Civic Participation and Community Action Sourcebook

Prep and Practice

New Bedford Students Ask Questions about the Economy
by Andrea Mueller and Corinn Williams

At the Workers’ Education Program (WEP) in New Bedford, we were very aware that a continued high unemployment rate and layoffs in the local economy have had a dramatic effect on the incomes and opportunities of families in our community. In an effort to incorporate community issues into the curriculum, we have asked students what issues they are concerned about. We work together with other community agencies to address these concerns. Over the past few years, students have overwhelmingly answered that the biggest problem was New Bedford’s loss of manufacturing jobs, which is affecting their families, friends, and their neighborhoods.

We decided to design a workshop on questioning strategies developed by The Right Question Project. We built the workshop around students’ concerns about the economy using open-ended questions to which we didn’t necessarily have the answers. We opened the workshop with a questionnaire in English and Portuguese about students’ perception of their economic well-being. Since there was a great range of English proficiency in the classes, it was important to give students the opportunity to speak in their own language. This allowed everyone to participate, and led to very lively discussions.

As a result of the workshop, students wrote letters to elected officials on all levels and invited a state representative to class to ask the questions which they had generated. This was also a good opportunity to engage in a discussion on how to reach decision-makers at different levels of government. Students seemed to be excited by the knowledge that their opinions could be heard.

The following workshop is an example of how students of any level of English can ask questions about complex issues and can take action on a key issue affecting their lives. Asking questions proved to be a useful tool to address economic issues in the community.

WORKSHOP DESCRIPTION
Why Is New Bedford Losing Manufacturing Jobs?

Goal: To develop active citizens by validating the opinions and concerns (in English and Portuguese) of economic actors in New Bedford.

Objectives:
• Students will practice asking questions and generate ideas about a public issue.
• Students will become aware of decisions that can cause job loss or job creation.
• Students will develop critical thinking skills about decision-making processes that have directly or indirectly affected them.
• Students will think about their role in the local economy.
• Students will develop a plan to give public input into the local economy.

Lesson Activities:

Introduction to topic
Tell students that we want to do a lesson on the local economy because they have told us over and over again that this is their greatest concern. Tell students that they shouldn’t expect to have the answers to questions we pose. Relate this lesson to citizenship and democracy.

Warm-up/Getting into the issue
Have students fill out a questionnaire which looks at “How secure do you feel about your job?” Students fill out the survey and share their thoughts with their neighbor. Follow-up with a group discussion.

Brainstorm
Have students brainstorm the names of factories that have closed in New Bedford during the last ten years. In our classes, students generated the names of about fifteen factories.

Questioning
Organize students into small groups, and have them write their responses to the following questions in English and/or Portuguese on newsprint:

1. Have you ever asked yourself how the job market in New Bedford got to where it is now? Why did this happen?

Examples of responses from our students:
• Jobs went to foreign countries or down south where labor is cheaper.
• NAFTA made companies move to Mexico.
• The tax rate and the cost of doing business for companies in New Bedford is higher than the rate somewhere else.

2. If we knew then what we know now, what could we have asked decision-makers about the economy? Imagine that all the people who are responsible for the present economic situation are sitting in front of this class. What would you ask them?

Examples of responses from our students:
• Why is the tax rate for companies high in New Bedford?
• Why doesn’t New Bedford attract other industries or why has New Bedford not been successful in attracting other industries?

3. To whom should we ask questions about the New Bedford economy? Make a list of elected officials and others.

4. Go back to the list of questions, and next to each question write the name of the person you would want to ask that particular question. Example: Why are the water bills so high in New Bedford? Question is for mayor/city government.

Action Plan
How can we contribute to a public debate? Brainstorm ways of talking about the issue publicly. Have students create an action plan.

Examples of activities: Write letters to the editor, call radio talk shows, ask questions at candidates’ debates.

Andrea Mueller was a coordinator and teacher at the Workers Education Program, University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth, MA. Corinn Williams is the Associate Director of the Community Economic Development Center (CEDC) of Southeastern, MA.

Reprinted with permission from The Change Agent, Issue 3, September 1996.

 

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