The Cost of Living in New Jersey Reflection

Being a student for most of my life, I have yet to attain a self-sufficient lifestyle and seem to have only a mere understanding of how expensive it really is to live in New Jersey. Having most of my family and friends living in all different regions of New Jersey, including Essex county, Morris county, and Warren county, I have been able to gain a small understanding of the major differences in the cost of living depending on regional area just in the state of New Jersey. In the article, they define being self sufficient as, “Being able to take care of yourself and your family, you can pay the rent, you have a car for transportation, you have a job and you can pay your bills. You don’t need to depend on anyone for anything; you are off all assistance programs. You can pay for daycare for your children, you can buy groceries and you can pay for life necessities.” I know I have yet to attain self-sufficiency and find myself worrying about being able to support a family with the expensive costs of living in New Jersey. This is one of the main reasons as to why I decided to further my education and pursue a professional career as a teacher. That being said, I am still surprised to see such a big gap in earnings depending on gender according to the chart in the article. Living in Essex County my whole life, I always thought it was one of the more expensive counties to live in the state of New Jersey; I always here my parents, aunts and uncles complain about their incredibly high taxes. To be honest, I was surprised to discover otherwise. According to this article, “The areas with the lowest cost of living (under $40,000 annually) include primarily urban counties such as Camden, Hudson and Essex.” Furthermore, the annual self-sufficient wage for Essex County is $39,299 - $40,413. I have a friend who lives in Warren County simply because it is more affordable to live out there because things are less expensive. My friend also lives the type of lifestyle described in the article where, “they have no savings, the slightest setback—a car needing repairs, an unexpected hospital bill, a reduction in work hours—can trigger a major financial crisis.” In other words, they live pay check to pay check. Costs in New Jersey are continuing to rise, including health care, childcare, and housing. For single parents, it becomes even more difficult to support a family on one income. It is important to understand that students come from different family settings, different backgrounds, and different financial settings. This can have a great impact on their learning both physically and mentally. As a future physical education teacher, it is important to know where my students come from. Knowing this information can have an impact on what my students already know, as well as explain why they may have certain types of limitations. For example, children who come from low-income families, at-risk populations, and come from low socio economic status may have never had the money to purchase something as simple as a ball. Because money is ‘tight’, their parents most likely didn’t have money to buy them a ball. Something so simple; a child starts to play with a ball when they are young, this in turn can help develop their motor skills. Children from low-income families who do not have the same resources as other children might not have developed their motor skills as effectively or as efficiently. Another thing to take into consideration is that children who come from low-income families might not live in great communities. Because of that, they might not have the opportunities to play in parks the way children from other neighborhoods would. Lastly, something to be aware of is the fact that children from low income homes usually are living in confined space, so therefore they are not given a lot of room inside their house to run around and stay active. They may even be trying to learn to walk and run in space that does not allow for such development to occur. Knowing where your students come from is important, especially as a physical education teacher, because it can help explain the reasoning behind the developmental level of your students.