Example of Student Work on Ecological Economics
Who gets more? A two-part poem about workers and owners
The following poem was written by a fifth grade student in Milwaukee as part of a unit on NAFTA. The poem is to be read by two people in alternating parts, beginning with line 1 of the factory worker followed by line 1 of the factory owner and continuing back and forth.
The poem's use of perspective-taking and empathy demonstrates the students' ability to describe how globalization affects people differently. Note how at the beginning of the poem the worker and owner say "We're both human," but at the end, the owner says that the worker is "not like" him. The student explained it this way: "It's easier to treat someone bad if you think they're not like you. I think the factory owner has to tell himself that the workers are different so that he doesn't feel bad about what's happening to them."
Who gets more?
Maquiladora Worker |
Factory Owner |
We're both human beings |
We're both human beings |
Well you don't treat me like a human being |
Yes I do. |
I'm poor. |
I'm rich. |
I have a little house. |
I have a big house. |
I don't even have water. |
I have plenty |
My job is to make things. |
My job is to sell those things. |
Today is work. |
Today is work. |
I hate my job. |
I love my job. |
I get paid 88 cents an hour. |
I get paid a lot more. |
You treat me wrong. |
Well you're not like me. |
We're both human beings. |
We're both different. |
Some of the Concepts, Standards, and Skills Addressed by this Activity:
- evaluating the costs and benefits of economic policies
- analyzing issues from different perspectives
- using different language conventions
- generating ideas and questions about important issues
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