The author of Cajas de Carton is award winning Mr. Francisco Jimenez. He wrote this story about one of his experiences working in fields with his family in California. Originally, his family was from Mexico, though. He worked in the fields for many years and his family moved around a lot.
I felt really sad as he described how he could only attend school contingent upon when he was not needed in the fields picking grapes, strawberries, and other things. It made me wonder, even though he said that he was entering 6th grade, if he should have been in a higher grade. School was an exciting time for him and his siblings because of that simple fact that they did not have to work, though. Also, you can tell by looking ahead in time to his master's degree and Ph.D that he must have really enjoyed learning. I would have been excited to get to take a break from the work he and his family were doing too! I can hardly stand being outside when the temperature is above 90 degrees, yet they were out in a field in 100 degree weather. Along with that, they basically only took a break at lunch in order to pick as many boxes full of products as they could. Then at the end of their long day of work they come back to relax in some guy's garage (living conditions). His mom and the younger kids got the mattress, and everyone else slept under a tree. That sounds great for a short camping trip or something, but this was how they lived their lives.
Reading about his time in school was great, though. His teacher, Mr. Lema, was exactly what every good teacher should be. He cared about his student and even took extra time out of his day to help Jimenez. Mr. Lema even offered to teach him how to play the trumpet (going above and beyond). That moment when Jimenez comes home excited about the prospect of being able to play the trumpet, just to have his hopes dashed by those packed boxes, was heartbreaking.
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