FRS140: Perspectives on the American Community

Section: The Working Poor In America

The transition between high school and college, and from college to graduate school or career, is very exciting for most individuals, but these dramatic shifts in roles can also be quite stressful. It is often with these transitions that students or recent graduates realize they are becoming adults and will soon be part of the working world.

FRS140: Perspectives on the American Community is the culminating course of the yearlong, nationally acclaimed First-Year Experience at Maryville College. Every first-year and transfer student takes FRS140. Faculty from all disciplines teach FRS140, and each professor selects a different topic to cover within the guidelines of each subject being an issue pertinent to the American Community. Fourteen sections are being taught this spring, with topics ranging from Religion and Politics in America and Transportation to Food and Prescription Drug Regulations in the US and Guns.

Dr. Jerilyn Swann, associate professor of biology, selected The Working Poor in America as her subject matter. According to Swann, the transition between high school and college may be the first time students are personally confronted by controversial social justice issues such as those related to healthcare, housing, education and public policy.

“This period of transition from earlier developmental stages, where all issues are perceived in simple clarity and right and wrong are easily discerned, to more mature stages, where the answers are not so readily apparent, emerges from a growing understanding and respect for the validity of other peoples’ experiences,” said Swann.

Swann’s Working Poor in America section examines social security, welfare, poverty lines and educational funding. Discussion and group participation are important to the success of this class. One of the most important issues in teaching a potentially controversial course, according to Swann, is fostering an atmosphere of respect for all viewpoints.

“Most students are quite open to hearing the variety of viewpoints a particular issue presents,” notes Swann. “We are curious by nature, and this course provides a safe place for the exploration of a variety of issues. If a student or members of his or her family are part of the working poor, that student brings more to the conversation because of his or her direct experience with the topic.”

Students spend the entire semester on a research paper, a requirement of the course.

One of the course’s texts is author Barbara Ehrenreich’s book Nickel and Dimed. Swann’s students brainstormed a list of potential research paper topics from the issues the author raised, either directly or indirectly, from her experiences trying to live on earnings from minimum wage jobs.

Students then grouped items from their list into four broad categories – health care, housing, education and public policy. The students self-selected into which category they were most interested and came up with a unique question to investigate within their groups.

Some of these questions include: Should there be an equal distribution of educational funding between urban, suburban, and rural communities? Has welfare reform benefited children in poverty? Do illegal immigrants help or hurt the economy? Would an increase in the minimum wage help reduce poverty and benefit the economy?

After selecting a topic connected to America’s working poor, the assignment is to present a research topic, develop a proposal, critique sources, make progress reports, write rough drafts and submit the much-anticipated final draft.

When asked what students should take away from this course, Swann replied, “Hopefully, students will realize that they can take action on issues important to them; they do not have to passively accept the status quo. They should have the beginnings of an understanding of what it means to be a responsible citizen.

“Students should, at the very least, be able to find reliable, authoritative information on a topic without assistance from others,” Swann continued. “They should be able to examine complex issues in a comprehensive manner, and reserve judgment until all pertinent perspectives have been considered.”