Camborne workshop and daffodil pickers

Jo Grace reports back on today's workshops at Camborne Community College.

"It was very interesting visiting Camborne Community College today. They had a migrant worker member of staff who very bravely stood alongside Konrad for the Q&A session, she said afterwards that she hadn't realised how stressful it would be to stand up in front of so many students, but I think it was great for the students to hear answers from someone they knew already. We even had a question in Polish. The students split into 8 groups to write their postcards/letters. It might be interesting to ask the school to forward us some examples of this work. We had some great questions and a dozen or so students hung around afterwards to chat to Konrad some more, and one helpful student then showed us the way back through school to reception. The student's knowledge of daffodil farming was the best we have encountered in any of the schools, and they recognised swiftly the new photos of the local pickers."

Excellent feedback from Penrice Community College

Assistant teacher Jason Wood writes a kind email following hard work by Jo Grace and Bartek earlier in the month. Both found the school very impressive and focussed on the issue.

"We were impressed by the way you adapted your assemblies to the different year groups and also responded to the different expectations of english and drama classes. We have a significant number of migrant worker families in school and you have helped improve students empathy for migrants.
Your workshops recieved a very good response from the students and teachers. You made us think and challenged perceptions of migrant workers in Cornwall."

First workshop in Saltash

A long drive from Camborne! But Jo Grace, our workshop leader, is up early. Picking up Irina, a migrant worker from the Ukraine, en route.

Jo says it proves useful to have the exhibition at hand when presenting the workshops. Pictured here are students, visiting.

Setting up the exhibition in Saltash

An early start for Brian Andrew who picked up the plinths and suitcases from Praze.
Everything needed to be up in Saltash for 930-ish. It's an hour and half drive, at least.
Our workshop leader Jo Grace and volunteer Mike Matthews set up the show.

The Portuguese cafe, Penrice and Penryn

An alliterative day.... the team has been on the road.
Mike Matthews and I went to Redruth to visit the Portuguese cafe.

Redruth always seems to me to have a huge potential for gloominess ... but then, I would say that - my heart's with Camborne. (A huge local rivalry, traditionally, between the two towns.)
But despite the deeply grey and granite environs....
the cafe - on close inspection - proves to be a delight.

Mike knows that as he is already an habitue.
But how wonderful to see roses and a blast of Portuguese colour.

The coffee is good too. And someone is eating a very substantial English breakfast.

The coffee is good.

We arrange to return for a photoshoot next week. On April 2, Sophie Goncalves will be singing - not to be missed - she is certainly Cornwall's top fado singer. This cafe is licensed and open until 11pm daily. Cannot believe that I never discovered it before.
En route back to Praze (to pack up the exhibition, ready for Saltash at the weekend), we pass daffodil fields which are disconcertingly yellow. This is a bad sign: the crop has come in too fast.

Then to Penryn, where Jo Grace (our workshop leader) and Bartek (migrant worker from St Ives) are ready to deliver two assemblies. The pictures will tell the story...

This has been an exceptionally busy day for them: they started at Penrice College (St Austell) very early indeed. And took things in a rather different direction - role playing in drama workshops.

We have a de-brief meeting in the cafe at Asda's afterwards - in the great tradition of I PACKED THIS MYSELF debrief meetings. They are usually in the cafes of major supermarket chains - only because they are quickest to get to and easiest to park at. And everyone can shoot off in different directions afterwards - as happened this time.
Me to the station and a train back to London - alas. Cornwall was calling today. The sun was out - at last! - and spring seemed to be on the way.

A week at Penrice, St Austell

The second workshop this week at Penrice College, St Austell.  This is a busy week for Jo Grace, who is leading the workshops. And also a busy week on the land. Am caught up with other things but cannot but help notice the crowds of workers in the fields, picking daffodils or cutting spring greens etc.
Jo says that Penrice has been an extremely rewarding school to work with. She reports on her day:

 

"Today was our second day working at Penrice college. It is noticeable how different the students opening opinions about migrant workers are at this college compared to the other schools and colleges we have been working in. Penrice is a language college and they pride themselves on looking outwards, this shows around the school, where things like signs for the toilet are written in four different languages.

We are delivering workshops and a series of assemblies throughout the week. Yesterday we showed the Portugese suitcase in the year 7 assembly, today we talked to year 8 about who they think of as being a migrant worker. We focused on the UN's estimation that one third of the world's population are migrant workers.

In the workshops we have been pleased with the range of questions students have come up with to quiz Bartek with. Today I think we had at least 5 questions that we haven't been asked before.

   I thought you might like to read some examples of the student's work, so here are two letters written by yr 7 pupils, imagining themselves in as migrant workers on a farm in Cornwall.

 

By Jenna-

 

    Dear Mum and Dad,

                                I've had my first week at my job cabbage picking with the most wet cold weather. But don't worry the farmer gave me a coat to wear to keep warm. My caravan is cosy but slightly run down, but I don't really think about what it looks like when I get home because I am so tired! My back is aching from bending over for hours on end. The food here is better than Dad's cooking but not as good as Mum's. Sometimes I get homesic, but I've got used to it now. I have met loads of new poeple like Zoe the girl in the opposite caravan, she's really nice and we are good friends now. Granny would love it here with the water and the sea and the birds singing in th emornings. Maybe Phil can come and work with me when he finishes school to keep me company. Hope to see you soon, only 400,000 cabbages left to pic and I'll be home! Lots of Love, Jenna

 

by Kyle

 

Dear Mum, Dad, Brothers and Sisters,  I am writing home today to tell you about my job and what it is like. 1 week ago I started work as a cabbage picker, so far I am one of the only ones that are doing this job so we are having to pick lots so we can earn the money we deserve. I have a sore back because 75% of the time you are bending down to pick the cabbages up. It isn't easy and you don't get paid a lot but it's enough to have dinner so I am happy. Also it is cool because you get to meet new people and make new friends. The reason I moved was not to get away from my family but to meet new people from a different culture and so I could learn different languages and different styles of how to act.

          Yours sincerely, your son,

                           Kyle.

 

These students along with their classmates made a big effort to imagine how they would feel in this situation. After the workshop we had a glimpse at one of the entries into the competition the school are running in which students have to imagine what they would pack in a suitcase if they were going away."

 

Final workshop in Falmouth

The fifth of five....Jo Grace, our workshop leader, and Bartek - from Poland - have really enjoyed prolonged contact with the school. Jo writes, just before setting off to Nottingham to work there for a week or so:

"We had a great time. Once again the pupils at Falmouth school were lots of fun. ...I had high hopes of getting some really great bits of writing out of them, and I was going to tell them I would email you the best one and they'd be able to see it on the blog (something I still hope to do in future) However when it came round to it they were so brilliant in their questioning of Bartek that when we looked at the clock there was only 10 minutes left and still 8 or so students with their hands up and questions they wanted to ask.


Bartek has also continued my Polish education, as we arrived at the workshop early we stopped in Falmouth to have coffee and cake, then (as I'd bought the coffee and cake) Bartek insisted on taking me to the Polish shop and furnishing me with two boxes of Polish chocolates for the drive to Nottingham."

An icy start to another trip to Falmouth

 In Falmouth for a second day.  And an icy start - Bartek here scraping the ice from the INSIDE of Jo's car windscreen. Jo Grace again led the workshop and reports back....

"Again we've had so much fun. I think I learn as much in the car on the way too and from workshops as I hope the students do in class. Today Bartek has been telling me "There's a Russian man, German man and a Polish man" jokes, which are like our English man, Irish man, Scottish man jokes.

                    The class ... listened well and I used the start up questions at the beginning and end, I think the question: 'Do we need migrant workers in Cornwall?' shows the most significant change in opinion, with 20out of 21 students saying 'No' at the start of the lesson, and 21 out of 21 saying 'Yes' at the end of it.

                  My throat is sore from talking so much, to the students and with Bartek, again we've really enjoyed ourselves and the students listened well. They did the postcard exercise, there is a picture of them working attached, and I also have hand written evaluation sheets from them all with some really lovely comments on."

A second Wednesday in Truro

Our second workshop this year at Penair School, Truro. Led by Jo Grace with Konrad, a Polish worker from St Ives.

Jo reports back:

"We had a good time, the students listened well. Some very sensible and mature questions were asked, and at times it became a debate, with students putting forward their points of view on why the Cornish can be resistent to migrants, and reflecting on the heritage of Cornwall, one boy suggested it was because we have such a strong cultural identity down here that we feel threatened by the presence of 'outsiders'. It was a really interesting session and students were very forthcoming despite the large group."

Workshop in Falmouth

We are lucky to have Jo Grace, a teacher based in the Camborne area, leading the workshops this spring. She went with Bartek to Falmouth today for the first session  - and clearly did a great job!

"Bartek and I had a fabulous morning in Falmouth, such polite students, they listened really well and we definitely changed some opinions. At the start I got them to answer the 'start up' questions in their books and then I collated their answers in the document attached. They were fairly sensible, but the yes/no questions were revealing. At the end of the session I showed them those questions again and asked if anyone had changed any  of their answers. Lots of pupils swiftly put their hands up without any pressure and proudly declared what they had learned, and everyone said they now thought migrant workers contributed to the local community. They have also all filled out the evaluation document.

              I began by showing a brief PowerPoint that I have made, that shows images of migrant workers I know and also of Cornish miners - just to illustrate what you say about historical patterns of migration within cornwall. I also showed a photo of a statue erected in an Australian town as a tribute to the Cornish miners who helped start the industry over there. I asked if we could imagine a statue for migrant workers being erected here.

            I said that it was important that we learn about other people, but also it is important we think about ourselves and who we want to be as Cornish people and as individuals. Do we want to be the sort of people who judge others or welcome them?

            I then showed your PowerPoint, all the time I warned the pupils that we would have the chance to interview Bartek, and they wrote down questions to ask him when they thought of them in the back of their books. By the time it came to ask Bartek to talk, they were brimming with things they wanted to know. I told them about you and about how you are a journalist and encouraged them to think of themselves along those lines. I let them do the whole interview, so first they found out the basics, where he was from etc. ...

           Next I got them to do the postcard exercise, except that we wrote on both sides. I said to write on one side what you think you would write to your family, and then on the other side write the truth - what it is really like. This produced some interesting results. I said we would have more time to ask Bartek questions and I pointed out to them how kind and diplomatic he is, and said if they were to be journalists and wanted to find out about the sadder things they would have to think up better questions.

       A few people came up with some good ones, "What's the hardest thing you've had to face here?" etc.

        We watched the film clips during the postcard exercise to help generate ideas.

       At the very end Bartek taught us a few Polish words.

         It really was so much fun. I really enjoyed it.... I'm looking forward to going back.