Students Get a Close-Up Look At the Life of a Migrant Worker

Although last week's lectures focused on migrant workers, teachers try to make sure that students understand other points of view, such as those of the farmers and corporations, Schou said.

"I think one of the things we really try to do is present both sides of an issue," she said.

Members of the migrant farmers' advocacy group said that the students, like most everyone else, are regularly exposed to other perspectives through the media, including TV programming that focuses on the products, not the workers. "The magic of advertising also makes things like farmworkers disappear," Reyes-Chavez said.

As students listened to Reyes-Chavez talk about the battle for workers' rights, Schou reminded the class that some had supported another position -- that of the farmer in the hypothetical agricultural cooperative.

"As soon as it became apparent that you were going to have to give up something of yours, all but a very few people around this table were able to," she said.

From the lecture, students learned that the farmer is the "middle man" between the workers and the companies that sell the food gathered.

At the front of the classroom was a bucket filled with two bags of rice, which weighed about 32 pounds, so students could get a sense of how heavy a load of tomatoes is for workers to shoulder throughout the day. On a video screen, they saw images of the workers with worn hands.

Meagan Buckley, a seventh-grader from Annapolis, told Reyes-Chavez, "On a daily basis, my hands don't really look like that."

After class, Meagan said the lecture had taught her about the tough work conditions faced by many immigrants, not just those who work on farms.

"Before this," she said, "it was just in the back of my mind."