St. Lawrence Middle School eighth grade students participated in a two-day service experience in which they implemented social justice teaching by working for those in need.
On the first day, 39 eighth graders and 11 adults drove to a farm in Salinas to glean iceberg lettuce. Working with the non-profit organization Ag Against Hunger, the St. Lawrence crew salvaged good lettuce which was deemed unacceptable for commercial harvest because of size or ripeness.
The students, their teachers and parent chaperones, bent at the waist, worked up and down the rows of lettuce to cut it from the plants. In two hours the crew gleaned roughly 10,000 pounds of lettuce for local distribution.
“The students wanted to keep harvesting. They didn’t want to stop,” reported eighth grade homeroom teacher Meredith Somavia, who, with eighth grade teacher, Kim White, arranged the action-style retreat.
Students spent the afternoon at Sacred Heart Community Services where the eighth graders packed family meals, hung, sorted and displayed clothing, created emergency personal item packs and swept the floor.
After the retreat, students were asked to reflect on what it meant to them. Jeff Thomas wrote, “People have so much less than I do and this has helped me realize I live in luxury.”
Donovan Ramelb reflected, “I think I might become a person more on the give side in the give-take continuum.” Many students noted that teamwork created a greater impact on how much help reached those in need, and that it was fun to work together.
Chris Carrillo summarized his feelings after visiting SHCS. “Today I saw God in the face of every person that was in need. I also saw God in the helpers that volunteered to help those people.
“My understanding of Social Justice has deepened thanks to this experience. All people in need should and can be helped, and that is what I think social justice is.”