• Watch the Documentary Bracero Stories

• Managed Migrations by Cristina Salinas Ch. 2 & 3

• Read "The Children Couldn't Wait" from Y so ne lo trago la tierra...And the Earth Did Not devour him by Tomás Rivera

Bracero Stories: 

1. What was the Bracero program & why was it developed?

2. What were some of the requirements necessary to be accepted into the Bracero program?

3. What were some of the hardships faced while going through the initial travel and screening process to become a bracero?

4.  What were the different reactions to the bracero program? Were they happy with their decision to go into the program? 

Managed Migrations Chapters 2 & 3: 

5. What were social relations like between landowners and guest workers? How are these relations compared to slavery and the antebellum South? 

6. Whose responsibility was the overall well being of the guest workers? The landowners or the government? 

7. What is the INS mechanism of voluntary departure? What effect did this have on the flexibility of the border? 

8. What did voluntary departures look like post World War II versus prior? 

"The Children Couldn't Wait"

9. What was the mood evoked from "The Children Couldn't Wait"? 

10. What kind of moral do you think this story was trying to teach? 

11. What was the effect of the imagery used in the story? 

12. How do you feel about the children in the story? Does your mood shift about the landowner at all?  Why or why not? 

 These reflective journals are an opportunity for you to connect your understanding of the Bracero program to your own day to day life. 

1. What did you know about the Bracero program before watching Bracero stories? Did anything from the experiences of these men stand out? What surprised you most about the transitions they went through during the program? 

2. Think about how you go about your life in a 24 hour period. How many things from your day can you connect back to a migrant farm worker? Do you feel they impact your life more or less than you anticipated? 

3. In Chapter 3 of Managed Migrations it discusses a grower's sense of paternalism when it came to their farm workers. How did this paternalism set the tone of the physical and social conditions farm workers in their area faced? Do you feel like the sense of paternalism was beneficial to the guest worker program? Reflect on a time in your life where your maternal or paternal instincts have kicked in. What were the outcomes of this event? 

Objective: With this project students will use their understanding of the historical, physical and social elements of the bracero program & develop their own Migrant farm worker program. Students are invited to design their program based on the issues that they feel are most important when pertaining to guest worker programs. 

Students will develop a presentation pitching their own Migrant farm worker program to the department of agriculture. The presentation should be between 3 - 5 minutes in length and include visual aide such as a power point or document for the class to review.