One of the first notable things said in the documentary was 14 year old, Perla, stating that many people will tell her family that they don 't belong in this country. They tell her that she is not an American citizen, even though she was born here. Her family works extremely hard to keep their family afloat and to pay their bills. Her parents are legal citizens, as is Perla and her siblings. There is nothing illegal about them. This visibly upsets her during her one-on-one interview with the videographer. She is being generalized as an illegal immigrant simply based on her family background. This raises the important subject of discrimination, a topic that is widespread in America now. America is so racially diverse and created by different
…show more content…
Zulema is obviously aggravated by her principal as the woman asks the girl questions about where her family is going and what her plans are. It is evident in this scene that the adults of the school do not care as much as they probably should about the issue of migrant workers and that these meetings with students are casual protocol, seen as more of a nuisance than a helpful resource for kids. Clearly, it is not normal for this young girl to travel around the United States picking crops and yet, although it is disapproved of, nothing is done about the situation that these children are in. The principal looks hopelessly at these children and speaks down to them. It is a negative sanction- something that people disapprove of because it is not the norm- and yet it is so normal that these adults will not think twice about what is happening to these young adults. Migrant child workers drop out of school at four times the national rate and never truly have a stable childhood. They are thrown into the roles of worker, student, caregiver, and provider at an extremely young age. Migrant workers put so much value- the idea of what is desirable in life- on education and betterment of life, and yet many would give disapproving looks towards these people who have no other means of getting anywhere in life. Negative sanctions are defined in our books as “more likely to be symbolic: harsh words, or gestures such as frowns, stares, clenched jaws, or raised fists (pg. 45).” Americans have so much negative resentment and bias towards migrant workers, whether legal or illegal, and yet no one will step in to fix what is wrong with this capitalist
Zulema is obviously aggravated by her principal as the woman asks the girl questions about where her family is going and what her plans are. It is evident in this scene that the adults of the school do not care as much as they probably should about the issue of migrant workers and that these meetings with students are casual protocol, seen as more of a nuisance than a helpful resource for kids. Clearly, it is not normal for this young girl to travel around the United States picking crops and yet, although it is disapproved of, nothing is done about the situation that these children are in. The principal looks hopelessly at these children and speaks down to them. It is a negative sanction- something that people disapprove of because it is not the norm- and yet it is so normal that these adults will not think twice about what is happening to these young adults. Migrant child workers drop out of school at four times the national rate and never truly have a stable childhood. They are thrown into the roles of worker, student, caregiver, and provider at an extremely young age. Migrant workers put so much value- the idea of what is desirable in life- on education and betterment of life, and yet many would give disapproving looks towards these people who have no other means of getting anywhere in life. Negative sanctions are defined in our books as “more likely to be symbolic: harsh words, or gestures such as frowns, stares, clenched jaws, or raised fists (pg. 45).” Americans have so much negative resentment and bias towards migrant workers, whether legal or illegal, and yet no one will step in to fix what is wrong with this capitalist