Farm Classes Misdirected
Picture This: Fillmore, Ventura County, California. It’s May, 1992, and Mexican teen-agers are photographed participating in a school program that teaches them to weed, pick and hoe a field of flowers, and an Anglo teen-ager is photographed driving the tractor.
Having trouble with this visual? Turn to Section B of the Los Angeles Times, May 13, in as commanding a placement as a reporter could hope for (“Recall Drive Takes Aim at 2 Trustees”.
In this depiction, the implication and intent is clear: Put a hoe in the hands of Mexicans, rob them of their self-esteem and perpetuate the campesino mentality for the entire population.
If the Fillmore program in agriculture is continued, it must be totally restructured, reflecting the scientific and technical demands in the farming industry. If not, eliminate the program and spend the money on an approach that will encourage young Mexicans to get out of the fields, a limiting and demeaning form of paid slavery, and into the mainstream of upward bound employment.
ADRIENNE P. NATER
Moorpark
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