Response Paper to “Not Enough to Live On”

Last week’s activity involved the class splitting into several groups and each group was assigned to a county and, later, with a job position. We had to look at our “salary”, which was included with our job position, and look at the index from the reading to determine where we could possibly live and survive. I learned about two aspects of teachers: 1) the teacher’s responsibility in the classroom and to students; and 2) teacher’s own living experiences in New Jersey. Pertaining to the first aspect, I learned that teachers have to do more than just teach. During the activity, I felt stressed even though this was not real life. Thus, parents who are actually going through these hard times, have enormous amounts of stress. I realized that children from those households will not only be affected by the living conditions, but also by their parents’ stress and worries. Teachers who have these students will not only have to understand how children deal with family issues, but teachers would also need to be open-minded in being aware of the parents’ situation. The reading mentions all the various family combinations that are present. Knowing how to talk to and work with students from all types of family backgrounds is also not easy.

Not only do parents feel the burden of New Jersey’s high living costs, but teachers do as well. Last week’s activity helped me realize how hard it is to live in New Jersey. Some salaries weren’t enough for the standard living costs. Teachers only work for ten months and will need to find another job for the summer if their teaching position does not have a sufficient salary to provide funds for the summertime.

This in turn along with the second reading makes me think about my own future and how I would be able to survive with a sufficient income. According to the reading, the lowest income sufficiency household combination is two working adults living together. Sharing housing and food costs will help lower spending, which would allow those households to save money and have enough to live comfortably. The reading also reports that the highest income sufficiency household combination is a single mother living with her child or children. Not only do children require the necessities, they need to time with parents to talk and play. This requires a lot of energy, especially from single mothers who are working full-time. This reading makes me feel that self-sufficiency and living on one’s own in New Jersey is scary. For now, I’d probably continue living with my parents and help lower housing and food costs.