We did the Living Wage workshop, the eighth graders at Shengang
Middle School . I was afraid, a few weeks ago when the thirty-two ESL conversation enrichment students were given the task of asking their parents to tell them their families' monthly expenses, to see how much they needed to earn to live without debt, that no one would actually go home and ask them, and I was right; no one did. But I played dumb and drew a
chart on the whiteboard, anyway, for each student to write his or her family’s eight
biggest expenditures, and two more lines for miscellaneous expenses such as pet supplies.
It all
worked out well. Most of the time I engaged the students in conversation,
interpreting the figures and analyzing the data: “Rent is the largest monthly
expense.” It took the full ninety minutes but it was a fast-paced expose of the
cost of living and, finally, showed clearly how wages in Shengang were not high enough for a family of four to
cover a good standard of living. The living wage the class came up with, based
on the calculated average monthly family expenditure of 50,000 NT ($1,666 U.S.) for a legal standard forty-two hour a week full-time job wages (though most workers are pressured to give unpaid overtime) over
four weeks, 168 hours, was about 300 NT per hour; the minimum wage in Taiwan is 140 NT
an hour. Our living wage calculation didn’t take into account taxes and a
recommended 10% of earnings saved. Granted, taxes are much lower here than in
the U.S.; property taxes are almost non-existent. The living wage in Taipei, Taiwan's largest city where the living standard is highest, must be much higher than in the outlying area of Taichung where property value is lower.
It was the first time I did a living wage
workshop in Taiwan. In retrospect, I don’t know what I waited for. Perhaps I
knew parents wouldn’t be forthright with personal financial details, not with
their children and certainly not with strangers. It seems the children didn’t
bother to ask. The students knew this was no scientific survey, but one day, when they would need to make a budget, it will be nice to know how much they should be paid to meet their living standard. One day they will realize they are being
exploited by their bosses and take action, maybe even ask for a raise; I’d be
dreaming to think anyone in Taiwan would organize or start a union, but as
Vincent pointed out, it is good for the children to realize how hard their
parents work to support their families.
Everything we have done in class has led up to the Living Wage Workshop. A few months earlier, the children had done the "Haitian Family Budget" workshop to see how hard it is for impoverished underpaid workers to eke out a living; Taiwan's living standard is higher than Haiti's. I read and we discussed Fire at the Triangle
Factory, by Holly Littlefield; the students were confronted with America's history of unthinkable sweatshop conditions, not far removed from Taiwan's own. I thought it was time the chickens came home to roost and we'd brainstorm "Living
Wage" here, so I gave the children an assignment to ask their parents about common living expenses and waited to see how many would do so. Meanwhile, we explored direct democracy, doing an opinion survey on "Energy and the Environment". I was building up a case for direct action for the common good and to improve their English practicing real-life skills.
The Living Wage Workshop is a perfect segue into the last phase of
the 8th grade Bread & Roses Curriculum: activism. It explains clearly why
students in Taiwan should become better at English skills; how they could change
their lives, their community, Taiwan, and the world. The children have the power! Each group would brainstorm a problem and use direct action to tackle the problem for their final presentations, this in a middle school with twelve-year-olds.
Copyright © 2019 by David Barry Temple. All rights reserved.
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