Feminism

In this blog, I will cover the successful points brought up in this weeks reading and podcast. Each women that we covered seemed to be responsible and successful with their careers and lives. They have similar struggles with family/work issues but seem to make the best of their situations. 

The first piece we analyzed is "Why Women Still Can't Have It All" by Anne-Marie Slaughter. She brings up how women are not able to have a work life and a family life together. She argues this by stating personal examples of her own life. Slaughter says, "first woman director of policy planning at the State Department, a foreign-policy dream job" It's awesome to see that she had such a powerful job in the government and had such high aspirations for her career. Luckily enough her husband was very supportive of her to watch after the kids while she was out of town for work. After only a few months on the job, Slaughter soon realized this type of life would not be possible for her, "because of my desire to be with my family and my conclusion that juggling high-level government work with the needs of two teenage boys was not possible" You can see that she had her priorities set. She would rather pick her family over her job, which is respectable in many ways. This brings up the  question, did she have a realistic opportunity to stay or was she fitting into the feminist argument that she had no choice but to go home and care for her family? I would have to agree that men have it better off than women in the world but I also believe that women have the opportunity to fulfill a career choice they want. Overall, I think it comes down to what they would have to and not sacrifice. 

Next, we listened to Slate Magazine's podcast "How to Run a Daycare Center" hosted by David Plotz. Plotz talks with Dannae Sewell about balancing different expectations for child development and how to adjust care to each child’s needs. Miss Dannae as the kids call her, genuinely seemed to be concerned and involved in the process of the children's everyday lives. That is exactly the kind of person you want to entrust your children with and be responsible for your children when you drop them off. One example of how we know Sewell really cares about the children is when she says, "I really miss making the daily lesson plans" This is a great quote of hers because it shows that she loved being involved and developing the children's learning habits. She also brings up that she was a teen mother and had gotten involved with the daycare business because she needed the money but over time I believe she really got satisfaction form her successes of making it to manager of the daycare. Overall Dannae Sewell is exactly the type of individual that I would want involving their time with my child when I cannot be there.

Spring Lit Fest 2015

During this Spring semester at Ohio University, our professor, Dr. Wanczyk, organized a literary festival for everyone. The festival took place this past week and featured many notable authors from throughout the country. It was a great success and I thoroughly enjoyed hearing experts speak their mind in lectures or hearing the authors read pieces of their past and future work. The events I ended up attending were the Dorothy Allison reading and the Marie Howe lecture. 

The first event I attended was the Dorothy Allison reading. She was an older woman who completely blew my mind with her very detailed scenes from her new upcoming book. As she read from excerpts of a chapter in her upcoming book, I could not wrap my head around how someone could think of such detailed scenes. I only wish that I had the creative writing skills as she does. For someone as myself who does not read a lot of books, she had me wanting to read the book and get the entire story. I was on the edge of my seat begging to know more. Then I realized that's exactly what makes an author a great author. Having the ability to take someone and make them feel as if you are experiencing the story yourself. I genuinely enjoyed her reading and it was a great experience to hear an actual author read the book in her own tone.

Next, I went to the Marie Howe lecture. Her lecture provided details on different types of poems and what analytically poems really mean and their power behind them. For example, one of the first things she pointed out was the word "nothing". She went on using examples of how people may use the word but we all know they are using it in the opposite sense of the term. She made everyone realize that there is so much more behind the words that we say than we can possibly understand. Poetry is all about the words you use and to what depth you use them in. Poetry can be some of the most in depth reading you can it have and it all forms from your understanding for the depth in which you use words. 

This literary festival completely exceeded my expectations and more. I thought I would be bored out of my mind the entire time but it was the complete opposite. I felt that everyone, even if you did not enjoy the event, could have walked out of their with a sense of new knowledge and insight in the field of literacy. Thanks again Dr. Wanczyk! I'm sure next years fest will be even better.

Like Father Like Son

    In this weeks blog, we read "Glenn Stribling, service station owner" and "Dave Stribling, his son and partner" from Studs Terkel's Working. These two pieces were about a father-son operated Texaco service station just outside of Cleveland. Terkel spoke with both individuals and both gave similar and contrasting stories about their home and work lives. 

    First, we heard from Glenn Stribling, the father of the duo. From the very beginning, you can see that Glenn is very passionate about his work. Glenn says, "Oh, I love it. There’s never a day long enough." He goes on further to say that we works up to a possibility of 80-90 hours a week. I don't know about you but I envy the fact that he has such a passion for his job yet works that long. I hope when I find my career that I can love it just as much as he does. Glenn goes on to say, “I don’t do it for the money. People are in trouble and they call you and you feel obligated enough to go out there and straighten them out as much as you can.” This also is great representation that his head is in the right place and is doing something that he is truly animated about. 

    Next, we got to hear from Dave Stribling, the son of the duo. Dave seemed to take a different stance on working at the "garage", as his Dad would call it. At the beginning of the piece he goes on about how if he had a chance to rewind time he would pick another trade. You almost get the feeling that he may be ashamed of his work in a sense maybe? There was many of times where it just seemed apparent to me that he did not enjoy his work all too much. He says, “I don’t really like to talk about my work with my friends.” I believe Dave is the perfect example of someone who wished they lived the American dream and  had chosen a different career path instead of staying in the family business. He had the options but chose to work with his father instead. In the long run, I believe he won't regret his choice when he is older and will value the amount of time he got to spend with his father. And maybe one day if his son chooses to work under him, he could possibly realize that he might have turned into his own father.

    Overall, I believe this article really hit home with me because eventually I could be working with my own father as well. It was almost as if they were a spitting image of my father and I. Myself calling him old fashioned and unwilling to learn the new tricks of the trade. Almost as if this were a nostalgic piece of reading for me. Thinking about the various odd jobs my father and I have done together. Both of them having similar attitudes towards people or how they handle their anger/stresses. One day, I hope that I will have that.  

Questions:

Would you want/or be willing to work with your own parent or guardian?

Do you think you could share the same passion Glenn has for his job working 80-90 hours a week?

Entertainment Behind The Scenes

In this blog post, we go behind the scenes and hear the opinions of multiple individuals in the entertainment business, present and past. They talk about their daily lives and what they see on a day to day basis. In this edition of David Plotz's "Working", we hear from Stephen Colbert in "How does Stephen Colbert Work?" We also read "Hots Michaels" from Studs Terkel's Working. In addition, I also chose to read "Rip Torn" and "Jill Torrance" from Working as well. 

Steven Colbert, as most of us know, is a very successful comedian and TV personality. He is a writer, producer, and main cast member on the Comedy Central show "Colbert Report" The show has been a major hit and has even earned Colbert the new "Late Show" role on CBS, replacing long time host David Letterman. This was not mentioned in Plotz's podcast due to Colbert just recently being offered the job. Throughout the podcast, Colbert goes into further detail with Plotz on what he and his crew do on a daily basis to make the show so successful. After the details of makeup, pre show rituals and final touch ups, Plotz's asks Colbert if doing the show is an intellectual process or a physical process. Colbert answers by saying, "Writing and producing the show is an intellectual process, performing the show is far more athletic" As you can see, Colbert has separated and mastered both ends of his job with the writing and acting. All the successes that he has conquered on Comedy Central has truly payed off in earning him one of the premiere late night shows. 

Next, we read "Hots Micheals" from Studs Terkel's book Working. Michael works as a hotel pianist and seems to genuinely love his job and the different types of people he encounters. A pure example of how we know Micheal loves his job is when he says, "If I were suddenly to inherit four million dollars, I guarantee you I’d be playin’ piano, either here or at some other place.” He even says too that his playing in the is not affected by the amount of tip money he receives or not. You just get a general tone from him that money does matter to him, but the piano and different people every night do.

After that, we read about Jill Torrance, a high fashion photography model. Jill, like many models of today, had started out by going to New York at the age of 18. The crazy thing about Jill was that she has never had any aspirations to be a model. In today's day in age, girls grow up dreaming of becoming a model, but Jill had never done that. She says, "I had never put anything on but lipstick and had never worn high heel shoes" I think this is crazy that she improvised her college plan into making a career out of modeling. She talks about the different types of jobs she does in different places throughout the country and says she could never imagine doing anything else. Overall, even though she has a different outlook on her job, she is always improvising to what needs to be done, just like everyone else in the entertainment business.

Lastly, we read about Rip Torn, an actor from a small town in East Texas. Torn believes that acting is almost an escape for him. Torn says, “The theater would be the place for my flaws to be my strengths” Torn is drawn to acting because he believes he can use areas from where he is critiqued in reality, but may use them to become a better actor. Also, Torn talks about pride in your work toward the end of the chapter. He says, “You do the best you can with that. You try to make it a little better for your own self-respect. That’s what’s changed in the nature of work in this country—the lack of pride in the work itself. A man’s life is his work” I think this is a very strong statement and you can see how he feels about work itself. This opinion from Torn could be tied in with everything we have talked about in class about how people feel about their work. 

Overall, I think the entertainment business is a tough thing to succeed in. I have respect for each and every one of these individuals who never lost hope in their careers and did what they needed to stay afloat. 

Would You Manage A Manual Labor Job?

From the beginning of the semester, up until this current point, and until the very end of this semester we will hear about manual labor careers. For example, we have read about farming, working in a factory, and being a specific type of mechanic, but could you imagine doing back breaking labor for the rest of your life? I just don't think that many of us are able to put into perspective how hard some people work in order to keep themselves afloat in todays society. As you read on you will hear more about the daily lives of some men who chose the careers in the manual labor field. 

In Studs Terkel's book Working, we read about Mike Lefevre, as well as "Lincoln James, a Factory Mechanic." We also get to hear from John Lefever in David Plotz's podcast "How Does an Appliance Repairman Work" Each of these pieces goes into the lives of individual men who have dedicated their lives to manual labor.

First, work for Lincoln James is just more than just making money. Terkel quotes James on various occasions in the chapter stating that he is a hard worker and could not imagine not working. Lincoln says, "I like what I'm doing.  I never been laid off in thirty-six years.  I look forward to going to work.  I'd be lost if I wasn't working" (112). Even though some people may think Lincoln's work is back breaking and worthless, he seems to have found meaning with his job. After reading about James Lincoln, we enter the work life of Mike Lefevre. 

Next up is Lefevre, a laborer.  He works long days doing hard physical labor.  Lefevre likes to be able to point out something that he has created, , "I made that."  He says, "I'd like to make my imprint.  My dodo bird.  A mistake, mine.  Let's say the whole building is nothing but red bricks.  I'd like to have just the black one or the white one or the purple one" He wants to be able to point something out to his family and show them what he's done. This gives him a huge boost of confidence and creates pride in what he does. He believes even though he sometimes he makes a mistake, it's still his mistake. His mistake is noticeable and makes him realize he did it. 

After reading each piece, we listened to Slate's podcast "How Does an Appliance Repairman Work?" David Plotz interviewed a man named John Lefever, who has been an appliance repairman. He, like Lincoln James, truly enjoys his job. There are many instances throughout the podcast where Plotz exploits Lefever's willingness to go above and beyond the job description of an appliance repairman. Plotz uses a comparison of  him as a doctor, who "visits each of his patients at their homes and correctly diagnoses the proper treatments" I believe this is shows a lot of character for John and shows that his work means more to him than just a job that pays him. 

Something to leave you with: 

Would you be able to share the same passion that these men have for their work, even thought it is so physically demanding?

Emotion Mixing With Career Acceptable?

     In the podcast "How Does a Helicopter Paramedic Work?" David Plotz speaks with Jeff Ennis about his job. Ennis who is a paramedic in North Carolina talks about what it's like to be on life flights and what his job demands. Jeff goes into detail about his typically intense job on a day to day basis. 

     In the interview, Ennis says that most of his shifts are 24 hours long. He typically works two shifts separated by a day off and then is usually off for five days. On his off time he sometimes picks up work at local emergency responders in the area. During a typical work day, Ennis' shift starts at 7 in the morning. Even though his shift starts at 7 in the morning, he begins to get ready long before by packing his things and getting food ready for his shifts. Also, when Jeff arrives, he cautiously checks drugs and replaces supplies that the previous crew used. 

     As the interview continues, Plotz asks Ennis if he ever thinks about if the patient is going to live. Interestingly enough, Ennis responds by saying, "In a way it doesn't matter" I thought this was a very important quote in the podcast because it shows that Ennis has the capability of separating emotion from his high pressure profession. Ennis also says, "I am going to show up, do my job, and do it professionally and make sure I don't miss anything" When you have such a high pressure job such as Ennis does, it is very important that he does not let emotion play part in his decision making process. He has to do what is best for the patient and try to stabilize them to get to the hospital. Overall I think Ennis has successfully figured out how to separate emotion yet still have passion for his job. 

     Furthermore, I believe that there should always be a separation of emotion from your profession career. I also believe there is a difference between emotion and passion when coming into a profession. Emotion could possibly cloud your mind and prevent you from working to your full ability. Passion on the other hand could be an acceptable thing to exemplify because you will always have the drive and push to do your job to the best of your ability. To finish up, I know when I pursue my career in medicine I will not let my emotions cloud my judgment and I will always treat my patients to the best of my ability. 

Educators of Different Eras With Same Values

       In Studs Terkel's book Working, he adventures into the life of school teacher Rose Hoffman. Hoffman is a veteran of the education system and was currently working at a school in a what she describes as a "changing neighborhood". Those two simple words I believe are very symbolic in this piece because of the United State's ever changing ethnic background in the post economic depression era. Hoffman goes on to say, "We had a smattering of ethnic groups in those times—people who worked themselves out of the Depression by hard work.". Hoffman took great pride in everyone that worked hard to get themselves out of rough times and back on track to be successful. Rose did not care what background the student came from and tried to make sure she challenged each student to their limit.

      Although Hoffman was proud of everyone's hard work, she struggled with the new types of students she was teaching. She says, “In the old days, kids would sit in their seats." Rose was not used to the inattentive children and seemed almost like she would racially stereotype them. Even though she had to overcome so many obstacles in her time as teaching, Rose never failed to invent successful ways to teach her students.

     Another chapter in the book Working by Studs Terkel was entering the work life of Pat Zimmerman. Zimmerman was a headmaster at a low-income alternative school in the late 60's. As a teacher, Pat had to overcome the challenges of troubled students who needed guidance in their lives and he was there to provide it. Zimmerman realizes the amount of problems each individual student has and does not want to add extra stress onto each student. What he says about competition in school is, "The only one I accept is the student’s competition with himself." Zimmerman was a strict teacher but overall only cared about making a student into a successful human being and making them push themselves. He also says, “I make a distinction between people who deserve to be cared about and some who have completely given up”. Zimmerman has a strict mindset on how to help the people who care. He strives to help kids who want to be helped. Although Zimmerman has a unique style on helping unprivileged kids, he is still making a difference in many of their lives

     Lastly, in the podcast "How Does a Principal Work?" David Plotz talks to Andrew Rubin. Rubin is a principal and teacher at a low income, grades 5-8, charter school in the Houston area. Plotz talks with him about his daily struggles at the school and how he succeeds in helping his students in the school. The first thing Rubin says that he tells parents is that "My first job is to keep their kids safe". I believe that is a great thing for Rubin to say because having security in a learning environment always helps the learning process. Rubin seems to create a great environment in the school and makes sure that the kids are successful instead of making the stereotype that low income children are unsuccessful. Rubin also says, "whatever it takes to get the students who usually don't go to college, complete college.". I believe this excerpt is very important because Rubin is trying to change the course of his students lives and set them up for success later in life.

     Concluding, all three of these individuals seemed to have the same goal of helping low income students thrive in a society that sets them up to fail. Also note that each individual had come from different walks of life and different time periods yet had the same aspirations to help the children they were mentoring. To finish, each of the educators successfully dedicated or are dedicating their lives to children and making them well rounded individuals even in the worst of situations.


Andrew Rubin