Educator program highlighting Valley labor history returns next year

More teachers from across the country will have the opportunity to learn about Kern County's role in the nation's labor history.

Dr. Adam Sawyer - an associate professor of teacher education and director of the Liberal Studies program at California State University, Bakersfield - and Bakersfield College History Professor Dr. Oliver Rosales are bringing back their California Dreamin' program next year after securing another $190,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH).

The program brought together 72 K-12 educators in summer 2023. It involved visits to several cultural landmark sites in Kern County, including the National Chavez Center in Keene, Forty Acres in Delano and the Sunset Labor Camp in Weedpatch.

"We are incredibly grateful to NEH," Sawyer said. "It was such a wonderful experience the last go around to showcase the region and also our campus to a national audience. It's very exciting that we have the opportunity to do it again."

Applications for the 2025 program, scheduled to take place in July, will open on Dec. 13 and run through March 5. They can be found on the California Dreamin' website.

The 2023 program was split into two cohorts of 36 teachers and included a mix of both local educators and teachers from other states. In addition to the site tours themselves, the program also included film screenings, workshops and seminars featuring local experts.

Dr. Rosales said he's looking forward to working with Dr. Sawyer again to provide the program next year.

"I'm always excited to work with Adam and CSUB, and just pushing a research and teaching agenda that's Valley-centric," he said. "I think this is something we can come all together on and support."

Dr. Sawyer said Dr. Rosales has been an invaluable resource as a Bakersfield native and that he has "done work that puts the history of Bakersfield on the map for a national audience, so it's a real honor always to work with him and to have our institutions collaborate in this way."

The 2023 program received great feedback from participants, many of whom had never visited Kern County before, according to Dr. Sawyer.

"I think those outside the region had really fresh eyes and a fresh outlook, and I think our local participants learned about it in a different way that opened their eyes to things they did not know," he said. "It helped them to dig a lot deeper into the history and national importance of our region. Many of them felt a sense of pride that teachers from around the country were so interested in Kern County."

While the professors believe the program was very successful, they think there are ways to improve and expand upon it for next year. One of the biggest changes they are looking at is focusing not only on the history of the county but also how labor and agriculture works now.

"We're trying to figure out what's the best way to provide an experience for teachers to see how agribusiness and labor is today," Dr. Rosales said. "It's about having an experience like talking to farmworkers themselves, not just looking at the history or landmark sites."

"We need to also have time in the field," Dr. Sawyer said. "We're getting this history from these historical sites, but present-day agriculture is something that's also interesting and exciting."

Both professors said they are looking forward to seeing how next year's program turns out. They hope this partnership between CSUB and Bakersfield College can serve as inspiration for other humanities projects.

"I'm very grateful to Oliver for bringing this kind of attention around NEH to our campus," Dr. Sawyer said. "We've gotten a lot of interest in our project. We've built up some energy and momentum. This is a great example of CSUB and Bakersfield College coming together to showcase this region."

Visit the California Dreamin' website for more information about the program.

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