WHAT DID YOU LEARN AT WORK TODAY? $16.00
How do workers make a bad job into a good job? Where do they get the power to do their jobs right? These lessons must be learned, but not the way we learn at school, where people study alone, take tests, and succeed or fail as individuals. The lessons of labor education are learned collectively, through practice and discussion. How should we respond to a crisis? How do we recognize and define the enemy? How do we pass on what we've learned to the new generation? How do we use a network to solve a problem? This book, by an experienced labor educator, explains how to capture and preserve what workers learn at work and use it to build power. Chapters include case studies of teachers, engineers, healthcare workers, construction workers and garment factory workers. This book is written for everyone who works, from high school students to labor leaders. No previous knowledge of the labor movement required; it begins with the question, "Can they do that?"
"Educators of all sorts wonder, 'Is what I'm doing working?' This book tells them how to find out. Worthen's writing is not only mind-opening but a joy to read. I wish all educators were so clear-headed and so clear-spoken. Favorite line: “Knowledge is not power. Organizing is power.” Jane Slaughter, Labor Notes, Policy Committee
"For those who believe organizing is more than Facebook hits or twitter feeds this is a must read. I am gifting it to all my colleague field organizers at the ILWU. Solidarity Forever." Peter Olney, Stansbury Forum. For full review, click here...
"...provides a unique blend of theory and practice. Based on her years of experience with working people - in and out of the classroom - she gives concrete examples of how people learn at work...Her examples of learning - taken from real life situations - are an intimate look at how collective knowledge is learned and produced by working people whether on the job or on strike..." Teresa Albano, People's World. For full review, click here...
"As no other contemporary writer can, Helena Worthen brings together a deep understanding of research on work and workers with a wealth of experience as a labor activist and educator. And she does so in a way that is engaging and accessible. A remarkable book." Mike Rose, Research Professor, UCLA Graduate School of Education and author of The Mind at Work: Valuing the Intelligence of the American Worker
"The book provides numerous vignettes and stories which are worked through and analysed using various aspects of interesting and significant learning and workplace theories. The book is primarily about labor education and workers learning through adversity and struggle in their workplaces and in their communities…" Michael Brown, LaTrobe University, Melbourne, Australian Journal of Adult Learning. . For full review, click here...
“A short review can’t do justice to the sprawl of insights in this unique book. …the answer to the question [Can they do that?] is, unfortunately, usually, “Yes, they can” – unless workers learn together how to prevent it and substitute something better. What Did You Learn At Work Today? makes a valuable contribution to that project.” Fred Glass, Perspectives, CFT Community College Council newspaper. For full review, click here...
“Helena Worthen's work is brave, exciting and profound. It is the product of a good heart and a good mind. Here is a gift to all of us who are groping towards a theory and practice that promotes learning for justice.” D’Arcy Martin, Co-ordinator, Center for the Study of Education and Work, OISE, Toronto, Canada, Portside Magazine.
This excellent book is for people who work. And it is for those who teach, support, coach and develop people who work. Its message is important. It lays out the kind of education we need to offer and demand on the job. Labor education is about the education of those who work- not those of us who are labor educators. It is about what is needed to push back against bad conditions on the job. This book illustrates lessons learned on the job by the organized and the unorganized. And it shows that repeatedly, the organized win. Cheryl Teare, Director of the Union Leadership Institute, AFT, President, United Association for Labor Education
“Part history, part sociology, part political science and part learning theory, Helena Worthen has used her experience as a labor educator to help explain how workers learn, adapt, improve and defend jobs that are often poorly planned, organized and executed while staying alive literally and figuratively...This is a book I didn’t know I needed to read!” Mike Sacco, Visiting Lecturer, Champaign-Urbana.
"Workers hungrily devour education that reflects their lives and on the job experience. Helena Worthen skillfully weaves the theories of how people learn with real life experiences of workers she's interacted with, both in the classroom, on the shop floor and on the picket line. Anyone aspiring to worker education will find this book invaluable." Mike Matejka, Mike Matejka, Great Plains Laborers District Council, Grand Prairie Union News. For full review, click here...
"...the lessons of labor education are learned collectively, through practice and discussion. ..[Worthen] goes through these lessons using illustrative case studies from factory workers, engineers, health care workers, teachers, and construction workers... This book is written for everyone who works from high school students to labor leaders. Working Class Studies Association Newsletter. For full review, click here...
Helena Worthen’s What Did You Learn at Work Today: The Forbidden Lessons of Labor Education offers an effective primer on why workplace democracy is so important today. The focus of the book is on how workers can learn about labor rights and collective action inside and outside of the workplace... While Worthen shows why unionization is a key to increasing workplace democracy, she also discusses many ways workers in non-union jobs can fight for more rights. For instance, workers can organize around safety issues even if they do not have a collective bargaining agreement. Bob Samuels,President, AFT University Council, University of California .
“Despite the fact that most people go to school and most people work, Worthen finds there is a wall between education and labor ‘that cuts the primary experience of adult life, work, in two’… This is a thought-provoking and passionate book with an empowering message: Worthen’s case for breaking down this wall between education and labor is also a heartfelt plea for social justice.” Lissa Dell
“In 2006 in Effingham, Illinois, population 13,000, a fight for union rights broke out. About 160 people worked at Heartland Human Services, a private agency that received government money to help mentally ill people. The workers, most of whom were women, organized a union. To get a first contract, they went on strike. The strike lasted more than 12 months. Only a handful of workers crossed the picket line. Finally, the workers won. In "What Did You Learn at Work Today?" Helena Worthen tells this and other true stories. Her book is well written and should be a powerful inspiration to the millions of American workers who don't have a union. Eesha Williams, award winning journalist & author of Grassroots Journalism.
“What I like about your book is you are providing a powerful insight about and criticism of ed schools…Your observations about the wall between teacher education and labor education. It is spot on… In addition to feeling that your basic argument is very much on target, I like the style of the book. Very accessible and concrete in many ways, and at the same time, very much drawing houghtfully and usefully on various theories and theorists. Gary Rhoades, Head, Professor and Director, Center for the
Study of Higher Education, University of Arizona College of Education
“…a most unusual book, examining topics that are seldom given prolonged scrutiny or thought…Worthen’s concern is what people learn at work, how they learn it, what are the (often intention) obstacles to understanding build into employment relations and the surrounding society, and what lessons can be drawn for labor educators, union practitioners, and any others interested in enhancing worker understanding and worker power. “ Bruce Nissen, Florida International University, Working USA, The Journal of Labor & Society. For full review, click here...
How do workers make a bad job into a good job? Where do they get the power to do their jobs right? These lessons must be learned, but not the way we learn at school, where people study alone, take tests, and succeed or fail as individuals. The lessons of labor education are learned collectively, through practice and discussion. How should we respond to a crisis? How do we recognize and define the enemy? How do we pass on what we've learned to the new generation? How do we use a network to solve a problem? This book, by an experienced labor educator, explains how to capture and preserve what workers learn at work and use it to build power. Chapters include case studies of teachers, engineers, healthcare workers, construction workers and garment factory workers. This book is written for everyone who works, from high school students to labor leaders. No previous knowledge of the labor movement required; it begins with the question, "Can they do that?"
"Educators of all sorts wonder, 'Is what I'm doing working?' This book tells them how to find out. Worthen's writing is not only mind-opening but a joy to read. I wish all educators were so clear-headed and so clear-spoken. Favorite line: “Knowledge is not power. Organizing is power.” Jane Slaughter, Labor Notes, Policy Committee
"For those who believe organizing is more than Facebook hits or twitter feeds this is a must read. I am gifting it to all my colleague field organizers at the ILWU. Solidarity Forever." Peter Olney, Stansbury Forum. For full review, click here...
"...provides a unique blend of theory and practice. Based on her years of experience with working people - in and out of the classroom - she gives concrete examples of how people learn at work...Her examples of learning - taken from real life situations - are an intimate look at how collective knowledge is learned and produced by working people whether on the job or on strike..." Teresa Albano, People's World. For full review, click here...
"As no other contemporary writer can, Helena Worthen brings together a deep understanding of research on work and workers with a wealth of experience as a labor activist and educator. And she does so in a way that is engaging and accessible. A remarkable book." Mike Rose, Research Professor, UCLA Graduate School of Education and author of The Mind at Work: Valuing the Intelligence of the American Worker
"The book provides numerous vignettes and stories which are worked through and analysed using various aspects of interesting and significant learning and workplace theories. The book is primarily about labor education and workers learning through adversity and struggle in their workplaces and in their communities…" Michael Brown, LaTrobe University, Melbourne, Australian Journal of Adult Learning. . For full review, click here...
“A short review can’t do justice to the sprawl of insights in this unique book. …the answer to the question [Can they do that?] is, unfortunately, usually, “Yes, they can” – unless workers learn together how to prevent it and substitute something better. What Did You Learn At Work Today? makes a valuable contribution to that project.” Fred Glass, Perspectives, CFT Community College Council newspaper. For full review, click here...
“Helena Worthen's work is brave, exciting and profound. It is the product of a good heart and a good mind. Here is a gift to all of us who are groping towards a theory and practice that promotes learning for justice.” D’Arcy Martin, Co-ordinator, Center for the Study of Education and Work, OISE, Toronto, Canada, Portside Magazine.
This excellent book is for people who work. And it is for those who teach, support, coach and develop people who work. Its message is important. It lays out the kind of education we need to offer and demand on the job. Labor education is about the education of those who work- not those of us who are labor educators. It is about what is needed to push back against bad conditions on the job. This book illustrates lessons learned on the job by the organized and the unorganized. And it shows that repeatedly, the organized win. Cheryl Teare, Director of the Union Leadership Institute, AFT, President, United Association for Labor Education
“Part history, part sociology, part political science and part learning theory, Helena Worthen has used her experience as a labor educator to help explain how workers learn, adapt, improve and defend jobs that are often poorly planned, organized and executed while staying alive literally and figuratively...This is a book I didn’t know I needed to read!” Mike Sacco, Visiting Lecturer, Champaign-Urbana.
"Workers hungrily devour education that reflects their lives and on the job experience. Helena Worthen skillfully weaves the theories of how people learn with real life experiences of workers she's interacted with, both in the classroom, on the shop floor and on the picket line. Anyone aspiring to worker education will find this book invaluable." Mike Matejka, Mike Matejka, Great Plains Laborers District Council, Grand Prairie Union News. For full review, click here...
"...the lessons of labor education are learned collectively, through practice and discussion. ..[Worthen] goes through these lessons using illustrative case studies from factory workers, engineers, health care workers, teachers, and construction workers... This book is written for everyone who works from high school students to labor leaders. Working Class Studies Association Newsletter. For full review, click here...
Helena Worthen’s What Did You Learn at Work Today: The Forbidden Lessons of Labor Education offers an effective primer on why workplace democracy is so important today. The focus of the book is on how workers can learn about labor rights and collective action inside and outside of the workplace... While Worthen shows why unionization is a key to increasing workplace democracy, she also discusses many ways workers in non-union jobs can fight for more rights. For instance, workers can organize around safety issues even if they do not have a collective bargaining agreement. Bob Samuels,President, AFT University Council, University of California .
“Despite the fact that most people go to school and most people work, Worthen finds there is a wall between education and labor ‘that cuts the primary experience of adult life, work, in two’… This is a thought-provoking and passionate book with an empowering message: Worthen’s case for breaking down this wall between education and labor is also a heartfelt plea for social justice.” Lissa Dell
“In 2006 in Effingham, Illinois, population 13,000, a fight for union rights broke out. About 160 people worked at Heartland Human Services, a private agency that received government money to help mentally ill people. The workers, most of whom were women, organized a union. To get a first contract, they went on strike. The strike lasted more than 12 months. Only a handful of workers crossed the picket line. Finally, the workers won. In "What Did You Learn at Work Today?" Helena Worthen tells this and other true stories. Her book is well written and should be a powerful inspiration to the millions of American workers who don't have a union. Eesha Williams, award winning journalist & author of Grassroots Journalism.
“What I like about your book is you are providing a powerful insight about and criticism of ed schools…Your observations about the wall between teacher education and labor education. It is spot on… In addition to feeling that your basic argument is very much on target, I like the style of the book. Very accessible and concrete in many ways, and at the same time, very much drawing houghtfully and usefully on various theories and theorists. Gary Rhoades, Head, Professor and Director, Center for the
Study of Higher Education, University of Arizona College of Education
“…a most unusual book, examining topics that are seldom given prolonged scrutiny or thought…Worthen’s concern is what people learn at work, how they learn it, what are the (often intention) obstacles to understanding build into employment relations and the surrounding society, and what lessons can be drawn for labor educators, union practitioners, and any others interested in enhancing worker understanding and worker power. “ Bruce Nissen, Florida International University, Working USA, The Journal of Labor & Society. For full review, click here...