As I was reading this chapter I didn’t think about school, I thought about the summer helping my dad stack hay, check cattle, and brand. Although this was by choice and I did get paid, I can't imagine how it is getting paid 25 cents a day for 12 to 16 hours of work, from sun up to sun down. The more I read about how the school was teaching them a trade so they would be able to survive in the world and earn a wage when they did graduate. I thought about taking over my father’s ranch and having him teach me the basics when I was younger, at times I felt there was nothing more that I needed to do after I graduated high school. My father made me realize that there wasn’t really a living to be made in ranching and if there was it was very unstable living from year to year, so I can relate to the students in the book not wanting to take up agriculture as a trade.
I couldn’t image working long days in little wages. But at that time, they were going to take that little money, better then no money at all. Plus they were getting meals and a roof over there heads. I bet it made them feel independent when they were getting paid. They were able to buy clothes and shoes for them selves.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that I thought about after reading your post was how the past generations did what they had to do to make a living. They might have been dependant on the school for housing and meals but they seem a lot more independent than some people that I know today. I'm just saying that it's hard to believe that these kids were doing such hard labor and in today's society we don't have many adults that can do the same work.
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