Champions of Change Blog

Creating a Better Future for Farmworkers

I am honored to accept this award on behalf of the many farmworkers who opened their homes to me and my students to share food, music, laughter, personal accounts of their successes and challenges, and their ideas about how to construct a better future for themselves. I’d also like to recognize the deep engagement of students, and the consistent guidance and support of colleagues, family and friends who were integral in making this work possible.

My earliest understanding of farm work started in my childhood when my grandparents, parents, siblings, and I worked in our family vineyard in rural upstate New York. It was here that I first encountered the farmworkers who came in the season to help harvest fruits and vegetables. I gained a more nuanced understanding of the unique contributions farmworkers make to agriculture and communities when I participated in the Farmworker Women’s Equity Project, a nationwide research project that engaged both male and female farmworkers in discussions about opportunities for women in farmwork. Whether in New York, Florida or North Carolina, the farmworkers I met shared a common vision that women farmworkers deserve better lives for themselves and their families.

Some years later, I had the great fortune to interview Cesar Chavez about his life. He shared with me his personal stories about bringing together people of diverse backgrounds to work toward improving the lives of farmworkers. He explained his deep belief in the power of collective action to bring about positive change. His vision, humility, and collaborative approach to creating a more just society continue to inspire me today. 

Teaching Good Habits

My love for the outdoors is what inspires and drives me on a daily basis to teach students about keeping physically fit and the benefits from the natural environment around them. It has been a realization of mine that children today do not get outside to just play and socialize with friends. Wanting to find a way to address this issue two colleagues and I applied and received a Fund For Teacher grant in 2008. This grant allowed us to explore Norway and understand the healthy life style of the Norwegians.  Our trip included hiking the Fjords, visiting an outdoor school, meeting and speaking to people about their love for the outdoors. Once we were back from our 12 day excursion we hit the ground running excited to start a new way of teaching physical activity to our students. Our idea was simply called the Outdoor Classroom. We took our students out to explore a local park near our school and quickly discovered that many of our students had never been to the park before. This fact propelled us to further develop and tweak our program to fit the needs of our students. The once a month outdoor classrooms are spent hiking, exploring, orienteering, snowshoeing, team building and journaling. Students are learning that the park lands have so much to offer and it’s free recreational fun right in their own backyards. 

In addition to the Outdoor Classroom I have helped to establish other programs that complement our outdoor concept. Our school is a “Safe Routes to School” school which is a national program that promotes safely walking and bicycling to school. We are encouraging our students to walk or bike to school rather than be driven which supports physical activity and a greener environment. Our school participates in special events sponsored by Safe Routes to School which includes the National and Massachusetts Walk To School Days, celebrating students walking or biking to and from school.