Author: Jeffrine

Core Competencies Grade 10

Jeffrine

 

Collaboration: to collaborate successfully, an important strategy is teamwork. The strategies I use when collaborating with others are being able to communicate openly, accepting new ideas, giving and receiving feedback.

  • Communication: Communicating clearly and effectively, as well as openly and thoughtfully will lead to successful collaboration.
  • Accepting new ideas: One of the most important aspects of collaborating well is being able to openly accept new ideas and appreciate a diversity of ideas.
  • Giving and receiving feedback: I give and receive feedback from peers and other team members to perform a task. This also includes being able to reflect and communicate.

 

Developing new ideas:

  •  learning new things by observing others.
  • I read many books to develop new ideas.
  • I journal daily.
  •  I meditate to collect my thoughts and open my mind.
  • I go out of my way to try new things.
  • I tend to socialize outside my normal circle.

Wantong to create new ideas:

  • I develop new ideas by learning from asking questions.
  • I often change directions when I think.
  • I accept challenges and learn from new experiences.
  • When I don’t succeed I reflect on what went wrong and I motivate myself to try new things.
  • looking at my peer’s work helps me collect and generate my own ideas.

 

Using words and actions to encourage others:

  • I am enthusiastic
  • I help others focus on the positive.
  • I always say good morning and respect my teachers.
  • If I notice someone is seeking help I tell a trusted adult.
  • I hold the door open for people at school and in my community.
  • I try to make people laugh and brighten up their day by saying positive things.

Contributing to school/ community:

  • I always donate food to food drives.
  • I donate my time to local charities.
  • I compliment others.
  • I join clubs and sports.
  • I make meals for friends who are stressed.

 

English 9 shoe assignment & reflection

Jeffrine

Core competency:

For the shoe assignment, I chose to reflect upon creative thinking because I believe I demonstrated and used this skill the most when doing my English 9 shoe project. The first skill I used was novelty and value because I get ideas when I play. My ideas are fun to me and make me happy. A result of this skill when I was creating my project was when I went to buy my supplies to add to my shoe. I was at the store and chose any supplies that I thought would be very fun to add onto the shoe. I had no evident plan but I kept using my creative thinking and playing around with the supplies until I finished designing my shoe. It had all the components and it turned out great.

The second element of creative thinking that I demonstrated was generating ideas. I was able to get ideas when I use my senses to explore, an example of this skill was when I used a lot of resources to generate ideas. I referred back to the book to look at ideas and get a sense of the character’s likes and dislikes. I also explored the internet and found some cool ideas. I never had a distinct plan but I was able to generate new ideas off of the similar projects and incorporate them into my own project. I was using different textures and uncommon items onto my shoe so it would be different and stand out.

the third element of creative thinking that I was able to use while working on this project was developing ideas. I was able to build the skills I needed to make my ideas work and usually, succeed, even if it takes a few tries. I applied this skill when I was starting to develop a sense of creativity throughout building my project. An example of this was when I first started the project, it was evident I was using creative thinking because I decided to let my creativity take over. I kept adding supplies onto my project and generating new ideas and it made me a bit nervous. I thought to myself that not having a vivid idea of how the shoe will look when it was finished might not be the best idea. I kept following what my creativity was telling me to do. After when the shoe was complete it looked super creative and all the elements and pieces I added looked amazing all together. I thought my plan was not going to succeed but I kept adding different textures and fun objects to make it look appealing and I succeeded.

Two things I could have done better:

Firstly I could have focused on making my ideas work and change what I am doing. This comes from developing ideas, I did demonstrate some key points of this skill but I could have done a better job. I let my project take its own path through creativity and kind of go with the flow. I had no distinct idea of how it was going to turn out but I kept going. An example where I could have demonstrated developing ideas was maybe coming up with a plan before starting the project this would look like making a sketch or planning out the items I could attach onto the shoe for the project. This skill would have been very helpful because if my plan didn’t go right or I wasn’t satisfied with it then I could have changed the ideas so that they would work.

Secondly, I would have liked to work on deliberating ideas to quiet my conscious mind. I could have done this skill of generating ideas better. I was very focused on just getting the project done then enjoying it. When doing the project I can get overwhelmed very easily. I had a lot of ideas going on and I never took the time to focus on myself and give myself a break. I wanted to start the task and finish it because I can’t leave projects to the last minute with knowing I had so much time to work on it. I started doing this project early in the week and I finished it within one day. An example of me quieting my conscious mind was just taking a break and thinking of some more ideas and coming back to the project to add more. This would have made it look more organized and I would like to remember this skill and apply it in future projects.

Pictures of my shoe project:

reflection:

I used many creative items to represent different events and conflicts my character ran into throughout the story Whirligig. this project was very fun and used my skill of creative thinking. I had lots of fun doing this project especially because I was able to connect with the character. Hopefully, you all enjoy this art.

Poem Oral Presentation

Jeffrine

Core competency:

The core competency that I chose is creative thinking because I felt like I demonstrated this skill the most when doing this project. The first section that corresponded the most to my project was novelty and value. I was able to get ideas when I play, my ideas are fun and make me happy. An example of me doing this is when my group got together to make a rhythm for our poem called “the yellow butterflies”. This piece felt very peaceful when my group read through it, I decided to share my idea by doing a rhythm, this rhythm consisted of making a beat off our chest and snapping our fingers. My group liked the rhythm and we played around with it a few times, it was a fun rhythm to do and it really complimented our poem. I was able to help my group divide the poem and based on our tones of voice I assessed each part to a member to make it fun and happy.

The second skill I demonstrated was developing new ideas, I followed through the category of making my ideas work or changing what I’m doing. An example of this skill was when my group had to get together to work on our creative piece of the project. We wanted to take it a step further when recording our video and use an app called acapella. I downloaded the app and we broke down our poem as well as recorded each section individually on a screen split into three. The first screen started without first rhythm which was snapping then the second followed with a beat that we made with our chest and the last one was us reading the poem. The finishing result was supposed to be a video of us individually adding the beats but it did not work out. Unfortunately, the audio was too loud and had way too much feedback so we ended up re-recording it in one take and it sounded much better. I participated a lot because I lead my group through all the rhythms. I had to change our idea but even though it didn’t work I was very happy with the result of our newer ones.

The third skill that I incorporated while working on this poem is I build on others’ ideas and use ideas of my own or combine other people’s ideas. I was able to generate ideas, I did this by discussing with my whole group and asking them what beat they would like to try. our poem was very gentle and soft so we wanted a quieter beat. we tried a variety of beats and agreed on mine because it fits really well with the piece. I was able to listen and let my other group members talk and share their ideas. Once we came up with the idea of stomping for a beat but we figured it was too loud and it overpowered our voices. After lots of practice and simplifying our idea, our poem was very nicely put together with the beat. This skill was very helpful because not only did I share my idea but we tried different beats and explored a variety of sounds this also helped us finish faster so we had time to practice. Many groups needed two days but we were confident and we worked around all our ideas and we finished within half an hour.

Two things I would have done differently:

The first area I would like to improve on was maybe challenging ourselves more. We only had two beats but they were the only beats that fit well with our poem. We did a great job with choosing a beat together but I really wished we chose a more challenging poem because we could have had more variety to it and contrast of beats. This was a very fun activity but I feel like we finished so quickly we could have done more of a challenge because we were in sync and even having a larger group would have helped as well.

The second thing I would have like to do better was trying to memorize our poem. We had a nice beat and a nice paste in our poem. I felt like we had so much leftover time that we could have been more creative and think about how we could improve rather than just reading the poem. It was a very simple poem and short, it had some repeating words so it wouldn’t have been that hard to memorize. I do think since we had a class and a half we weren’t ready to memorize it and it was our first time performing in front of the class but if we ever do another activity I would like to have it memorized and maybe add a few more moves.

video:

trim.A40B38A8-8B87-40B6-8791-D86349C3ACD9 (1)

visuals:  Yellow butterfly

Image result for yellow butterfly

“they shiver by the shallow pools

they shiver by the shallow pools

they shiver by the shallow pools”

Image result for shallow pool

 

Species Project

Jeffrine
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critical thinking:

I chose critical thinking to reflect upon because I believe that I showed this skill the most when doing my science project. I demonstrated questioning and investigating by being able to ask open-ended questions and gather information. I focused a lot on having good information and I did this by visiting many sites and really going in depth when it came to answering the questions for the project. When I was faced with questions that I didn’t understand I tried to view them in a way where I would understand them; an example of that was turning regular question into open-ended questions and really focusing on giving a good and thoughtful response. To further expand my critical thinking I visited the library and even asked the librarian if she had any books on Quail, this helped me a lot because I learned a lot more off off the books because I found it very difficult to re search online. when reading books about Quail I noticed they viewed things a bit differently then the online sources. The websites I visited were mostly organizations and they do their research differently. By the end of the project I was happy with the result because I finished my re search and took a lot of time to investigate and find different sources to answer my questions.

The second skill I demonstrated by using critical thinking was deliberating strategies for quieting my conscious mind e.g (walking away for a while, doing something relaxing being deliberately playful) so that I can be more creative. This was a very important skill to have because I found this project quite stressful. I demonstrated this skill by relaxing my mind and taking a break from my homework when it got too much to handle. I found it very frustrating because doing proper research and accurately researching off of proper sites was a challenge. I want a good grade on this project and I knew if i wanted to achieve that goal I had to have good skills to do so. I took a break from my homework and did some breathing exercises, I do this when I feel overwhelmed and stressed with my school work, this helped me a lot because I got my mind back into a work state and once I felt ready to work on my project I did so. I came back and was working much more efficiently and I was getting the hang of writing proper notes. I definitely will be using this skill in the future because I believe that I over work myself but having those breaks in between weather it is going on a walk to clear my mind or eating some food, it really helps with relaxing and it allows new ideas to generate, I noticed my writing improved a lot.

The third skill I demonstrated while using critical thinking was generating new ideas as I peruse my interests. I am super interested in wildlife and going on walks to interact with nature this is a part of my hobby, I used the skill of taking my interests which is in nature and I chose an animal that I personally felt connected to which was the Quail bird. I find birds super fascinating and I had some prior background knowledge on them so I felt comfortable to re search about Quail birds.  When Starting my project I didn’t know anything about this type bird species, but I was interested so I didn’t find it boring. I spent a lot of time at the library and visiting several websites to gather information, I did expand my knowledge because this was all new information that I was learning. I was intrigued in this topic because I found it cool since I was re searching about species of animals and plants that are found in BC. I was also able to expand some further knowledge on how the aboriginal peoples connected and interacted with the species of Quail as well as I learned their strategies for hunting and cultivating. One connection I made was how much they appreciate their food, whenever I eat I always keep a thought in the back of my head to appreciate what I’m eating and to always be grateful for what I have. All and all I liked how I was able to re search on a topic that interests me as well as gaining some new knowledge about the topic.

One skill I would like to improve on is using my experiences with various steps and attempts to direct my future. I would like to develop this sill because it is a good skill  to have when preparing for an up coming assignment. I could have made a chart and wrote down specific dates and the amount of research I would want to get done that day. Preparation is a good skill to have even in a work place or when doing any project because it allows you to have time to think about what you want to talk about before typing it or saying it. This skill can direct/impact my future because if I made a chart to track my work habits then I would be able to use it to reflect upon. For example if I started two days before the due date and I didn’t put as much effort in my work as I believe I could this would not only effect my work habits but it would potentially effect my grades too. Another area I wanted to improve on is adding a nice template to make my work look more presentable, this was one skill that I lacked. I believe that if I had better planning a head of time then I would have been able to add more creative thinking to my project like a nice template.

American Revolution Project

Jeffrine

Critical thinking:

Through this socials project I noticed I generated a lot of new ideas. I chose critical thinking as one of my areas to reflect upon because I feel like I demonstrated these skills the most. I was able to show the skill of analyzing and critiquing, I demonstrated this through identifying criteria that I can use to analyze evidence. While working on my socials project I re read the criteria and created a checklist, I made sure I had all the points I needed to exceed on this project. After analyzing and going through the checklist I used it to start creating a draft for my project. I was able to successfully put my project together because I was able to think and analyze before executing my project.

The second skill I was able to meet was analyzing evidence from different perspectives, I demonstrated this skill through doing research. While working on my project I had a small amount of knowledge on my topic because we discussed it briefly in class. I had to go more in depth and I knew I had to include both perspectives on my topic. After gathering a decent amount of information I analyzed my notes and I started writing my journal for the project, I made sure not to be biased when talking about my topic.

The third skill i demonstrated was questioning and investigating my work. I demonstrated this by exploring materials like different ways of putting my project together and I used many sites on the school library web to research on my project. Another area I believe I did well in was developing and designing. This was a major skill I accomplished because I was able to monitor my progress and adjust my actions to make sure I achieve what I want. When starting this project I made a chart and wrote down what I wanted to finish everyday, this way I was able to track my work and not leave everything to the last minute.

What I need to improve on:

While working on my socials project I realized I needed to improve on some certain areas when doing my research, one of those areas being questioning and investigating. I can do this by analyzing my own assumptions and beliefs. I believe I had great fluency when doing the writing portion of my assignment. I was able to write a lot about my topic for the project (stamp act) because of the research I did, I was also able to get all my points across that I wanted to and I used proper grammar but, I could improve by adding my own thoughts and opinions, this way my work would be more thoughtful and detailed.

Another area I believe I can improve on  is adding more perspective when I’m writing. One way I can  show this is including an even amount of information for both perspectives when writing so that my writing isn’t biased, some things I can use when writing is talking in third person point of view or choosing words carefully when making comparisons. I feel like my information would have been better if I thought about these points.

The last skill I would like to accomplish is, I can experiment with different ways of doing things. One way I can show this skill is by asking my self some reflective questions like, What were some of the most interesting discoveries I made while working on this project? Or I could reflect on what I found interesting during this project so I can expand on my writing and make it more thorough, I feel like this skill is important because it will help me become a stronger writer and I enjoy writing, sometimes I feel like I forget to ask myself questions when I’m doing an assignment. Another area of improvement could be developing and designing, I can show this by making choices that will help me create my intended impact on an audience or situation. Now I feel like this is a very great skill I need to work on. I lacked this skill because I tend to just write down simply what happened for example like “what was the stamp act”? instead I should have used my own knowledge or even made it more interesting by not just stating what happened but maybe creatively showing or visually representing what happened, this way there would be more variety to my work and it would draw peoples attention.

My project:

Industrial Revolution Invention Project

Jeffrine

proposal:

Group Member’s names: VLAD (check Vlad’s one note for marketing info)

The official name of the invention our group is proposing to create is

Solis Filtrum

Description of proposed invention, including an explanation of how it will work.

Our invention is designed to help filter and mineralize dirty water as well as help grow crops in locations that need it. Our goal is to try and prevent dehydration and mal nourishment in adults and children who can’t access a good water/ food source. The “Solis Filtrum” is a decently sized panel that is powered through sun, when given solar energy the panel activates many features like a filter which cleans out dirty water and mineralizes it. The second feature of this panel is to activate fans that push out the water which allows it to travel to the villages like a stream. We want to bring the water to the families instead of them coming to the water. The very last feature is a hose attached to the panel that will automatically spray water every 2-3 hours or so to water crops that will be planted on the sides of the panel. This way we can have water and food in one.

Explain how well this idea meets the goals of the “triple bottom line”

How much potential does it have for economic profit?

This device possesses great profit. Not only is it available In areas that require it, although also in your home. You can use this device to keep your plants alive, and give you clean water from the tap. We see this device being a great opportunity to invest in. We will place multiple shares onto the stock market after advertising it, allowing us to make an A grade product. We plan on selling the item to individual parties or governments to give their country. We believe that the product will succeed not only in third world counties, but even your home.

Social benefit (how much of a positive impact will it have in people’s lives?)

We believe our invention is very eco-friendly and has a positive impact on people’s lives because we are helping families in need of good nutrition. This will benefit them because a lot of people who live in more poor countries can’t afford any clean water or food. Having an easy access to these needs is very important so with this invention hopefully we will be able to prevent dehydration and give proper nutrition to families. This will socially impact peoples communities because the more people we target the more we will succeed in our goal to try and end dehydration.

Environmentally-friendly (does it help to solve an environmental issue?)

This invention is very eco-friendly and doesn’t interfere with any environmental issues. Our invention has a feature to nourish crops and help them grow. More crops means more food for people and we can benefit the environment through planting new crops and having good soils that will nourish the soil which will benefit the earth.

Small illustration of proposed invention (doesn’t have to be to scale)

check Vlad’s for the illustration but we do have a prototype.

I will need the following materials to build our invention (include where you will find or buy these materials and the cost of each item).

panels: 10 x 15 cost: CDN$ 400.00 & free shipping – amazon (2)

Filter:

Fans by motor: Enshey Boat motor engine four stroke: Cost: CDN$ 504.06 & free shipping- amazon (2)

Traveling sprinkler: Nelson traveling sprinkler- Cost: CDN$ 103.95 & free shipping- amazon (1)

Good fertilizer: FREE (provided with the purchase) manufactured in our factories. (SEEDS PROVIDED) * Add your own crops*

Tractor: provided by company to dig.

Pipe to attach

I estimate the cost of building this invention (per unit) will be:

Depending on size and features, for a larger filter with good features it can cost from 100-200$-1,000

Panels. To install a panel it costs around 11,000$ for a 1,500 square foot house.

The average cost for a panel varies from 11,000$

I estimate the size of our invention will be:

1,500 square foot

I estimate our invention will take approximately hours to build.

72 hours to install and build the panel (3 days). And to dig and do the whole process we will need at least 6-8 days.

Who is the target market for this product? (who will buy it?)

we are targeting countries so we want the government to help their country and invest in this project to prevent dehydration and mal nourishment. Other people could pitch in too.

How will you advertise and market this product?

We are going to advertise this on bigger platforms and maybe start an account on google or have an Instagram. We want this to help as many people so we will advertise it on big social platforms.

Power Point:

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Brochure:

in the image.

Instagram: @HWSS_solisfiltrum

Picture:

Image preview

Core Competencies Reflection

 
Here is evidence that I can… collaborate, teach, be considerate to others, discuss, contribute to class discussion, explain, justify, share ideas, etc.

Core Competency:   Communication.

 

 

During the social’s invention project, I noticed it acquired a lot of thinking and communication skills. Reflecting upon my work and how I executed the project I would say that communication was one of the main factors and I achieved it, here are the very few reasons why. I was able to acquire, interpret, and present my information. I demonstrated these skills by sharing information about the topic that was important to me. For example, for the invention project I chose to invent a device that would help minimize as well as spread awareness for a cause; that cause was to help countries with un sanitised drinking water. Having access to clean drinking water is an important topic to me because it is essential for every human; and every human should be able to have it. I did a lot of research on this topic and found out that Afghanistan was one of those countries in need. So, when my audience was coming around, I was able to clearly and in an organized way share my ideas and my presentation with them. On my PowerPoint that I added for more creativity and communicative skills, I visually represented my project. I added very detailed writing and some images that followed a long with my topic. I had one teacher say that I knew everything I was talking about and he said I did so good that he wished to see me join business. I felt like I really achieved my communication skills after hearing such a positive comment. I instantly had a lot of great feed back from my peers and teachers. I believe this project also went very well for me because I was able to explain/recount and reflect on experiences and accomplishments. I demonstrated these skills in numerous ways; for example, when one teacher approached my project and asked me a lot of questions about my invention, I was able to thoroughly answer them with great depth and details. I found it very good to be able to connect with the audience because they seemed more intrigued and interested in my invention when I spoke in an enthusiastic tone. Many people really wanted to learn more about the device I built. I was able to present my ideas through a PowerPoint and poster. I also knew a lot about this topic because I took time to do my research, I also stated my own opinion and asked other people about their opinion on my invention. I had two encounters with not very positive feedback. They criticized my work but instead of reacting poorly I respectfully took their feed back and I learned from it. I was able to use their criticism and apply it to my project, since I built off their ideas it made my project better. That is how I demonstrated the skill of connecting and communicating with others. The very last section I touched up on was being an active listener. Many students and teachers visited my invention and they payed good attention to my project, so I knew that they shared their time with me, so I shared mine with them. For example, I allowed questions at the end of the presentation and I actively listened to their questions as well as feedback and I demonstrated the skill of engaging with others.

Ways I want to improve are…

I believe I did very well with communication but an area I could always improve in is explaining/recounting and reflecting on experiences and encounters. I was able to reflect upon my work and act on feed back by respectfully listening to people’s feedback and applying it to my project. One peer didn’t really understand the function of my project so I made sure that when the next person arrived, I would touch on it more and put more depth in explaining the function. I feel like I could have done a better job with connecting on my own experiences for example I have encountered many visitors from previous years that would come to my middle school and talk about the food and water. I could have used some examples or generated ideas from the experience and shared it with my audience. I feel like that could have made them more connected to my presentation. Another area of improvement was telling my audience what I learned from the experience and this project. Now  I have the opportunity to talk about it in this reflection but when people were gathering around my project I believe I could have also told them one thing that I learned from this experience but I didn’t and I do definitely think that reflecting on my work then and there could have been better

 

  

Take Your Kid To Work Day 2019

Jeffrine

My dad and I at the construction site after we finished work.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Assignment:

 

Name: Jeffrine D

(First Name and Last Initial)

Advisory #200

You will be observing your host throughout the day. There are 3 parts to this assignment

Part 1- The Interview: Observe your host at work, at some point interview your host and record/make notes of the results

Part 2 – Reflection: After the day is finished, reflect upon your experience and answer the reflection questions Part 3 – Post Your Assignment to Your Blog: Once your have completed Part 1 and Part 2 post it on your blog. Make sure you take pictures and/or videos to document your day, you can place them in your blog.

Name of your host: Peter (Dad) Betty (Mum) Relationship to you: Parents

The Interview: (ask your host these questions)

  1. What is your job title? Construction- Deficiencies
  2. What is your job description? My parents work together for a construction company called polygon and their job is to prepare units and town houses for the buyers.
  3. What are the duties and/or tasks you perform at your job? The duties and/ or tasks that my parents preform at work are fixing up the units after people renovate them and they both go in after and clean the units up and repair anything that got damaged while constructing the house like any holes in the walls or broken tubs and leaks.
  4. What qualifications do you have for this job in the following areas?
  5. My parents had to take a first aid orientation and meet the qualifications my dad showed them his skills as well as my mum and they both were hired. If you slack at your job or if you constantly miss the assigned units then you will get fired. Three years ago, my parents won an award for the most hard-working people in the job site. 

 

Training: My dad did not take any kind of training. When he first came to Canada, he was 19 years old. My dad had to be very independent and teach himself everything. He spent days and days practicing and experimenting with different tools. My dad’s job is very competitive, and he keeps his knowledge to himself because a lot of people focus on themselves and rarely help my dad. My mum developed her learning through my dad. My father and mum work together and learn off each other as well as help each other.

Education: My father and mum didn’t need to finish any good education in construction. Most of the job is common knowledge and you do need to teach yourself and know everything in advance. Not having an education is very bad because you will have a tough life. My mum finishes nursing back in our home country but when she moved here, they wouldn’t accept her papers. She had no other option and she had to work with my father because it was convenient, and he was able to teach her.

Experience: My father worked in Greece for 7 years before permanently staying in Canada. He watched people construct and build houses which inspired him. My dad came to Canada and he has been working for construction ever since. My father now has 30-35 years of experience which he developed himself through his own money, handwork, effort and time.

 

skills and attributes (personal qualities)? My dad and mum are very skilled in their job. My father taught himself and he can fix anything and everything that’s why he is making his own business. School taught him nothing about construction he had to use his own knowledge to become a good worker and to be able to execute each job correctly and efficiently.

What are some of the things you like about the job? My parents both like to do different things at their job sites. My mum enjoys painting the townhouses and cleaning the Units. She does a lot of cleaning and she has been doing it for 8 years, so she learnt to like it. My dad really enjoys his break times even though they are very short. He spends his break sleeping because he doesn’t get enough sleep and he is always exhausted. My dad enjoys the end of the day because he gets to come home and relax (usually Fridays). He also likes working in the community and being able to build and renovate houses for people. He finds good success when he accomplishes his tasks. He does not enjoy his job, but he likes learning from it and the knowledge he developed from this job he now uses in his business that he started. My dad is a very independent man, so he likes working for himself. My father also likes being able to fix the units and he loves the feeling of doing good work. Being able to transform something that is in rough conditions and making it as good as new is an accomplishment for him.

What are some of the things you dislike about this job? My parents have different opinions on their job. Starting with my mum she doesn’t like how her job begins so early in the morning, she wakes up at 4:00am and leaves to work around 5:30. She drives with my dad to work in the same car and depending on the roads and the location of their site they sometimes have to drive up to 1-1 ½ hours to get to work. My parents both dislike this because they need to pay for gas and getting up so early can be a hassle. Their job starts at 6:30 and once arriving on site they have to be geared up with safety gear for safety hazard reasons or else they can be charged a fine. I observed my parents and they seemed to be extremely stressed while doing their job. Each task has to be completed with in a week. My dad and my mum were both given two units each to complete, that’s four in total. Personally, I noticed this was a struggle not only for my parents but some of their workers too. Within the week you are very rushed. The job has to be done efficiently with hardly any good time to complete it. There are many things to fox and a lot of it requires many expensive tools. Another con of working in construction is that it’s a very heavy-duty job and most tools have to be payed for out of your own pocket. This job is too stressful for my parents, but my mum has been working in construction for 8 years and my dad for over 20 years. I was extremely tired after working with them and I noticed they have no breaks. You constantly have to stay on task or else you will be behind on inspection days and this could really affect you as well as you are monitored by bosses and more experienced people. My parents also dislike the fact that many people get away with doing nothing at their job when they work super hard and get treated poorly. Many of my father’s tools have gone missing at work and he has been injured several times. My mum has also had very poor skin after using certain cleaners like Methyl Hydrate which is toxic, and she’s been around these substances for years which really damages her health. All and all I wish my parents had better jobs but since my mum doesn’t speak well English this is the best job she could get quickly because we needed money to support our family.

 

How do you anticipate this job changing in the next 5 years or so?

 

In 5 years, my parents will not be working for a company in construction. My mum wants a different job which she has been looking for during this previous year. My father opened his own business so for the next 5 years he wants to try building new things like building counter tops or fixing them as well as cabinets and tubs. Construction has been the same for the pass 20-30 years for my dad so their probably won’t be a change in construction, but equipment is always advancing and improving.

 

Other question (s):

When will you stop completely working?

After 40 years’ worth of working in Canada my dad believes it’s time for him to quit working and quit his job to enjoy life finally. My dad is 53 years old and wants to work for himself in his business right now he works part time which means he works 2 jobs 3-4 times a week. After a long exhausting 8 hours he continues to work even more because he is a very hard-working father who wants to support his family. My father leaves the house at 5:30am and returns 9:00-10:00 pm, I tend to miss him a lot and then he is grumpy all week because of the lack of sleep. My father wants to work full time in his business starting next year. He will do so for another 7 years and then he will retire.

 

What do you want to do after you retire?

 

After retiring my dad wants to never do any type of construction he wants to go back to his life as a kid and enjoy activities he never has time to do. My dad loves fishing, travelling biking and hiking so retiring will allow him to really enjoy these things and cherish his time while he lives a good life. My dad had to quit fishing because he lost time to do it. It only feels like yesterday when I went fishing with my father, but it has been a long 6 years that I have not been able to do so because we both became too busy with school and then work for him. I would really love to see my father relaxed and happy for once because his life is very repetitive and exhausting.

 

Student Reflections:

Give three reasons why you would like this job (be specific):

  • Working in construction there is a lot of variety. The job isn’t necessarily the same thing every day you actually do many different things like painting, sanding and even designing etc.
  • Being a part of construction is like being a part of a community and you can meet so many different people that have the same interest as you do and together you can make an impact on the community through building houses for people who need homes.
  • You get more physical activity. While working in construction you get to move around a lot. I became very tired really quick because I was helping with moving around heavy equipment around the site as well as constantly walking up stairs to get to different rooms in the house.

My explanation from my experience:

I enjoyed take your kid to work day because I got to experience a lot. I noticed that my parents worked on many different tasks around the townhouses (units). My mum focused on cleaning and doing the smaller important things like patching up holes and cleaning different things like toilets, sinks, windows and counter-tops. She used many different cleaners and she even installed a couple things that needed to be done. My dad on the other hand kind of took over the heavy-duty things like sanding because that was important to do correctly and painting bigger walls as well as dealing with, much bigger holes or dents in tubs and water issues. He maintained the whole house and also worked on flooring. I believe working for construction is very important and can impact the community, many people need homes and that’s why we have construction workers to do so. You build a family in a small community and everyone seemed to know each other and behave super kindly towards one another. I worked fir 8 hours with my parents, and I did a lot of different tasks when working with my parents, from walking up the stairs to different units and looking for tools it became a lot of work. I was so tired when I returned home that I slept the whole day.

 

Give three reasons why you would not like this job (be specific):

 

  • It’s dangerous and you could easily get injured.
  • Buying your own equipment which is very expensive and can get stolen easily. Most of the cleaners are toxic and dust from sanding can pollute the air and damage air quality.
  • The job requires heavy weightlifting and you are exposed to the outdoors more because if a unit doesn’t have any heating installed in the house or any windows then it becomes very cold.

My deeper explanation:

Observing the job and being able to work for just a day I noticed things I didn’t like about this job. Construction takes up a lot of your time during the day, my dad works very long shifts and has to wake up super early in the morning. My dad has gotten injured several times in construction but when first joining construction you will be more prone to injuries if you’re unfamiliar with the equipment. When I worked with my parents, I had to take a test on “WHIMIS” and first aid as well as common sense safety rules and protocols. It wasn’t super difficult but there are a lot of safety rules to follow because it can be a dangerous job if there were no safety rules. I spent a good amount of the day moving equipment around from house to house and I carried all sorts of things for people like paint buckets (which are not light) and many other things. I did not enjoy this because my back became very sore as well as my arms after a short period of time. My dad and mum both need to provide their own tools for themselves. My parents have spent quite a lot of money on purchasing tools and sadly many of them were borrowed by people since they helped themselves and they were never returned back. A lot of people find it very convenient to go and visit other units and just take other people’s tools without asking and then never returning them. Sometimes depending on how much work has to be done for instance if you work at a very new built site you may notice that some of these units do not have any toilets installed, any running water or windows. This makes the unit unsafe, cold and very UN-sanitary. You cannot drink the water from the taps and if windows are not installed and no one can heat the house then moisture travels through the house and mold can develop or even rust which is upper hard to clean and bad or your health. All and all I don’t really like construction, but it was a very fun experience.

 

Is this job for you? Why or why not?

 

This job isn’t for me because I do not enjoy it and I do not see myself being a construction worker because it’s very complicated and I’m not good with construction as well as there are many cons about working in a construction site. I do not like how you are exposed to toxic chemicals and bad air quality. My health is very important to me and I want it to stay that way. My parents seem very stressed when they come back from work and they are very tired. I don’t like how long their shifts are and you can do so much hard work in one day and not even get thanked for it. I see myself working as something else in my near future and I want to be able to be happy with my job and I want to feel passionate when I go to work instead of feeling dreadfulness.

 

Explain the value of the TYKTW experience in relation to your ideas about your post secondary (after high school) plans (education?, training?, travel?, work?).

This was a wonderful experience and being able to watch my parents and even participate in their job made me realize how hard working they are. The experience was so cool because I was able to see what they do out of home and how they interact with so many different people. This experience made me so excited to work and start my dream job that I want to achieve and earn when I’m older. This experience helped me develop new ideas for what I want to be when I grow up and I was really able to see the “outside life” and the wok industry. I would like to finish school and then go to university and train to become a cop. I would like to move to the states potentially and then finish my training over their because I notice that life is more affordable in the USA.

 

 

Email me if you want to see the video I made of my experience.