Not Enough to Live On

Last weeks group activity gave me more insight into the economic diversity we face in New Jersey. We were forced to focus on various counties and simulate the decisions people must make when deciding upon a suitable location for them and their families. Due to the heightened estimates provided by the self-sufficiency standard its is much easier to see the factors that contribute to the hardships of living. While employment of all adult parties in a given household may certainly help to support one's family, the high cost of living still makes a comfortable living quite difficult. The group exercise done in class helped me to understand the various types of families one may encounter in a given community. A teacher must understand that there might be hardships at home contributing to ones actions in class, such as starvation, close living quarters, no personal space, lack of attention paid to education, absent parents, etc. Teachers must help students to overcome outside obstacles while at school. They must encourage students to strive to achieve their best in an effort to provide for a better future. There are economic inequities that cause each student to differ, and a teacher must be able to cope with varying types of students. Not Enough to Live On explains, in depth, the actual inequities that occur in New Jersey. It also provides charts to better visualize where the variations occur and to what extent. This document provides potential solutions to narrow the gap between what is necessary and what is available (monetarily speaking). It breaks up the family types more extensively, and shows what groups fall at what points on the "scale."