High School - Jobs/Career Topics

[zachmokpo]

I did a lesson Dirty Jobs. I asked students what good jobs were to have in Korea. Then asked 10 students what they wanted to do ("I want to be a.........). I then asked them what DDD jobs are (Dirty, Dusty/Difficult, and Dangerous) and asked them what some bad jobs were. I showed them several clips from the tv show Dirty Jobs and asked the class their opinions.

I then had the students think of a dirty job for me to do. I asked them what type of job I would do, what I would have to do, how much they would pay me, and if they would do the job. The lesson went pretty well and got job ranging from undertaker to removing moss from mountains.

[andiusaugustus]

Good idea.  Very original.

[harveyca]

I arrived at school, decided I didn't like my lesson plan so I tried this one out. A boy's high school definitely provides some interesting answers. Some highlights, a gay bar strip dancer, an adult video actor and a 똘추, which, from what I surmised is the person who cleans sumo wrestler's asses.

[robtel]

Thanks, this is great.

[nancy]

I really liked this lesson and the students enjoyed the videos. I did have one student become very offended and told me that all jobs have value. I explained that dirty was meant literally as in covered in dirt. He was not mollified. I might suggest that students are told beforehand that the lesson is not critical of these jobs or the people that do them. The rest of the class really enjoyed it and I got to be a hitman and horse pee inspector!

[figachewy]

Great idea. It's always great to hear about aspirations. The "Dirty Jobs" video clips are an excellent complement!

[dporter]

Really good idea Zach.

I did a heavily modified version of this lesson. I used 3 videos - the Ostrich Famers, Blood Worm Collector, and Sausage Maker.

After the intro and videos I put the students in pairs. I had each pair come up with a DDDD job for me (Dusty, Dirty, Dangerous, Disgusting.)

After 10 minutes I started pulling the kids to the front of the class to do a quick mock job interview. I tried to really play up the job and stretch the dialog.

The lesson worked best with my advanced 8th graders and the 9th graders.

Thanks for the idea.

[merle]

After 10 minutes I started pulling the kids to the front of the class to do a quick mock job interview. I tried to really play up the job and stretch the dialog.

That sounds really interesting.  Your highschoolers must be not shy or lethargic at all to if they are able to get involved with a roleplay like that.
Were you the interviewer, or did the roleplay work in pairs?

[dporter]

After 10 minutes I started pulling the kids to the front of the class to do a quick mock job interview. I tried to really play up the job and stretch the dialog.

That sounds really interesting.  Your highschoolers must be not shy or lethargic at all to if they are able to get involved with a roleplay like that.
Were you the interviewer, or did the roleplay work in pairs?

Grade 2 and 3 middle school kids. I was the interviewee but I really drove the interview. I would often lead them where I was going by interrupting them so they didn't say too much at once. Soon they got the idea that it was all a big game.

Today I got this:

Me: Hello, I am very poor and I have no job. NO JOB. I am also hungry. I have no money. No girlfriend. Do you have a job for me.
Student: Yes. You will climb Mt. Everest (Here I interrupted the student. I read his paper prior to calling him to the front.)
Me: You mean the tallest mountain in the world?
Student: Yes.
Me: Ok. That's a good job. A little dangerous but not too bad. What else must I do.
Student: Carry a bomb!
Me: What?1?
Student: Carry a bomb.
Me: <Shocked look on face look at other students> Carry a bomb?
Student: A big bomb.
Me: To the top.
Student: Yes.
Me: Then what do I do.
Student: Explode the bomb.
Me: What about me.
Student: You die.

Laughter fills the room.

To be fair I gave the student the bomb idea while walking around the room. He had the Mt. Everest idea but he couldn't think of a way to make it more dangerous. We brainstormed for a few seconds and I said, 'What if I have to carry a bomb.' He smiled and I knew that he got it. For the rest he was on his own.

Some of the kids had a good job that wasn't really dangerous so I prompted them to put me in a dangerous place during my walkaround. Like a window cleaner - in North Korea or a restroom cleaner in a soccer stadium.

[lizwilli]

Thanks, this goes well with a text book lesson I am teaching from about the three d's.

[gaegujange nick]

I paired this lesson up with a boring textbook lesson I had to teach, which made the lesson fun and enjoyable. I found some different dirty jobs videos on youtube though. We talked about the different characteristics of the jobs and the workers who did them. Then the students identified qualities about themselves and what kinds of jobs would be good for them. Then the students wrote a paragraph about what type of job they thought would be best for them. For the following lesson I made fake job classifieds pages and the students had to write a letter of interest for the job they chose and tell why they would be good for the job. Im thinking of adding that Idea about interviewing also. Thanks!! 

[andygarth]

Thanks a lot Zach, very creative and interesting. Since I took your idea, I thought it was only fair to contribute how I modified it. I wouldn't say it's any better or worse, but a little different. I thought the Cow birthing was a bit much, and the skull cleaning was a bit confusing, so I replaced them with some sort of snake collector, and window cleaner. It's attached.

[The.it.girl]

Use or Loose~

[dan2464]

Great lesson!  I changed it a bit to suit my school, which is low-level high school. 

1.  My students sometimes exude an aura of entitlement, thinking they're too good to do certain jobs or see some jobs as failure.  I thought it would be interesting to show them what some celebrities did before they became famous, so I added bits on Brad Pitt, Mariah Carey, etc.

2.  I also added the blood worm video, but I definitely don't show the full lengths of all the videos.

3.  My students are a bit hesitant to imagine themselves in "dirty jobs," but are really into making fun of their friends.  To motivate them more to participate, I changed the assignment a little.  The assignment in my version is that the students work in pairs and have to make a dirty jobs for each other then present at the end of class.

Thanks for sharing the lesson!  It's fantastic!

Edit: Okay!  I have fixed the file and it should be working fine now!

[teacher_del]

Dan, do you have a Mac?  You can't copy-paste or drag-and-drop pictures into a Mac Office PowerPoint and have it work on Windows machines.  You'll have to save the images to a file, then use the menus to insert the image from the file.  Then it'll display properly for everyone.

[dan2464]

I do have a mac!  Good to know.  It'll save me a lot of pain next time.  Thanks a lot!

[ACCUTTA]

so are you teaching the kids that poor people are worthless and should die?

[summerthyme]

Please refer to the response by Nancy about this lesson and possible objections to it.

We aim to keep discussions on the forum positive and beneficial for all.  If you feel this material is unsatisfactory, do not use it for your lessons.  Also, please remember to remain constructive in posts. 

[dan2464]

OH!  I forgot.  I also added this job! 

http://www.artifacting.com/blog/2010/09/15/climbing-a-1768-foot-transmission-tower/

They were pretty much mesmerized by the video.  I think I will sub it in for the blood worm video to free up more time.  My students thought it was really funny how they never thought about changing a light bulb/beacon on towers. 

[shambles2.0]

[mod edit: ...] I was nervous just watching that video!  I hope those men get paid a lot of money!!