as a house keeper (which I find out now is one of the things considered a "Mexican" job) I think it's what people view it as. Any job that supports you and your family is a job worth having and we can only try to improve our situations..though it may be harder for some than for others.
When we are in class i can't help but to think about all of the comments that my Mom has made and that other people have made about the minorities in our country. When i was reading the comments that everyone has put down it brought up some thoughts that i have been thinking, but have been almost ashamed to say out loud or write. What Sarah was saying about how her mother makes the same stereotypes about Mexicans and their jobs is exactly what my mom complains to me about. I can't help but to hear her complaining about how all of the mexicans come to this country just to make money and they live in houses with 10-15 people and the worst thing is that they can't speak English! Taking this class and seeing things from such a different perspective is so amazing and so enlightening. I feel sometimes that it is hard to talk about these stereotypes and at other times almost ashamed to think that my own mother is making these same stereotypes that we should all try to avoid and that are harmful to the minority population. The poem really made me see this whole situation from a different perspective. I really like where it said, "Below that cool green sea of money, millions and millions of people fight to live..." This is so true and it is something that the middle and upper class societies don't see. This article really reminded me of how much money and jobs and the economy matter and make such a difference in people's lives. Overall, i am just really thankful to be taking this class because it has made me so much more educated on the issues that are present in this country and most importantly in schools. At times i feel so uneducated about racism and the underlying issues and i am glad to see them coming out so that i can understand them more and hopefully be able to make a difference when i become a teacher.
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