I found the readings in this week particularly disturbing. Although I knew children went to work in factories or mines to help their families, the details provided in our readings of little boys crawling in mining tunnels on their hands and knees while they pulled sledges on their backs made me want to cry. It is powerful to considered that the way we know society today, where children are for the most part in schools on a daily basis, was not how it was back then. To me, it seems like a no-brainer to have children in school, but the reality of this time was that it was very much all hands on deck to ensure the survival of the family.