Life As A Sweatshop Worker
The teen boys group went on a journey back in time to the turn of the 20th century and learned what it was like to be immigrants. We traveled to the Tenement Museum on the lower east side and used the Moovit app to find the most efficient travel route. We took the 2nd Avenue Express Bus downtown to Delancey Street/Allen Street. Group members learned how to purchase a ticket for the express bus and discussed what the difference was between the express and local buses. We also discussed how to signal to the bus driver when we wanted to get off. We arrived a few minutes late and our tour had already started, but the group members were patient and were able to remain calm even though we missed the very beginning of the tour. This was an unexpected moment and the group members were able to get through it.
On our tour, we saw the Levine family's garment workshop as well as the Rogarshevskys' Sabbath Table. We learned how these families balanced work, family and religion during this time. The group learned that children started working at age 14 and each group member discussed how they would feel if they had to work instead of attending school right now. They all agreed that they would not be ready to enter into the workforce and they still have a great deal to learn. During the tour, group members showed maturity and paid close attention while the leader was speaking. The group showed great listening skills and they also asked many intelligent questions as well as showed their knowledge of many of the topics. The rest of the group was very impressed.
After the tour ended, the group browsed the gift shop and found some interesting items. This was a great topic of discussion and group members engaged in reciprocal conversation. Since the group stood for the entire tour, we decided to take a cab back to Bread and Butter. We chose the app Gett because it is a flat rate anywhere in the city, so it was the cheapest way to get back. During our cab ride back, group members discussed their highs and lows of the day. The highs included the entire tour, the gift shop and seeing the old items that were left in the apartments. The lows included learning how people lived back then and how many people lived in one tiny apartment, also learning about the working conditions. The group enjoyed the Tenement Museum and learned a lot of valuable information. We hope to return and go on a different tour in the future.
