Dirty, Dangerous & Dream Jobs [ Lesson ]

[leo fuchigami]

Personally, I love the Dutch. They are quite possibly the coolest people on the planet. We've met loads around Asia and in Europe on our travels, and they get everywhere, all speak immaculate English and are incredibly switched on and great fun. Most Brits who know Dutch people (or have visited the Netherlands - which is most Brits) would agree with this I think... The same applies to Scandinavians.

We don't see the Dutch as an example of going too far left, if anything they've had issues with the far-right in recent years (I may be wrong but if memory serves me correct I think that crazed Norweigen gunman was inspired in part by the Dutch far-right). Socially speaking, they're policies are of course very liberal. I know a lot of Brits (mainly below 50) wouldn't object strongly to the legalisation of drugs and prostitution. Whilst I hate all drugs and am against prostitution, I'm still a realist.  I'm not saying I'm in favour of the legalisation of drugs but I think its better for societies (except for the gangs and dealers) that drugs are regulated and the women in prostitution are protected and have as safe environment as possible to work in.

However, I can't see the legalisation of drugs (I don't know much about prostitution) happening in the UK or many other European countries anytime soon, but we do respect the Dutch and the society they have. We don't look at them in disgust. Despite our more conservative society and laws, our teenage pregnancy, drug addiction and crime rates are significantly higher than the Netherlands and their more open, free, liberal society. Interpret that as you please.

In Britain, there is resentment towards some of the EU's more liberal social policies, a lot of people are angry at having laws and policies dictated to us by Brussels especially after the recent riots. There may well be a rise in Conservatism and an anti-EU feeling in Britain with regards to law and order as a response to the riots. By European standards Britain is no shining beacon of liberalism. In comparison to the US though, I guess we are.

To us in Europe, the idea of a devoutly religious government is frightening and most people seem to share the opinion that religion and politics are a dangerous, outdated mix in todays world.

Consequently our politicians and their policies are not (usually) guided by god, a phobia of all taxes and government and a mistrust of others.

Having said that, I've no doubt plenty of people would disagree with me here.

I've talked too much, time to actually do some work now!

Thanks again Daniel! I found it fascinating to hear a first hand opinion about the matter. We Canadians often take pride in defining ourselves in direct contrast to American social policy and culture, but it sounds like we should shift our attention Eastwards.

[leo fuchigami]

these are awesome. thanks.

here is a link to this thread for your convenience:
http://waygook.org/index.php/topic,21127.0.html

Thanks Juskajo, but what is the purpose of the link?

[taebaekluke]

I mean, these countries clearly have superior public services (education, insurance, health, etc.), but does that come at the cost of disposable income?

Denmark has a base tax rate of 37% and 25% V.A.T.
Canada's tax seems to be around 15%+ (right?) with 5% V.A.T.

A huge difference, but then you have to look at minimum wage, job benefits etc. to figure out the disposable income. I'd say the results would show that disposable income levels in Denmark are much more even than in Canada, for example

[leo fuchigami]

I mean, these countries clearly have superior public services (education, insurance, health, etc.), but does that come at the cost of disposable income?

Denmark has a base tax rate of 37% and 25% V.A.T.
Canada's tax seems to be around 15%+ (right?) with 5% V.A.T.

A huge difference, but then you have to look at minimum wage, job benefits etc. to figure out the disposable income. I'd say the results would show that disposable income levels in Denmark are much more even than in Canada, for example

Canada's base tax rate is 0 if you make less than ~$9000. We don't have the exact equivalent of VAT and it varies between provinces, but it starts at 5 all the way up to 13%. What you say makes sense. However taxes are so multi-layered that I feel like simply looking at the national taxes don't fully reflect the minimum % of income spent on essentials and taxes. I wish I could live over there for a few months to really get a feel of things....*sigh*

[bigal]

wow, thanks again for another great lesson leo. these days when i log onto waygook i have found myself wondering if you have posted a new lesson... i'm not sure if that makes me a bad teacher or you an excellent one. probably both.

i have one question - i'm wondering how your students responded to the slide showing korean vs. american minimum wage, average salary, and whatnot. was it just simply surprise? as an american, i think i might be a little sheepish to show them that particular slide. i guess i just worry that they might mistake my desire to enlighten them about such things as some weird desire to brag about america and/or put down korea. i have found that my students generally have a very inaccurate perception of wealth in america. long story short, many of them essentially believe that the vast majority of americans are very wealthy. In one lesson in which I was talking about university life, the background of one powerpoint slide was a picture of the library at my university... upon seeing this, many students shouted, "teacher! you're house??!!". and they weren't joking. anyway, i'm just wondering how your students responded to that particular slide. of course, i could just delete it, but i have found that many times my expectations of students' knowledge/perceptions/etc. is wildly off. and, like you say, i think it is part of our duty to teach them more about cultural/worldly things than just simply english.

thanks again!

Hi there!
I often find many of the lessons will incorporate USA facts and statistics (by the way i've no problem with this, my thanks go to all contributors), but what i tend to do, being English, is try and find the facts or stats that are then relative to England and add them in too.
In this case the slide with the Korea/US wages,hrs, etc i used Leo's link and found the relevant English figures and added them to the powerpoint comparing the 3 countries. As 'our' minimum salary is more, but average salary is less, as with hours, it takes some of that 'hol/wah' factor off the US stats and gives the kids a few more ideas about how other countries are.

[mcarth04]

I was looking for a great after school lesson and this sounds like the ticket.  Thanks!

[leo fuchigami]

Hi there!
I often find many of the lessons will incorporate USA facts and statistics (by the way i've no problem with this, my thanks go to all contributors), but what i tend to do, being English, is try and find the facts or stats that are then relative to England and add them in too.
In this case the slide with the Korea/US wages,hrs, etc i used Leo's link and found the relevant English figures and added them to the powerpoint comparing the 3 countries. As 'our' minimum salary is more, but average salary is less, as with hours, it takes some of that 'hol/wah' factor off the US stats and gives the kids a few more ideas about how other countries are.

Actually, I'm Canadian but often resort to making comparisons between Korea and the US because it's more relevant to their interests and then throw in Canadian information afterwards, so I know how you feel.

[panurge]

I tried this lesson with some of my higher level 2nd graders and it was a struggle.  The presentation looks and flows great, but the material didn't seem to grab my students.  I tried keeping them engaged during the big numbers portion, but they lost interest in the repetitious nature of the exercises after a bit.  Also, the information pertaining to wages, work hours, GDP, etc. was either way over their heads or just not interesting.  It can also leads to a lot of teacher talk time if the students are lost/not engaged.  My co-teacher assisted with explanations, but it all seemed to be missing the mark.  Getting them talking about the jobs was a bit more successful, but I must admit I didn't use the worksheet so it was difficult to keep them following.  I tend not to use full-page worksheets to save on paper/printing time, so I just had the students write down the info in their notebooks I keep in class.
Overall, the lesson didn't bomb for me, just had a lot of disinterested looks from a class I thought would get into this material.  Might try drilling the numbers a different way (gap-fills?) and making a half-sheet for the worksheet.  Also, couldn't play some videos as I use OpenOffice and for some reason it opens .ppts in a weird way.  BTW, have you tried it for Mac?  Free and open-source!
Thanks for your contributions! Not trying to knock your material, just some feedback. Tried your 'Extreme Sports' lesson and it works well.
Also, yes "shred" is American slang for something that kicks ass!  Like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHUF00Q6CYs Enjoy!
Thanks again man!

[leo fuchigami]

I tried this lesson with some of my higher level 2nd graders and it was a struggle.  The presentation looks and flows great, but the material didn't seem to grab my students.  I tried keeping them engaged during the big numbers portion, but they lost interest in the repetitious nature of the exercises after a bit.  Also, the information pertaining to wages, work hours, GDP, etc. was either way over their heads or just not interesting.  It can also leads to a lot of teacher talk time if the students are lost/not engaged.  My co-teacher assisted with explanations, but it all seemed to be missing the mark.  Getting them talking about the jobs was a bit more successful, but I must admit I didn't use the worksheet so it was difficult to keep them following.  I tend not to use full-page worksheets to save on paper/printing time, so I just had the students write down the info in their notebooks I keep in class.
Overall, the lesson didn't bomb for me, just had a lot of disinterested looks from a class I thought would get into this material.  Might try drilling the numbers a different way (gap-fills?) and making a half-sheet for the worksheet.  Also, couldn't play some videos as I use OpenOffice and for some reason it opens .ppts in a weird way.  BTW, have you tried it for Mac?  Free and open-source!
Thanks for your contributions! Not trying to knock your material, just some feedback. Tried your 'Extreme Sports' lesson and it works well.
Also, yes "shred" is American slang for something that kicks ass!  Like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHUF00Q6CYs Enjoy!
Thanks again man!

Thanks for taking the time to provide proper feedback panurge!

Okay, here it goes:
1. I went through the review of the big numbers at a very fast pace. For the upper level students I skipped the 10, 20, 11, 12 page entirely. That was only for my lowest level classes (I think I left a comment about that under that slide). Most of my time was spent on the races.
2. I had the exact opposite reaction regarding the GDP figures. I would say that my students were all in awe every time I revealed the American figures. Are you trying to get them to guess the figures before showing it to them? I made the students try to guess each figure before revealing it. Just getting them all to shout out numbers in English was enough to get more students engaged as well as practice speaking numbers.
3. My teaching style is probably more one-way than most teachers on Waygook. You will notice this with all of my lessons. I teach at a low level/mid middle school so I find this method gets the most class engagement. Unfortunately, my lessons do not excel in that regard.
4. The worksheet helped a lot. In fact, I would go so far as to say that worksheets are essential in my school. The stark difference in class engagement (and reduction in classroom management time) when I started to use worksheets was amazing.
5. I use the Office Suite. OpenOffice is great for basic usage but is not nearly as powerful as MS Office.
6. I attached a media file that contains all the videos in the first post. the .zip file.

Hope this helps!
5.

[O]

Hi Leo,

Thanks for the PPT. Just used it today on two of my classes with a few edits.

I have basically merged your PPT with another I found on here, credit to them also, between the two ofyou I have ended up with a couple of great lessons.

I am at an all boys high school so my first video is a little violent you may argue, but engaged them like nothing I have seen before!
They actually had the numbers down fast, and struggled with some of the job vocabulary, but all in all everyone was involved and interested, and def a succesful lesson.

Basic procedure of this:
1) Intro video/warmers
2) Big numbers
3) Job descriptions, salaries and discussion
4) "Mr Hutchby needs a new job" exercise (In small groups discuss and write out 4 boxes as per example and at end of class get as many  students to read out as time will allow.)
Contingency) Same format "my dream job"

[blaze524]

Hey Leo,

Thanks for the nice lesson. It worked pretty well overall. I particularly liked the "two commas" method of learning big numbers. Kudos to you.
Also, I have adapted the lesson to my particular taste. Here is the lesson for those interested in a slightly different look.
Changes:
1. I have downloaded, converted and embedded some videos into the PPT.
2. The section on GDP has been removed for a better paced lesson.
3. Various aesthetic changes (different pictures, bigger pictures, or "cleaner" looking pictures)
4. The Worksheet has been modified to reflect these changes.

Dirty,_Dangerous,_and_Dream_Jobs.rar File size: 125.47 MB

[leo fuchigami]

Those are some huge video files! Hahah

Thanks for all the improvements guys. I love it when people adapt my stuff.

[dmw]

Thanks for ANOTHER great presentation 

here are some other links I found online regarding Top 10 worst/unfortunate jobs etc:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOi2srCHmIs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahIGrJoDFog&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H879THW1-6k&feature=related

[wolftashie]

I made a dialogue out of your lesson for my classes. I feel like they never talk enough in class as it is.   They have to go around the room looking for different dream jobs, write the info down and then they get to play bingo with the answers!  Hope you like it!

[jtrounson84]

This may be my most successful lesson yet...I don't think I've ever managed to shock my students so many times in a single lesson!

Lesson Details
1. Video - "The Best Job In The World"
2. Big Numbers - Teach students how to easily count to 999,999,999.
3. Number Racing Games - Get students to write and speak large numbers as quickly as they can
4. How Much Money? - Show students how much money they can make in Korea vs. USA, then put the countries into a global perspective
5. Dirty, Dangerous & Dream Jobs - Show students some very interesting jobs from the US. Get them to discuss the pros and cons of each job.
6. Your Dream Job - Get students to write about their dream job, real or fake.

Why I liked this lesson
1. I managed to get my lowest level students to quickly read, write and speak up to 999,999,999! Even my co-teachers said they were genuinely surprised by the students. One tried to stop me from teaching the larger numbers to one of our classes, but I pushed on ahead and she was thoroughly impressed by them.
Note first year students only learn to count up to the hundreds in public school. Upper level students have learned 1,000+ in their academy classes.
2. The students were genuinely fascinated by the "how much money" section. It really put things into perspective for them. Not only that South Korea was not as rich as they thought, but that the US was much poorer than they thought (relative to Western European socialist & oil rich countries)
3. They loved the jobs.

PLEASE READ THE COMMENTS UNDER EACH PP SLIDE. There is a comment under EVERY slide from slide 7 onwards.

If you like this lesson, check out my other lessons:
Pictures That Changed The World
PRANKS
ZOMBIES
Extreme Sports
What is Beauty?
Konglish
Big, Bigger and Biggest

Using salaries and unique jobs is a great idea to teach large numbers! I've found that even many of my more able students struggle with reading large numbers. Will definitely adapt and use for my classes. Will post adaptations once done as well. Thanks for this!

[betso22]

Great looking lesson. I'm looking forward to using it in my winter camp in the next few days. I updated the format a bit and added video from "Dirty Jobs." I hope it goes well. Thanks for sharing this great work!

PS - Loved the Konglish Jokes. I'm hoping to use them in a class next semester.