I can relate to the beginning of the article because for a summer I took my campers to the strawberry fields and you never really see anyone out picking them in August. It makes me sad that the workers work sun up to sun down and barely make any money. These are the people who work the hardest and yet they make like no money. It was 12 hours a day 7 days a week every week, how are these fair labor conditions?
It is really sad how they move out of their shack and into a labor camp, when you hear labor camps it will trigger the memory of World War II and labor camps. They had holes in the walls where they live, his father would plug them. It hard to read and know that this is something that is going on in our world today. These working conditions are things that occur today in 2014. They also had only one mattress, this is something that we as Americans don't think of, we think that it only happened during the great depression, but it is happening now as well.
The working conditions where they work, man I don't know how they do it. The workers are doing work out in weather over 100 degrees. Water makes them sick if you drink it so fast, this is
because it is so hot. Something I didn't take into account is that these workers are young and they aren't going to school. We are taught now that you can't really get anywhere in the work force without a college education. When he got to go to school it was mid November. As an educator this makes me so sad, because by mid November these classrooms have formed a community and they have started learning and building on the foundations that the students have. When Francisco comes into school almost 2 months late you can imagine how far behind he will be.
I couldn't imagine working in 100 degrees for that many hours and not even being able to drink much water! What a horrible condition to survive in! And you're right to point out how behind Francisco would be in school not to mention speaking in English all day instead of Spanish!
ReplyDeleteI didn't even pay attention to the time of year he enrolled in school, and it's a good point that you made. He went in already behind, and then has to leave not long after. It almost makes me wonder if it's even worth it for him to try, and that's so sad to have to say!
ReplyDeleteThat's cool that you have personal experience seeing the harder conditions.
ReplyDeleteAnd I can't imagine starting school two month late. But think about his situation: starting school that late, not understand everything in the class, staying after in order to help himself learn and finding that education brings him happiness. Which, by the way, is a big theme in this story: how education brings a better life.
And then he is torn away from it because his family is moving again to find more work. It is sad. It really is.