Orientation! What is it Good For?
By Birch K
Not something you’d expect to hear from a teenager, yet it’s
something I wondered just about every day for the 2 weeks of my orientation. I
heard it from some of my peers too. I personally had come to get my hands in
the dirt, others were excited to get ‘real life’ work experience. Yet here we
were doing name games and getting lessons every morning. It was valuable for
sure, but I say this in hindsight. At the time I wanted to know why the
curriculum involves so much learning? Why couldn't we just jump right in? It’s
been 3 years and I’ve observed folks employed at MAP with different levels of
prior knowledge, the value of the 2 weeks quickly becomes evident.
By Birch K
“Why haven't we done any real work yet?”
Not something you’d expect to hear from a teenager, yet it’s
something I wondered just about every day for the 2 weeks of my orientation. I
heard it from some of my peers too. I personally had come to get my hands in
the dirt, others were excited to get ‘real life’ work experience. Yet here we
were doing name games and getting lessons every morning. It was valuable for
sure, but I say this in hindsight. At the time I wanted to know why the
curriculum involves so much learning? Why couldn't we just jump right in? It’s
been 3 years and I’ve observed folks employed at MAP with different levels of
prior knowledge, the value of the 2 weeks quickly becomes evident.
So what is the orientation? Every year, MAP employs roughly
25 new youth for a six-week summer employment program. And every year, two of
those weeks are dedicated to a "youth orientation." Essentially, we
spend two weeks giving new youth the knowledge they need to be familiar with
MAP; so they’re comfortable doing the work they will be responsible for in the
following weeks. Most people coming into the program do not immediately know
what food justice is, how to make a kohlrabi, or what organic really means.
Working at MAP and within the wider food justice community requires vernacular
you won't necessarily just pick up if tossed into the work. Maybe you know how
to cut kohlrabi safely (hint: cut it in half, peel, and julienne with a sharp
knife), but that’s where the learning ends. However in those 2 weeks prior to
jumping in you get to see the context you're working in. New youth are
introduced to the idea of food as a part of a wider system; full of many
working parts that worked together to have the kohlrabi end up on your cutting
board. The idea of your food not beginning with your plate, or even a seed but
with people. So, in the first two weeks, we get to know ourselves and the
people around us a bit better. This year that took the form of a writing
activity, we envisioned ourselves as parts of nature. Later there will be
exercises to envision a perfect farm and work on MAP's farm, and when it is
time to cut up that kohlrabi, it won't be a meaningless thing. The experience
will be an accumulation of 10 days of learning.
Just walking into a kitchen, identity workshop, or farm
isn't going to give you the whole experience of MAP. One could easily engage
with every part of MAP without understanding how cooking, growing and food
justice are related. Knowing the value of a piece of produce grown without
chemicals allows for a more enriching learning experience. So while 10 days may
seem like a large time investment to some, it pays off when you can walk out
and see your plate in a whole new way.
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