In the classroom this week we learned that many of the farmworkers in the United States work in California, most of the farmworkers in California are of Mexican descent, and most are undocumented. We watched a short KQED Arts and Culture film about the Mexican American artist Arleene Correa Valencia’s work to increase the visibility of her community in the Napa Valley. After watching the stories of farmworkers continuing to pick fruit during wildfires, many students shared their own personal experiences with the effects of climate change and expressed sadness at the conditions agricultural laborers face today.
In the kitchen, we made fresh guacamole with California-grown Bacon avocados and Hass avocados from Mexico. (California produces approximately 90% of America’s avocados, but the season for most varieties does not start until February or March.) Students mashed avocado, squeezed fresh lime juice, minced cilantro and garlic, and seasoned to taste with salt and pepper. We enjoyed the guacamole with yellow and blue corn tortilla chips from local food producer Sabor Mexicano.
The second grade Edible Social Studies unit is perfectly timed with our building out of the outdoor classroom garden this winter, so we closed our class by planting fava beans. Each second grade student was able to make a hole in the soil of one of our planting troughs, deposit a soaked fava bean, and cover it back up. We look forward to watching the beans grow and tending them over the next few weeks as we continue to learn more about the hardworking, resilient people who feed our communities.