IST 494: Integrative Studies Capstone

by Jamie Gibson

For my research paper, I have chosen the topic of Gender and Learning Styles.  What I hope to explore more about this topic is rather or not learning styles reflect your gender.  I have heard many times that boys and girls learn very different from one another, which results in different learning styles for both boys and girls.  My main question that will help guide me through this project is if it is true that gender plays an important role in determining learning styles or is it more based solely on each individual and their personalities.   Although I love working with children, I do not have any myself so I feel that this topic would be of interest to other people because many people have children of their own and want the best for their children. It also could be of interest to teachers who might be struggling to understand different methods to help their students and need useful information to help them. If teachers and parents read information about this topic and find out rather gender does play an important role in learning styles, then they can use this information and research to alter their teaching strategies.

After considering the topic of Gender and Learning Styles, I plan to engage the disciplines of Psychology and Education into my research paper.  I have chosen Psychology for one of my disciplines because the topic of gender is described in Psychology as characteristics that distinguish between being a male or a female and behavior.  One of my focuses for this paper is determining if gender, meaning a male or female, plays a role in determining how a student learns.  I feel that the topic of gender for my paper and the direction I am taking is considered to be under the discipline of Psychology because I am using gender to help guide my overall question.   For my second discipline, I have chosen Education.  I plan on using the topic of learning styles to include with Education because I feel it is important to understand how children learn and use that information to help students in and out of the classroom.  I work at a day care and I love interacting with the children and seeing them mature throughout the school year.  After choosing these two disciplines, I believe by focusing on only these will help me in my future career with something involving children because I can use the information that I have researched to help me better understand how children learn and why. 

My four disciplines for the Integrative Studies program are Psychology, Education, English, and Diversity.  When I read about this research paper, I knew instantly that I wanted to do something related to Psychology and Education.  I have always found how people interact and why people do what they do very interesting.  Psychology courses that I have taken have been one of my favorite disciplines in college.  My second favorite discipline is Education.  I am interested in how children learn and ways that I can help them become successful.  I chose to research my topic about children’s learning styles because I feel it is important to understand the different ways children learn and interact with their environment.  I am a strong believer that children learn differently and not all at the same rate, but I am curious to know if it is based on gender or on each individual.  From my experience with working with children of all ages on a daily basis, the information that I will research and find out about my topic of Gender and Learning Styles, and information that I have learned from courses in Psychology and Education will help me with this research paper because I can add my ideas into the paper that I have learned over the years to strengthen the paper.

One question that I have is rather or not the topic of gender should be more considered under Psychology or Diversity, based on my plan for this research paper and what I intend to find out.  Psychology does concentrate on gender and what distinguishes between male and female but more importantly the behavior but gender could also fall under the discipline of Diversity because both males and females are very different and Diversity tends to focus more on all the ways that humans are both similar and different, rather than their behavior. 

Another question that I have is about the structure of our research paper.  Are we focusing more on the information that we find and giving both sides or are we just trying to prove our question one way or another?

by Maureen Dunn

The topic that I have decided on was actually an idea given to me by Dr. Krouse, I was originally going to use my management and psychology disciplines, but now I’m going to use my English and Psychology disciplines. I am going to explore the middle class and self improvement. The questions that will guide my paper will be why does the middle class feel the need to self improve through book clubs? What are they getting out of these book clubs?

            My argument that I currently have is that middle class people think of book clubs as self improvement, because they are able to surround themselves with others who are like them but with different point of views. Through this they will have different discussions, deep conversation, and they will be intellectually fulfilled. I think that people will be interested by this topic, because people are fascinated by how others find fulfillment in their lives. Most people can also relate to book clubs whether it is through college courses, discussing a book someone is reading to a friend, or actually participating in a book club. While researching this paper I am hoping to learn how middle class American’s find self improvement through reading.

            The two disciples that I will be using are Psychology and English. I took cognitive psychology last fall, and while I was taking that course I had to read Blink and decide how this book relates to cognitive psychology. Also taking this course I learned how the brain works and reacts to different stimuli. The second disciple is English, I am currently in contemporary literature and we are engaged in a “book club” setting in every class. We have conversations about every chapter in each book we read. We discuss the themes, symbols, character relationships, and different issues that happen in the books. This allows me to know what it feels like to be in a book club. When I leave that class I feel that I know there are people who have the same thoughts, feelings, and people who have completely different view points on the same book. This makes me feel that I have a better understanding of the book, because I have more than one point of view.

            I chose those two disciples, because they work together. When you are reading you’re engaged psychologically. You are thinking about what is happening, and depending on the book and issues that are happening in the reading you can think about topics more. Then you want to talk about them to people who are experiencing the same feelings with the novel.

            Dr. Krouse gave me the idea during a classroom chat. I was having trouble thinking of a topic. I was deciding between using my marketing and management disciplines, and I could not think of a topic. Then she used as an example Oprah’s Book Club. The other topic I have been thinking about for a week was how “blue collar” bosses chose the blue collar applicant over the white collar applicant. When Dr. Krouse gave this example it stuck with me, and I have been thinking about it since then. I also think it was appealing, because of the class that I am currently in.

            I have been writing research papers since I have been in college, and I feel since I love to write that it will be an advantage for me. Once I find a topic I want to write about I will keep writing until I am finished. I will also use what I have learned in my psychology classes and what I know about the mind.  

            I want to know what everything thinks about using this for my final paper. Is this a good topic, do middle class people find self-improvement through book clubs? Are there other aspects of this topic that I have not thought of? I am concerned that this topic is to narrow and I might not be able to find a lot of information on this topic. Does anyone know where I can find information on this topic, or any scholarly websites? Mostly, I want to know if this topic is interesting to others as it is to me, and if it sounds like a good topic?

by James Mathes

The Evolution of Man has covered many millions of years from the early primate to the modern human.  The time period has been covered with many changes in both the physical form and the development of the brain.  Two items have been necessary throughout this time.  The first is survival.  This means that the creature had to find food and water.  The second is the need for recreation.  What is recreation?  Can it be combined with survival skills?  Is recreation more than play? 

As a graduate student it will be my goal to study games and sports in ancient societies, both in the prehistoric and historic context.  This will combine the fields of History, Anthropology, Physical Education and Psychology.  It will also contain elements from Sociology and religion.  But that area is much too wide for this paper.  This paper will cover a small portion of that area of study and that is hunting as a sport.

Ancient societies utilized two methods to sustain life and they were hunting and gathering.  Gathering is the collection of food stuffs such as berries, nuts, grains, edible roots and tubers.  Hunting is the pursuit of animals that may be eaten such as deer, elk, etal.  This is utilizing hunting as a survival skill.  The question is how the aspect of hunting change from survival skill to a sport did.  Sport is not considered as a survival skill.  Can it be?  This is another question to be answered.

This paper will discuss how man evolved from a creature with the brain size of a chimpanzee to modern man and how hunting skills aided in that evolution.  The study will cover how the rise of class structure in societies changed with the merit of the hunter.  Another thing that will be discussed is how changes in society allow the hunt to become a leisure time sport and not be a necessary item for survival.

Among the items to be discussed is the rise of agriculture and how this effect changed societies.  The domestication of animals followed by the rise of herding will be considered in relation to hunting.  The rise of these two skills caused many changes in societies one of which is the rise of class structure.  The paper will include remarks relating to hunting conduct before and after this event.

Religion will be discussed in its relationship to hunting.  Were rituals necessary before, during and after the hunt?  Many cultures will be discussed pertaining to this aspect.  What were the religious beliefs pertaining to the killing of certain animals?

Who were the hunters in the different societies?  Was it the poor or the rich?  Was it reserved for the nobility?  The paper will discuss such societies as the Egyptian, Greek, Roman, and Native American (including the Eskimo) and compare them to modern society.

What animals were hunted by different societies and what was the animal’s importance to these societies?  Did different classes hunt different animals and if so why?   Did they hunt the same animal for different reasons? 

What did the hunting of certain animals have to do with the male ritual known as the “Rites of Passage?”  Was the animal the same or different in different cultures?  What did the animal represent in the different cultures? 

What makes hunting such a popular sport in modern times?  It seems rather unsporting to hunt a defenseless animal when all the food one needs is available over the counter at any grocery store in the nation.  What is the thrill of shooting an animal that has a very small range to live in due to population and could not fight back?  It has no chance.  If this was a human we would call it murder.  The hunters should do something really exciting and hunt each other but alas, this is dueling and illegal.

So, I will get off my soap box and on with writing this paper.  The only person that should be restricted by my beliefs is me.  Everyone should be able to follow the pursuit of happiness in their own way. 

With the factors mentioned this paper will be an attempt to explain how hunting became a sport and not a survival skill.  The idea is based on the idea that a sport is a competition being two things with winning or losing the deciding factor.  Survival is not the deciding factor nor is the ritual of competition for mating rights the deciding factor.  The sport is to be consider only in the competition form.

I have discussed this theme with Drs. Murphy and Voelker from the Anthropology Department and with Drs. Landon, Fleming and Ramage of the History departments and receive some suggests.  I would appreciate any suggests from my classmates as to how to proceed.     

by Amberly Behrens

Part 1:

            I have chosen my research topic to be over consumers’ behaviors, specifically the buying habits of mothers for young children and babies. I plan to consult with specialty store personnel of children wear, sales marketing research professionals, and actual mothers. I will put together a survey/questionnaire covering many topics. Some of these topics will include spending habits, why they buy what they buy, financial situations, gently used versus new items, rewards cards and store credit cards. My goal is to get into the minds of the mothers on topics such as name brand clothing. Does what a child wears reflect the the type of mother they are, or is it just for show? The economy isn’t great right now, but mothers continue to overspend on clothing and accessories for their babies.

Part 2:

            The disciplines I plan to incorporate in my research are marketing, psychology, and some communication skills. Throughout my college career I have taken many many marketing courses. The courses I want to focus on for this topic are Consumer Behavior, Marketing Research, and Sales Management. Sales management taught me how to make a sale and the steps to becoming a a successful salesperson. In Marketing Research, I learned how to conduct a survey and approach potential people to survey. The Consumer Behavior course plays the biggest role in the research paper. This class taught me how to get into the minds of the consumer and figure out why they spend the way they do. Marketing has to do with the sellers side and psychology is more focused on the buyers reasons. I need want to know both, which is what my psychology courses taught me how to figure out. I will also be using communication skills from various English and speech courses to speak to the people I will approach.

Part 3:

            Spending habits have always been an interest of mine, which is why I originally went into marketing, I want to know why people buy what they buy instead of other products, or saving that money. Being a new mom (any day now if I ever go into labor) I spend pretty much all of my money on baby supplies. In the past week alone, I have been signed up for Babies R Us, Gymboree, and Huggies rewards cards. Baby necessities are so expensive and the suppliers can keep the prices high because of the demand of the products. Baby clothes are by far the most expensive. Mothers, including myself, are willing to pay these outrageous prices for a tiny article of clothing their child will be grown out of in a month. Why do we do this? The economy is low, money is tight, but our babies are dressed in name brand clothes.

Part 4:

            I do have concerns about this topic. Will I be able to gather enough information? Where else can I obtain information for this topic? Should I submit my survey/questionnaire?

By Victoria Vlasis

Alfred Lubrano’s Limbo: Blue-Collar Roots, White-Collar Dreams contains many intriguing ideas and content. Unlike Fussell, Lubrano’s text seemed more modern and the interviews made it really connect with me on an emotional level. The moment that stuck with me the most was in the introduction of the book where Lubrano says, “Class is a map, script, and guide…. And it dictates what to expect out of life and what the future should hold.” The reason this was important to me is because he made it seem like you are how you are because of the class that you are a part of. I felt as if he was saying that because you are lower class, you must act a certain way. When I read Fussell, he wrote his book in the manner that the things you do and they way you are define your class.  This direct contrast between the two texts we have read inspired me to further analyze this.

Since I have never thought much about social class before this class, and Fussell’s book, Class: A Guide Through the American Status System, was one of my first exposures to the study of class, it was set in my mind that social class is a result of your actions, way of thinking, way of life, and your education and job. Looking at class as a guide, map, and script for the way you behave and live made me totally reevaluate my way of thinking.

Before reading the rest of the text, I really had to think about this statement. This changed my understanding of the book. If your social class tells you how to live, the Straddlers have it much harder than I would have dreamed, if I still thought your actions determined your class. When you come from a certain class and are expected to live a certain way, breaking free of that stereotype is a very difficult thing to do, especially if your family is holding you back. This makes interviewees stories even more heart-wrenching. The story of Dennis George, the ‘corner-boy’ who went with his ‘boys’ to brawl with the kids on another corner, almost lost everything because he acted like someone in his class was ‘supposed’ to act. He decided that life wasn’t for him anymore and went to school and became a hippie. But he had to rise above his peers and families class.

Before looking at class as a guide, I couldn’t understand why some of the parents of the people interviewed tried to stop them from going to school. I had to stop and think that everyone isn’t like me, and that the class they are in (blue-collar, working class) tells them that school in unnecessary to get the kind of job they need to survive. Parents don’t see the point in being $40,000 in debt after going to school, when if you don’t go to school, you can make $30,000 a year and be ahead, instead of that much in debt.

I have mixed attitudes that the social class you are in is a guide for you. I think that is true, because your roots will always be a part of you. Also, your peers and the media greatly influence how you act, what you wear, how you talk, etc. If you are part of the blue-collar world, most likely your friends will be as well. Children learn how to behave from their parents, and children interact with one-another and grow, and influence each other. If you are surrounded by lower-class people, then that is all you know. You will most likely act like all the other people in your class, because you are surrounded by them, and you are comfortable with them, because you usually keep in company those that you feel comfortable around.

However, I think the Straddlers are a prime example of how your actions can define your class, which is the opposite of what Lubrano is saying. If you aspire to do more, you can rise above your class. To join the middle-class (from blue-collar life) it is first necessary to get a college education. But education alone isn’t enough; you have to take on the values, morals, ethics, ways of thinking, and ways of life of the middle class. Like the Straddlers say, you cannot blend in at the workplace if you let your blue-collar roots show through. Most of the Straddlers still feel as if they don’t fit in, because they are living a life completely different of how they were raised. But, this change in lifestyle and attitude is an example of how you act and live can determine your class, rather than the other way around. I now believe that mostly your class determines how you act; but, if you are one of the few who can rise above, your actions can determine your class.

An article I found online talks about British postal codes, and how class can be determined just by knowing your address. Companies buy this information so they know where to target their ads. There are lists of each class, and characteristics of that class. Though these differ from American classes, there are striking similarities. This shows how your class can determine how you act and does determine where you live. This shows class as a guide, as Lubrano would say.

 Results of a longitudinal study on how your class origins affect your occupation are shown in this chart. These results show that most working (manual) class people are originally from the working class. People from the middle class tend to be more mobile, but people with upper-class origins are mostly in upper-class jobs. This is consistent that how you live can change your class. Though most of the working-class people stayed in that type of job, some moved up and this is because they chose to rise above, like people interviewed in Lubrano’s book Limbo. Without learning about class and mobility, it may be difficult to understand studies like these.

by Lauren Wagner

“It is in college where the great change begins.  People start to question the blue-collar take on the world.” (Pg. 47) This quote, by Lubrano, speaks of the great educational divide that everyone must face in their teens.  This is probably one of the most important times, in which we decide what we will do with our lives.  While much of what Lubrano speaks of in Limbo Blue- Collar Roots, White- Collar Dreams rings true, chapter 3 The Shock of Education: How College Corrupts sparked my interest.  I would like to discuss some of the alarming issues of education brought up in this chapter and explore the differences among working class and middle class college students.

While it is apparent from reading Lubrano’s book, most working -class children are less fortunate when it comes to a family supportive of education.  Very few straddlers are as opportune as Lubrano.  While every parent wants the best for their children, many are afraid they will be slighted, viewed as failures by others, or worse, by their children.  “Every bit of learning takes you further from your parents.”(pg. 48)   This does not have to be viewed as a negative though.   Growth should be view as a positive, where young adults form their own decisions and use the values instilled by parents.    

                For those whose working-class parents aren’t as supportive as they would like, it makes it that much harder to become successful.  In order to stay on track and get the most out of your education, one must start at an early age.  This is where the biggest differences occur between the working-class and middle-class.  Middle-class kids are groomed for success, while many working-class kids spend their early childhood years looking at school as a chore with no real benefit to them.  This is a huge problem because many working-class parents don’t have the tools themselves to teach their kids the value of an education.  “The best predictor of whether you’re going to have problems with your family is the distance between your education and your parents.”(pg. 48)  You may soon find yourself with nothing to talk to your folks or friends about.”  Lubrano calls this self-censoring.  To prevent any upsetting, many straddles feel it is best to talk about broad topics, rather than what might be occurring in their careers.  

Not only are students being treated differently by their parents, many studies have shown that teachers treat the “well-to-do’s” differently.  If we all looked back at our younger school years, the most fundamental building years, many could recall at least one instance of lack of respect or lack of attention from a teacher.  Whether this had happened to you or an observation of another classmate, it’s no secret that teachers hold different expectations for different students.   Patrick Finn says it best, “So we’re missing a whole bunch of people getting screwed by the education systems.”  By the time students should be preparing for college, most working class students will be far behind having little to no preparation for test such as the SAT or ACT.        

There seems to be a great divide between those working class students and middle class students.  It’s as if the middle classes or even upper classes have a sense of superiority over the students who have given everything (sacrificed) to have the same opportunities.  We see examples of this in many main stream movies and television shows.  Take Good Will Hunting for instance.  Once a foster child with no love and support, Hunting ends up a janitor at a prestigious college.   It isn’t until he one day took it upon himself to solve a near impossible mathematical equation.  The fight at the basketball court clearly shows the pent up aggression between the two groups of friends.  In this particular scene, Will and his onetime class mate have it out for each other, as Will can no longer take the bulling.  This is a prime example of the educational divide.  Whether coming from a working-class or middle-class family, children’s gifts and talents need to be nourished.  Some people can’t believe in themselves until someone believes in them.  

Rudy is another great example of a straddle overcoming the obstacles to crawl out of the black hole.  Rudy’s lifelong dream of become a Norte Dame Football star comes true, but not with much hard work and dedication.  Like Will Hunting, Rudy too comes from a blue-collar family with no financial means to support their son’s dreams.  However, with Rudy’s strong will, he slowly makes his way, one day and one goal at a time working as a school janitor.  It is through the tough love from his coworker that he finds his forgotten strength who tells him, “In this life time you don’t have to prove nothing to no one except yourself.”  

Education is the sign of a privileged life.  There are millions of people who may never get the opportunity to continue their education.   It is probably safe to say that everyone in this class is somewhat privileged to be able attend college.  Those who don’t have to work full-time to put themselves through school are even more fortunate.  Quite honestly, those who do have to work while in college, like myself, are doing a huge disservice to themselves not getting the full college experience.   

By:  Jamie Gibson

            Alfred Lubrano’s book, Limbo:  Blue-Collar Roots, White-Collar Dreams goes into great detail about people from blue-collar roots that have graduated college and are now working in the working class.  Lubrano refers to these people as Straddlers.  Lubrano has brought up many important details in his book to illustrate the difficulties Straddlers might face coming from a blue-collar background to a white-collar world.  As many of us are graduating very soon to begin our new journey into the workplace, I particularly liked chapter 6, “Office Politics:  The Blue-Collar Way.”  There might be some of us that are from a blue-collar upbringing and are the first ones to go to college and are ready to graduate and start your career, or job.  “He’s always say he had a job, not a career.  “My profile was exactly like that of a blue-collar worker” (Lubrano, 135).  He points out that depending on your upbringing as to class; you either say job or career.  Some of us might relate to the difficulties we face upon graduation into the real world and I think this chapter gives a good description of the major differences between blue and white collared in the workplace.

            This chapter discusses how people from blue-collar upbringing are taught to always stick up for themselves in the workplace and don’t take anything from anybody.  Most blue-collared workers also are taught to freely speak their mind if they don’t like something their boss does and be very straight-forward.  On the other hand, white-collar workers from middle class are taught to never tell your boss if you don’t like something, to just deal with it because you must please your boss.  They believe “that the key to success is getting along with people” (132).  They believe you should never tell anyone the obvious truth in a given situation.  I can see where this might be difficult for people raised up with blue-collar values and taught that it is ok to stick up for yourself because there is not much you can lose.  I found a cartoon that illustrates what is expected in a white-collar job and it represents what Lubrano is trying to get across in this chapter.

            How do you get ahead in a white-collar workplace versus a blue-collared workplace?  Many Straddlers have a hard time transitioning into a white-collared workplace because they are raised to network.  “Blue-collar thinking goes like this:  Networking is making friends with people because they can offer you something valuable” (144).  To get ahead in life, you must know people to help you out, whereas the middle class is given opportunities because of their class.  I agree that it is much harder for the lower class to get ahead in life without knowing certain people.  In contrast, “there are ways to get ahead that have nothing to do with work” (143).  This sentence in the book describes how there are many other ways to get ahead in a company if you are middle class such as taking your boss golfing, socializing with your boss by having them over for dinner. According to middle class, it doesn’t take much hard work to move up in a company, if you go out of your way to become friends with your boss.  I do not feel it is right to try to “win over” your boss by taking them out for a round of golf or having them over for dinner to show off what class you are from.  I feel it is important to have a good work ethic and work very hard through high school and college to land a good job.  I do not personally have experience working in a company but my husband does and he said that it is true that some people he works with try very hard on a daily basis to become “friends” with the boss, for the sole purpose to move ahead.  I don’t agree with this, but I guess you have to do what you feel you need to do.  The show “The Office” came to my mind when reading this part of the chapter.  There are many examples in the show where Dwight Schrute in the show goes out of his way to be friends with Michael Scott, his boss, for the purpose of moving up in the company ahead of another employee, Jim Halpert.  “The Office” is a good illustration of this if anyone has ever watched this show before.

Another part that stuck out to me in this chapter was when Lubrano asked a few big-time Straddlers if they consider class when they hire people to work for them.  I was actually not surprised that they hire the blue-collar kid every time.  I was not surprised because time and time again they mentioned how they have to work much harder to get things in life and value what they have so much more than the middle class. Big time Straddlers wanted to give the job to a blue-collared person because they would value it more than someone from middle class would.  What are your thoughts on this? Were you surprised or not that a big-time Straddler would hire a blue-collared person over someone from middle class?

            In conclusion, I feel that this chapter is an important chapter to include in this book because it is another element that people from blue-collar roots must face when entering a company that is mainly middle class people working there. 

By Maureen Dunn

Alfred Lubrano has created detailed antidotes of the people who decide to venture outside their own class, and try to create a better life for themselves. Throughout the book we hear about the struggles that “straddlers” go through with their families, college education, and friendships. But what I thought was important was when he deciphers the interclass marriages. Most people in their own lives experience a form of marriage, it could be a legal marriage, common law, life partners, or just a committed relationship, but every form of relationships there is some form of fighting.  How do we fight? A. Lubrano describes a therapist who counsels married couples who are having trouble communicating.

                    “In counseling sessions between couples from different class backgrounds, Jensen has noted that working class people are more likely to believe someone who shows emotion when he talks. But in therapy, a partner born to the middle class will explain him or herself rationally in lawyer-like recitations of fact and circumstance: “ what I actually wanted from him was…,” or “What I was trying to do in the that situation was…”Middle-class clients often avoid emotion at these moments. The working-class-born person however, comes in splashing emotions around, unable to stay rational and explain his or her side calmly: “How could she say that to me when…?” “Doesn’t she understand how hard it is to…?” The more calm the middle-class person gets, the crazier it makes the working-class partner (168).”

This paragraph is unique because this can be any couple. I don’t think that most people marry into the same class, weather you’re marrying a blue collar person, middle class person, or upper class person everyone can experience this form of fighting. To be more specific I thought when the lawyer describes the language that people use while they’re fighting is interesting, “a partner born to the middle class will explain him or herself rationally in lawyer-like recitations of fact and circumstance: “what I actually wanted from him was…,” or “What I was trying to do in the that situation was…”Middle-class clients often avoid emotion at these moments. The working-class-born person however, comes in splashing emotions around, unable to stay rational and explain his or her side calmly: “How could she say that to me when…?” “Doesn’t she understand how hard it is to…? (168).”

I agree with this statement to a degree, I am engaged to a police officer, he was born into a middle-class family, but his father worked really hard and came from a blue-collar family. My fiancé has inherited those blue collar values, and when we do have arguments it reminds me of this passage. I am very “lawyer like,” and have actually used the line, “what I want from you is this.” While he has used the “don’t you understand how hard it is.” Every person has had a fight with his/her significant other and can understand the language of this text. It relates to everyone.

After completing the book and viewing working girl I realized that this text as a whole is mostly about relationships in life. Everyone has a moment in their life either in the past, present, or will happen in the future where you feel like that straddler. We date between classes, we have friends that are in different classes than we are, but we will always have a form of confrontation and that will show our family values. Are you the person that can express your feelings calmly and in a business like way? Or are you the passionate person in the relationship that wears their expression on their sleeve and wants to show your partner exactly how you are feeling?

To show an example of a couple from two different backgrounds I am using an episode of Everybody Loves Raymond  http://megavideo.com/?d=O2DN00HO.  Ray and Debra have decided to go to marriage counseling to work on their communication, because communication is the key to a healthy relationship. Debra who is upper-class is usually calm and can effectively express her feelings, while Ray who is from a working family is very passionate in expressing his feelings. The roles are reversed in therapy, then again when they get home.

I also found an article that talks about a couple who took a chance and married later in life, but came from different classes http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/19/national/class/MARRIAGE-FINAL.html?_r=1. They found that they had similar interests, but there was the underlying issue that one grew up with a butler and the other with the grandmother living next door.

As children we are taught to believe in fairy tales like Cinderella and Beauty and the Beast, where a girl from the working class falls in love with Prince Charming and they live happily ever after. We are told that love knows no boundaries but is it true?  Can love really survive through different social classes in America?

By Jamie Toebbe

                After reading Limbo: Blue-Collar Roots, White-Collar Dreams, by Alfred Lubrano I was really struck by the seventh chapter, Class, Love, and Progeny: The Ultimate Battle. In this chapter Lubrano talks about dating above or below your class and the effects it can have on your relationship. One statement he makes that really caught my attention was that he said, “Class is not benign. It is in fact, an invisible, powerful force that influences what people expect out of a relationship and how they communicate with one another” (Lubrano, 167). I have always believed that it does not matter where you come from, what your background is, or what the color of your skin is when it comes to dating, relationships, and falling in love. If you meet the right person then nothing else should matter. It seems I have been living in a fantasy world. As Lubrano showed throughout the chapter with several stories of straddlers and their struggle to find their place in the dating world, class is an important factor. Most of the straddlers, who began dating when they were just beginning to become a part of the middle class culture, were still used to their working class ways and talked about feelings of discomfort with cross-cultural relationships. They were embarrassed by their working class roots and uneasy when it came to being a part of the middle class world, feeling as though they didn’t belong. But I also found it interesting that Lubrano himself talked about wanting to date up because it “symbolized success and mobility” (Lubrano, 167).  In these cases, the straddlers were discontent with settling for their own class kind. They wanted more than the “nice girl who can make a nice home”.  It seems from the stories that Lubrano shares with his readers that most eventually fall for someone like themselves, other straddlers who know their struggle to get where they are, possibly a class all their own.

                I have always felt love conquers all. After all, aren’t we all supposed to be essentially equal anyways, no matter what class we’re brought up in? Since I was a kid I have been inundated with sappy stories that speak to love being the most important factor in a relationship, those fairy tale endings when the peasant gets her prince. Until I read this chapter I never truly contemplated how class might affect a relationship. It seems that a common theme from Fussell and Lubrano is that separate classes have separate values, which are instilled in someone from the time they are born. They are deep rooted and may be things that we do not notice or think about until you meet someone who differs in the way they feel about ideals you hold. Therefore, dating someone outside of your class might bring up issues that you would never have to consider if you were dating one of your own. When you go out to dinner (or supper) who pays? Does the guy always pick the girl up for a date? On your birthday, do you have a big celebration with your whole family, or just do something with yourselves? When you’re in a fight do you sit down and talk about it, or just stay silent and let it pass? And so on. There are countless issues that can come into play when dating outside of your class that I never considered. It seems that all of this would make dating, as hard as it already is, even harder.

                I considered my own relationships and it seems to me that for the most part, I have dated within my own class. I picked people similar to me, who hold the same values and beliefs and seem to want the same sort of things in life. I considered the idea that I may have migrated towards those people because they were in the same class as I am, and therefore we have been instilled with the same ideals. The only time I can think of when I dated outside of my class was a high school boyfriend, who drove a Saab to school when I drove a 10 year old Dodge Spirit. I was definitely dating above my class and I could tell. At the time I did not understand why I felt uneasy with his family, and could not put my finger on the reason something just wasn’t right, but looking back now it makes sense to me.

                The question I posed to myself then is it too hard to date outside of your class? Should people just date within their cultures? I don’t think so. I believe that having a relationship might in fact be more of a struggle because of differences in communication and values, but that might also be what makes that person unique to you, and what helps make your relationship unique. Lubrano showed that people can in fact make relationships work who are apart of different class divides, and hopefully people can take the best parts of their values to create a cohesive, collaborative relationship. After reading the chapter a movie I had watched several years ago came to mind, called Just Married. The movie starred Ashton Kutcher as a blue collar traffic reporter, who falls in love and marries an extremely rich writer, Brittany Murphy, with a snobby family. Murphy is swayed from her decision after an ex boyfriend, a man in the same class as she is, comes to see her on their disastrous honeymoon and persuades her that her new husband is not a proper match for her. Murphy wants to see what the French town they visit has to offer in the form of art and architecture and Kutcher seems more interested in watching a game at an American bar. In the end the two resolve their differences and decide that their love is more important than petty issues. I felt that this movie was a good description of how class differences can create rifts in a relationship making it complicated, but they are possible to get past. So to answer the question, does love conquer all? In the end possibly, but I think that class differences in a relationship can make it much more difficult.

By: April Griffith

                A blue-collar worker is a worker that has to do manual labor and earns an hourly wage, and usually do not require a college education, where as a white-collar worker is a salaried professional or an educated worker who performs semi-professional office tasks. Limbo is about blue-collared families and their children trying to step out and lead white-collared lifestyle. After reading Limbo, two parts that stood out to me the most. The first being in the first chapter where the author was describing his father and the second part of this book that would not leave my thoughts was the whole section on “Going Home: An Identity Changed Forever”.  Much like his father mine was a “rock layer”, (he did not like brick). He spent many years building rock walls on horse farms that he would never be able to afford, as well as the stonewall on University of Kentucky’s campus, where he never attended. However, he did say that if it made his children happy he would help with whatever means he had to go to school. He is proud of his work and honestly, I am too. Although I could never see myself doing that as my career, I had no problem helping him in the summer time.  I do not believe that if a child from a blue collar working family decides to go to school that they are turning their back on their family, and they will not be successful and that’s how/ what I feel Limbo portrays the children doing when they decide to go off to school.

                I cannot say that I have personally seen a parent not want their child to go to college and just find a job locally; unless it was, a family that owned a farm that they wanted one of their children to take over once they were incapable of doing it any more. I have my father’s work ethic; I can do anything once I put my mind to it. He was a hard worker and let me know that going to school will be harder than just finding a job so it is going to require a lot of discipline on my behalf.  It may be that times have changed since the book was written but I do know that since then college has become more accessible to the blue-collar children. Many schools offer financial aid that the requirements are first to go to college in your family, and low income.

                In the section Going Home, I can relate that the first time I went back home after leaving to go to school it was different, I cannot say if it was my family or me that changed. However, Lubrano’s stories in this section all made is sound like that when you go home you have changed so much that no one knows who you are anymore. However, that may be the case but those people changed as well. They got jobs and families and grew older. My family had to adjust with me not there, I was the oldest of five and the youngest was six, so my parents had to attend to them and not wait for my return. However, now that nearly ten years has passed, when I go back I still fit in with all my friends that still live there even if it is only for an hour or so visit. I will say that it is noticeable if someone is more educated than someone else is and who has a better job than others do, but I do not think that they are much different. They just chose a different lifestyle than I did. Just because a person went to college it does not mean that they have forgotten their roots or are disappointed about the way they were raised, I believe that the way they were raised had made them who they are today.

                In our society, I think it is fair game on what type of job a person wants, whether they want a blue or white-collar job. I found a blog that was written last month that titled “My Parents is a Blue Collar Worker and I Won’t Be Successful… They say!!!”   The writer of this blog came across this quote and was irate about it.  In many stories that were told in this book, it is stated that the blue-collar child could not be successful and would only fail. This writer believes that it is the parent’s responsibility to enforce the value of education in the homes. My father made sure we graduated from high school, dropping out was not an option, but it was up to us to go further and get a different job that suited us.   This blog goes to show you that there are many people out there who believe that a person is not contained to a category because they are born into it, it might require them to work harder but they can overcome anything. Another blog site that I found was a site where people had blogged about moving away and coming back to visit the place they grew up, “Going back to the place you grew up in after moving away“. They commented on how strange it was and how they did not feel like they belong, however, they never once mentioned the difference in blue-collar or white-collar status. I can say that I can relate with distinguishing between blue-collar and white collar than I can with the many other different types of social classes.