Teaching Suggestions

Serving in Florida

  1. At first, Barbara’s is satisfied with her new life. The drudgery has not really set in. She likes her home and the people she works with at the Hearthside. Things seem manageable, and without any unexpected expenses, everything looks as though it might work. Focus a class discussion on how unexpected expenses can disrupt this illusion.
  2. Who are the people that the author is working with? Describe how they live. In the competition for housing, describe some of the disadvantages of the working poor. When living is hand-to-mouth it is, for many low-wage workers, coming up with a month’s rent in advance is impossible. In your discussion, focuses on how the rich compete with the poor for living space, and how it is a seller’s market.
  3. Describe how what starts out as a fairly doable lifestyle starts to deteriorate for Barbara. Is it because she dared to make a little more money, or sought a little more comfort? Do think people stay in the same job because they are afraid of somehow being punished for seeking a little more for themselves?

Scrubbing in Maine

  1. Perhaps the experiment really does begin in Maine. There is the initial panic that sets in and the strangeness of the state. The author is thousands of miles away from home. Ask the class how they would feel if they were put in Barbara’s position? Would they feel as if it were an adventure or would panic set in? Does this type of dislocation really occur in real life?
  2. Discuss the author’s early experience at The Maids. Talk about her sarcasm when watching the cleaning video. Also describe the cynical attitude Barbara maintains toward Mrs. W. whose house she cleans. Is Barbara becoming more like the people she works with?
  3. Focus on the complex interaction between Barbara and Holly. How is Barbara’s out rage set up by Ted’s reminder to, “Work through it”? How do the other women abandon Barbara when Holly is in agony? How does the author’s protectiveness of Holly further separate her from the group? Why do these women defend Ted so strongly?

Selling in Minnesota

  1. The last section of the book describes how Barbara’s living conditions are not what she had hoped for. Have the class describe how she may have been too selective. Have the class talk about how her living conditions might have added to her stress. Does Barbara get any relief from her low wage work at her temporary home?
  2. Describe the level of Barbara’s cynicism toward the application process near the end of the book. Examine with the class her cynical commentary on Wal-Mart and Menard’s personality inventory. Also discuss the author’s derision of the drug screening process.
  3. Discuss the author’s anger toward the customers, and her fellow co-workers when she works at Wal-Mart. How does she begin to see herself? Does she like what she sees? Describe Barbara’s possessiveness of her department. Does she see the clothes as hers?

Evaluation

  1. An argument could be made for having students read this section of the book first. After all it does raise a host of questions that should be in the mind of the reader as he or she reads the book. Students should pay close attention to how workers are indoctrinated into the work place and how power relationships are established.
  2. What are the economics of low wages? How is mobility discouraged? What are some of the mechanisms of wage taboo? How do workers participate in their own subjugation?
  3. In her discussion of welfare reform, Barbara Ehrenreich says it has created the “working poor.” What demographic and socio-economic realities created the working poor? What does Ehrenreich mean when she discusses the generosity of the low wage earner?