What working class means to me

For my pre-37th birthday celebrations me, Gary and two friends, Martin and Stu went to Revolución de Cuba for an alcoholic afternoon tea.  We some how ended up on the topic and conversation of what working class means (to much passionate debate!) - related to what Stu may be covering as part of his research for his PhD.  As this topic resonates deeply with me; strongly present in my upbringing and life, which is reflected in this blog site and specifically in blog posts such as 'Growth - from roots to shoots' and 'You can't take the Tarn...'.  I wanted to capture my fresh overall response as it came out, in a sketchy 'thought note', to maybe explore further at a later date.

For a bit of context, I was born and raised in Barnsley, South Yorkshire - an ex-mining community town, and I am currently living in one now.  Despite the negative criticism Barnsley and similar places may receive, I am extremely proud and protective of where I came from, live and the accent I have, and endeavour to maintain this part of me.  It's not something I view as in the past, but very much my present and future - as I educate stereotypes and champion others from similar journeys to me.

I naturally define myself as working class and started out as non-academic.  I started my education journey very poorly being placed in a special needs cohort and left school with only a D, E and F in GCSEs.  Therefore educationally written-off.  I am the first family entrant to study and work at a university.  Without any research on the definitions of working class, which I haven't upon writing this to avoid any influence.  I want to anecdotally capture some responses of what I think working class means, to me personally - purely based on my experience and feelings of it.

I think working class means the true graft and labour, getting your hands dirty being on the frontline - at the coalface and fighting through poverty, in towns and communities that don't have the same funding opportunities as others and are often run down.  Proper working class material.  Not hiding behind the scenes and shying away from such work and effort required to reach the shared outcome.  But there is a clear cut difference from academic, non-academic and working class.  I find many academics and non-academics, often from rich backgrounds (upper class), claim they are working class.  I also get the sense, especially through media, that it is becoming a buzz/marketing word for some people and often used as a pseudo context or masquerading themselves as something they are not truly.  Well yes we all 'do' things and some of us have jobs, but that to me gives no right to say they are working class.  For me personally in my experience, you need to be culturally brought up in a true working class background, not just be declared working and come from a rich background - that to me is not working class. 

Me - "Many have been given it on a plate and don't value the educational opportunities available and subsequent accomplishments.  I had to ask, fight and push myself hard to be where I am now."

Working class often had to work physically hard and longer hours to make ends meet (survive!).  Yes I am thinking of older roles such as working in shops, factories, mines, nursing/caring etc.  But this comes from my true industrial upbringing; my father, grandads and other family members worked in mines, and on my mother's side healthcare, administration\and factories.  Which leads me to think that working class is also biological (muscle memory/trauma-related), in the sense that it is hereditary, passed down through genetics.  Laced in my DNA and engrained in my own personality and character, whether I want to use it or not, it is there.  Therefore it can also be a mindset (attitude/relationship/value) and serve as a motivation, like the ol' mucking in whenever, wherever and whoever with type of thing to achieve the desired/shared outcome - doing a genuinely good job and completing satisfactorily/high standards.  Or if there is a job to be done, let's show willing and get up, show and up and get on with it.  If there are representational songs, Stan Bush's The Touch and Dare are the ones that depict my drive.  From this attitude, I have a strong instinct to provide security and financial stability. Both when I was single and living alone to being married.  I also possess a strong proving element (the northerners are stupid generalisation) around my own education, and upskilling, which is what this blog site is founded on; the self-directed education and career I have forged from my poor educational start, which was accelerated from doing an apprenticeship.  I wonder what the long-term impact of degree apprenticeships will have on classes?  Another top working class trait includes being frugal with money!  Drawing on my own personal survival aspects.  There were times when I lived on my own in my two bedroom mid terrace house.  I really had to be frugal with my finances.  Which I had already had a good mindset for managing.  But there were those miracles from my mum and great grandma that gave me money when I counted on it in those months low on money.  I didn't ask as I don't like asking for money, they gave it every so often out of love.  Which admittedly I used to refuse sometimes due to my own sense of pride.

Conversely, Gary has a similar upbringing and has that legacy in his family.  And his full-time job is a hairdresser.  However, whilst he understands the principle above, he doesn't share the same connection and motivation for what working class is.  So this could mean that yes he has working class in his blood, but doesn't choose to engage with the mindset and use it for motivational purposes.  Which makes me realise that being working class is why I am passionate about my education (lifelong learning) and career and continually wanting to better myself. It has been the fuel and backbone to my work/professional efforts all this time, and how I have now arrived at this point of all my achievements and successes. I could be labelled as a work-a-acholic, which most likely derives from my earlier goal of wanting to make something of myself, not to become superior.  However, as I have been reflecting on recently; I am wrestling with the thought of setting boundaries and learning to say no work-related things.  To avoid burnout and give space for other personal interests and developments to flourish.  Which gives me a sense of relief that I can just be, and have any nagging goals and chasing capitalistic tendencies.  I need to remember that I am rich with my life and experience - it's not always about financial and ego status.

To conclude, working class to me in three words is hereditary, mindset and motivation.  And that working class is a deeply complex topic and means different things to people.  Depending on they were brought up and how well they resonate and apply the term.  However, as I further reflect it is also about cultural upbringings, worked/working to survive and lived experience of it.

The more I reflect on my journey the more important it is becoming in this space.  The more personal and workplace adversity I experience the more I will channel it positively as an advocate.  I think a main big reason for achieving Principal Fellowship is to prove that proper working class individuals like me can achieve such things.  I want to obtain and use it as a torch to support others like me, especially true working class individuals.

I was born and raised working class.  Yes I now work at a university.  But I know my roots and nature are still working class.  I know this as I still speak with my local twang, slightly adapted so others can understand me.  And my work ethic and proactive graft is still strong.  Whilst in my profession I am academic, I still somewhat don't see myself fully academic I.e. I still focus on and prioritise the doing and done (outcomes), not the analysis, evidence and impact.  Plus I am not preachy and snobby about what I do.  Coming from the bottom as it were and have been raised in working class and continue to live in working class.  Therefore, I am glad I see through upper class tendencies and language.  Keeps me true to myself and will always champion the working class.

When I started working at university and moved to north Nottinghamshire, it was a big transformation for me.  In terms of both workplace and geographical environment.  Everything was new and different, and that can be quite stressful.  Despite my new home in a place similar to an ex-mining community like Barnsley.  The travel to and from work and the way I communicate with others.  I now feel more settled, but the adversity of my working class roots is still a challenge I am wrestling with.  Maintaining me but embracing growth at same time and managing the distance it might create between family.

EDIT:  Later in August 2023, I reflected on a session that was part of the Trent Institute for Learning and Teaching (TILT) Annual Learning and Teaching Conference (ALTC), which occurred earlier in the Summer.  I didn't attend this particular session, but obtained the presentation later on.  One of the slides included the text "Motivation is a product of good teaching.  Not a prerequisite."  On the topic of this blog post, this stuck out to me quite strongly, as in my experience this wasn't the case at all.  I didn't have a good teacher that taught me motivation.  My motivation is in-built as I explain above.  Yes sure feedback and praise on my strengths will have helped, but by no means did I have a stand out teacher that really nurtured me.  Which reminds me of what I said back in 2020:

Me - "I've not had an inspirational teacher (within a course/programme) - not that there isn't any, I've just not had that fortunate experience like so many have really."

On Friday 25th August.  As I said to my current intern in one of our Friday catch ups, on the topic of career development.  Because of my own career journey, I'll always be passionate and encouraging of others developing their careers.

EDIT:  In September 2023, related to this topic, in my blog post 'Achieving SFHEA and SCMALT', said; "I decided to just press on with it, and in my own pragmatic style, and that is authentic to my working class attitude.  Intentionally avoiding overusing academic language as it's easy to fall in the trap of just shaping a conversation how you want with little conviction of the actual 'doing the work'."

EDIT:  In December 2023, I wrote the following in my blog post 'Triggered values'.

"Yes I wanted to make something of myself and have a good salary, as I mentioned in my blog post 'What working class means to me'.  I am guided by the principle that as long as you can do what you like to do in life, it doesn't matter how much you get.  Complemented by other sayings that, 'it doesn't matter how much you earn, but how much you spend' and 'we all come to this earth plane with nothing, and we leave with nothing, and then at some point we must learn the act of letting go'.  But I know my spiritual boundaries and know being consumed by richness is something I am not and will not be driven by.  And because of my working class back ground I have a strong instinct to provide security and financial stability.  Both when I was single and living alone to being married.  Which links to my personal saying by not living beyond my means.  It's ok to change your lifestyle after getting a promotion, but it worked excellently for me (so far) by not jumping on that bandwagon; no upsizing to downsize later etc.  And enjoyed work progression in mean time.  That's what my aim is and was, natural progression with no desire to get straight to the pseudo pinnacle.  Like Gary said, I can be successful and still be working class.  In personal life I haven't changed the way I live.  I'm still the original Barnsley me at the core."

EDIT:  In August 2024 I came across this related article that has resonating parts; 'A moment that changed me: I quit my PhD – and left my severe impostor syndrome behind' by Wendy Pratt, with the synopsis; "Two years into a seven-year degree, I walked away.  Now I no longer feel the need to deny my working-class background or change my accent to fit in."

I also came across Joe Wick's speech on accepting his Honorary Doctorate from St Mary’s University in 2022.  During the first half of his speech he was tackling some real deep emotion.  Which sounded like similar educational and working class upbringings and first university entrant issues as me.

And this publication: 'The Lives of Working Class Academics: Getting Ideas Above your Station'.  After seeing a LinkedIn post that mentioned Peter Shukie's working class academic work that featured and led me to this publication.  I reached out to him to say that it resonates with me strongly, and is something I talked about last year through this blog post and that it might be of interest.  Peter - "Thanks Daniel. I will take a look at that. Thanks for sharing."

EDIT:  On 19 September 2024, Loose Women discussed the topic of 'Does Working In McDonald's Make You Working Class?'; "Tory MP and Conservative leader hopeful Kemi Badenoch has ruffled feathers after saying she “became working class” when she started working in McDonald’s at 16 years old. It got us thinking, what does working class actually mean, and can you change your class? Linda and Denise are both proud of their working class roots and say that hasn’t changed with age or success, and Penny says that her hubby Rod still classifies as working class - going from rags to riches!"

I agree with what Linda and Denise was saying, and especially when Linda mentioned about now knowing when to use all the 'posh' knives and forks.  Titanic (movie) taught me well though. 😉  Speaking of Titanic, the scene where Rose's mother says "Do you want to see me work as a seamstress?"  Brief context - Rose's family were wealthy, but aboard the ship they were not due to Rose's father leaving them with apparent debt.  However, the mother's line is an example of upper class not wanting to be working class, in order to survive.  But relying on marriage for wealth.  Again an example of working class being survival.  I digress - I think the culture bit that people refer to is what is partly what I mention above.  The definition Loose Women use in the video is; "Working class is used to describe people in a social class mark by jobs that provide low pay require limited skill or physical labour.  Typically working class jobs have reduced education requirements.  Unemployed people of those supported by social welfare program are often included in the working class.  However, working class can also be defined by your culture.  A close-nit community lifestyle looking out for each other and protecting one another etc etc."  Not sure of it's origin but a quick Google search takes me to part of it here 'Working Class Explained: Definition, Compensation, Job Examples' by Will Kenton, updated 21 March 2021.  Below are some selected comments, in a chronological order as they appeared on YouTube, that I found interesting and that resonate with my views:

• @jean2927 - "It doesn’t matter where you work as long as you are contributing to society! Never let anyone judge you!"
• @ethanjw2005 - "You could be upperclass and  have a job at McDonald’s that doesn’t make u working class."
• @mariannehavisham8323 - "You're born into a class but also your class can change. For example if you are homeless, long term unemployed and on benefits, occassionally need to use food banks, regularly need to use the shower in a soup kitchen because you don't have a working shower in the hostel, live in a hostel, don't have heating or a bed or curtains or blinds, and the lights in the bathroom are broken, are in poverty, and occassionally can't eat for days or can't get a train or bus and need to stay home, haven't been on holiday in 16 years, don't have a passport, but come from a middle class background -are you still middle class? (This is a real example)"
• @riderskater7248 - "Depends on which culture you're from. In America we don't necessarily place social status on a individual's beginnings. Your current educational background or wealth will be weighted higher. Are you higher class if you don't have money or education ,but your parents did? Probably not."
• @sophiebray9489 - "No one talks about those that were born middle class but now live a working class life."
• @grndouwn7338 = "There's more to class than what you earn but if you have to work paycheck to paycheck to survive you are by definition working class regardless of anything else. If you're working in McDonalds but do not depend on your monthly salary you're not working class."
• @jonathanstone - "Working class, is simply working at something to survive you might get a bit more money one year and go on holiday but you killed your self for that. When your working to only add to the stacks of cash you have them you ain't working class your a snob."
• @thomashavard-morgan8181 - "So culturally I think you retain the class that you were born into, however overtime, you can move and change..."
• @bluepeter128 - "No, your class is assigned at birth....."