Labor Day observances? Teaching kids?

[ktgrok]

We don't really DO anything to observe Labor Day. Anyone have an easy idea, or a tradition? Or a video or something I can show the kids?

[Faith-manor]

We didn't do a lot because Mark has a four day weekend with his job so we always went to the beach, kayaking, etc. Michigan great outdoors! But since my homeschool years ran August 1st to June 15 ish, I was already up and running on the education front so we would pull out my Joy Hakim books and re-read coverage of the Labor movement, industrialization, etc. Then I made the boys each find a current event on Labor for us to discuss. Since Mark has worked I.T. for a variety of companies by always on GM accounts, now working direct IT for GM, it has been pretty darn easy because corporate labor policy was something he knew and we could discuss and NAFTA exemptions from Fair Labor Laws and practices for IT workers which at one point was causing him to work 90 hours per week for months on end with no available legal means of redress, no sick days allowed, and most vacation denied by management causing health problems and suicide rates to climb in the industry, we had a lot of fodder for discussion.

I am pretty sure we watched Norma Rae with them but that is probably too mature yet for your young ones. I also think Rise and Reign of Jeff Besos, and Blood on the Mountain would be valuable to anyone following this thread with teens.

Something I know that one teacher did was set up a "company store" in the classroom along with a regular store. She priced items based on being for residents of non-coal mining villages, and then the company store items based on Script. She gave her kids "Script" and lists of basic grocery and household items for them to attempt to purchase with script. She made them go to the Company store and then to the non-company store, deducting the value of the difference once between US dollars and Script at the time to show how much of the coal miner's wages/buying power was lost by being paid in script, and how the company profited off the backs of the miners being forced to accept script instead of US tender. I think that was brilliant. It only highlights one aspect of the history of labor abuse in the US, but it could be a fun exercise that makes a jumping off spot to begin talking about labor topics.

[HomeAgain]

You might do a history of Frances Perkins.  She was an amazing woman and very relevant to the topic. https://francesperkinscenter.org/life-new/

[City Mouse]

If they are old enough to deal with it, you could share stories like this 

 

[Tanaqui]

If you're not teaching your kid about the massacres of striking workers in the USA and the still ongoing fight for fair wages, fair hours, and decent working conditions then you may as well not teach them anything and just go to the beach.

[Moonhawk]

5 hours ago, Tanaqui said:

If you're not teaching your kid about the massacres of striking workers in the USA and the still ongoing fight for fair wages, fair hours, and decent working conditions then you may as well not teach them anything and just go to the beach.

I mean.... she's asking for resources... so I'm assuming she wants to teach it. And maybe also go to the beach, it is a celebration of the labor movement, after all. 

[ktgrok]

So, we ended up watching a video from the History channel, then talking about everything from unions to child labor laws to overtime to equal pay. 

[KungFuPanda]

I try to teach them not to make other people work more in the service of their day off. I think Labor Day is a good day to skip restaurants and stores and just do something, like a cookout, at home with your family.