Claire Teegen

Sins of the City: Immigration

In PLP we just finished an amazing unit. Our school is in North Vancouver so for this unit we learned about some of the sins, or social injustices, that Vancouver has had in the past and present. Coming into this unit I thought that Vancouver was one of the most perfect places to live. I never knew that there were so many social injustices here in the past and present. In this unit we learned about 5 different types of social injustices. We learned about environmental injustices, immigration injustices, human rights injustices, First Nations injustices, and city growth injustices. To start off this unit we went to the Museum of Vancouver to see their A City on Edge display and learn about the history of Vancouver.

The museum was amazing and I highly recommend that you visit it to learn more about Vancouver. Its main display is set up to take you through time and show you what it was like in Vancouver during each time period. It had tons of information about the social injustices throughout time. The City on Edge display was very informative and was a stunning photographic journey of protest, uprising, and change in Vancouver. It will only be on display till February 18th 2018 so I recommend you go see it while you still can. While we were at the museum we had to pick the topic we wanted to do for our project. Our project was to make a group podcast discussing one of the many social injustices Vancouver has. We had to talk about what the problem was like during the interwar period and what it is like now. We then had to write down our top three choices and submit them to our teacher so we could be put in our groups. I was put in a group with Sydney , Spencer, and Reid and our topic was immigration.

To start off the project we had to narrow down the topic and pick something specific to work on. We decided to pick the immigration of Jewish people because we had read about some of the struggles they had faced during the interwar period. Once we had put topic we immediately started to research. We collected all of the information we felt we needed to do a good podcast. After that we had to write a script. We started off with explaining the social injustice and talking about what it was like during the interwar period. We found a true story of a ship full of Jewish immigrants that were turned away from Canada so we decided to tell that story in our podcast. We then explained what the social injustice is like now and how it has changed overtime. An important part of a podcast is the first 30 seconds because that is when someone decides if they want to listen to your podcast or not. We had to make our intro very intriguing so people would want to listen to our podcast. Once our script was done we had to record it. We went to Sydney’s house and recorded it in her small office so it could have good sound quality. The trick with recording a podcast is that you have to make it sound like you are interested in what you are talking about, even if you aren’t. If you sound interested then your listeners are more likely to be interested. Luckily for me I was interested so it was very easy for me to sound interested.

A big part of this podcast was to get an interview with someone connected to the issue. We knew we wanted someone who works in immigration so Sydney contacted her dad’s friend, Alex, who is an immigration officer. She was really helpful and gave us lots on information and a very good interview. We were unable to find a time where she was free to interview for our first draft so her interview was only in our second draft. We also interviewed Sydney’s aunt for our second draft because she adopted to kids from Africa and she has to go through the immigration process with both of them. Once we were done recording all we had to do was edit it and add our original music. We spread the interviews out over the podcast to help break it up and make the podcast more intriguing. Once everything was done we handed it in and waited for critique.

While we were working on our podcast we were also doing a book club. Each group was assigned a non-fiction book that had something in common with their topic. My group was assigned War Child. War Child is the amazing true story of a boy who grew up in Sudan during a war. It is a very powerful story but it is not for the faint of heart. We divided the book into 4 sections and after each section we wrote a reading Log on what we just read. This was a really good way for me to really pay attention to what I was reading and helped me reflect better.

For our podcasts we were first given critique from our teacher. Our main critique was to change the music and add an interview. Once we did that we handed it in again and got critique from our peers. We once again edited our podcast. Once we had finished revising it our last step was to send it to our interviewees for feedback. They were both extremely kind ladies and said they enjoyed our podcast. Making this podcast was a really eye opening project because I had no idea that there were so many issues in Vancouver. I feel that more people need to be educated about the issues here so we can make a change.

https://soundcloud.com/user-302480519/immigration-podcast

After the podcast was done we had to make a small behind the scene video. The video is a compilation of pictures and videos of some of the work we did behind the scenes to make this podcast.

Throughout this unit we did mini projects to help with our learning. We did a namesake video project that you can read more about Here. We also did an infographic chart that showed some of the immigration numbers during a certain year in Canada. I did the year 1911.

The final project of this unit was to write an essay. Everyone had to write and essay/letter to our MP Terry Beech. In this essay we had to pick an issue in Vancouver and write about it. We had to write about why this issue is important and what we want Mr. Beech to do about it. After everyone had written their essay each group had to combine them together to make one letter to Terry Beech. My group’s topic was the treatment of disabled immigrants. It is almost impossible to immigrate to Canada if you or one of the people you are immigrating with has a disability. My group felt that this was extremely unfair so we wanted to do something to make this change. Writing the essay by myself was quite easy because I did a lot of research and had tons of information to write about. A lot of people were struggling with the grammar part of the essay so we did a little work with grammar. Writing this essay really helped me improve my writing skills. Below is my essay.

Combing the essays was a little challenging because everyone had such good points and it was impossible to include them all. We are going to send our group letter to Terry Beech soon and I will update this post when we get a response.

This was such an interesting unit. I learned so much important stuff about Vancouver and the issues here. I had no idea there were so many social injustices here and I am very glad that I am now informed about these important matters. Vancouver is far from a perfect city and there is so much we have to do to become a better place to live. We need to remember that everyone is equal and they need to be treated that way. We also must take care of our planet and treat it properly or it won’t be here much longer. Learning about these issues was very important and it has completely changed my view on Vancouver.

History of Vancouver

Vancouver may not be that old but it does have a lot of history. There are many places in Vancouver that have weird names. Have you ever wondered how they got their names? In PLP we have been learning about the history of Canada and recently we have been focusing on this history of Vancouver. November 20-26 was Canadian History Week so for a mini project we had to get into groups of 2 or three and make a small video about the history and namesake of place in Vancouver. I partnered up with Sydney and we got to pick the place, so we picked Gastown. We picked Gastown because it was one of the first popular towns in Vancouver and we knew it had a lot of history.

To start the project we did a lot of research on Gastown. Gastown has a very rich history and most of the history is about the name. After we had done our research Sydney and I wrote the script. We wanted to make this video entertaining so instead of just spouting out facts we decided to make it a fun conversation. After we had written the script we had to get the visuals for the video. Luckily for us, Sydney and I were both going down to Gastown multiple times before the project was due so we were able to get lots of our own pictures and videos. We took pictures of the important things in Gastown such as the steam clock and the statue of Gassy Jack. We also took video of us driving through Gastown at day and at night. After we had collected all of our materials, we put everything together.

To start putting the video together we put all of the visuals in iMovie. We then recorded our script in GarageBand then added it into the iMovie. We edited the visuals to make sure they lined up with the audio then we were almost done. The last thing we had to do was get background music. We found some good non-copyrighted music that fit the theme of our video and we were finally done. After the video was done we did a bibliography and then posted it to YouTube. It was a really fun project and I hope we do more mini projects like this in the future.

Work Safety

I am 15 now which means I’m going to get a job very soon. What I didn’t realize until we started this unit was that working is dangerous and many, many people have been injured at work. Young workers are commonly injured on the job because they are not taught how to properly do their job. In this unit we learned how to be work safely and what to do if you don’t feel safe. We also learned about different ways young workers are commonly injured and how to prevent them. 

The first thing we did was fill out a quiz about working. I have never had a job so I got to skip over half of the quiz because they were job related questions. Here is the quiz and my answers. 

It is important to make sure you are doing your job correctly and that you got the training required to do your job. If you did not get the proper trading you could be putting yourself and others in danger. Make sure you discuss with your supervisor the safety precautions of your job and that you follow them because it is very easy to get injured if you aren’t doing your job correctly. 
After that I watched a video called “Lost Youth”. It is a video telling the stories of how a few different youth were injured while working and how it has effected their life. They talk about how the injury could have been prevented and why it happened in the first place. Most of the injuries happened because the person was not properly trained how to do their job. Everyone needs to be taught how to do their job by a supervisor or an experienced employee and if you are not taught how to do something then ask someone to teach you before you do it. Warning: This video contains graphic scenes and language that may be offensive to some. Viewer discretion is advised.

After watching “Lost Youth” I got to pick a video from a Young and New Workers Playlist on YouTube. I picked one on young workers at playland. The video explained what training new workers had to go through and all of the precautions they take to keep everyone safe. It showed things that all workplaces should be doing to make sure their employees are safe such as give the proper training and always have a supervisor near by. 

All workplaces are governed by the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation which is the legal safety requirements that all workplaces must follow in order to keep their employees safe. Their are many regulations that must be followed, and it is important to know these so you don’t get injured in the job. I had to do an activity where I got to look up the differnt regulations to help me learn them. Here is the activity. 

If you are doing something in your job that you feel might break one of these regulations or something you just feel is too dangerous for you, you have the right to refuse to do it. If you do refuse it you have to tell your supervisor so they know what’s going on and they can help resolve the situation. 

Workplace hazards are common and aren’t as easy to notice as you might think. Most workplaces have a lot going on at the same time and it is easy to lose focus and not notice something very dangerous. It is important to keep your eyes open for hazards to make sure you and your fellow employees don’t get hurt. There are lots of things that are dangerous even if they don’t really seem like it. There are five main types of hazards. You should know the hazards so you can report one if you see one. 

The first is Exposure to Biological Hazrards. Those are things such as different diseases and viruses. A good way to prevent getting one of those is to make sure your workplace is sanitary at all times. The second type of hazard is Enviromental Exposure such as heat, cold, and the sun. You have to be careful to not be in the sun for too long, and don’t get too hot or too cold. The third type of hazard is Exposure to Mineral and Chemical hazards. Those are things such as asbestos, dust, cleaning supplies and many more. It is important to not consume any of those things and to wash them off of your skin if they are on it. The fourth type of hazard is Musculoskeletal Injruies (MSI’s). You can get an MSI by staring yourself on the job by doing something such as lifting a heavy box improperly. The final type of hazard Noise Hazards. If it is too loud in your workplace it can’t be dangerous you could slowly lose your hearing overtime. It is Important to know these hazards so everyone can be safe while working. 

Lastly I had to create a visual to show what I learned about workplace safety. I got a picture of a work space and filled it with many hazards to show just how dangerous a workplace can be if you aren’t careful. I chose to do a kitchen because a lot of people’s first jobs involving working in kitchen like environments such as coffee shops or restaurants. 

There are many dangerous things in this picture such as an unattended pot over boiling, water on the floor that could cause you to slip, and a cord on the ground that you could trip on. There is also an explosive aerosol can near the hot fryer and the employee has her headphones in so she can’t hear, and her hairs is down which is unsanitary and dangerous because it could catch on fire on the stove. Now you can see how dangerous even little things can be and that it is important to do your job correctly and safely. If you have any questions about job safety go to WorkSafeBC.com for more information.

Canada’s Part in WW1

World War One was a devastating War in which millions on millions of people died. I knew almost nothing about the Great War until this unit we just completed in humanities. I love learning about history but most specifically wars. When I heard we were doing a unit on WW1 I was very excited to learn about it. What I was most excited to earn about was Canada’s part in WW1. Before this unit I thought that Canadian men just fought with the British army but I learned that they did way more than that.
Before we could learn about the war we had to learn how it started and to learn how it started we would have to know what Europe was like before the war. We watched three videos on how it started and took notes/made a mind map on them. Here are the three videos and my notes. WW1 Video Part 1. WW1 Video Part 2. WW1 Video Part 3.

As you may know, no one knows exactly how the First World War started but there are many theories on it. Once we had a general understanding of the theories we had to get in groups and make a video explaining the reason we think the war started. I was in a group with Sydney and Alex. We made our video and it was very informative but extremely boring so we had to make a second draft that was more entertaining.

You can read more bout it in my Post I did on it.

After we had learned about Europe before the war and how the war started we learned about what Canada was like before the war. We did some readings on the struggle for human rights in Canada then I had to summarize it in a a paragraph. 

Women and aboriginal people had very few rights during the Laurier era. Women often lived in houses with lots of kids and their only job was to be a stay at home mom. Education for women was not considered important. Back then only male property owners could vote and women felt that because they follow the laws they should have some say in what they are. Women wanted to use there love and caring touch in a more effective way to help the country. Aboriginal people were treated awfully by the governments. Although they had made rules the government often broke them because they wanted to eliminate the aboriginal culture. Over 150 000 kids were forced into residential schools and were treated awfully. They were forbidden to practice their culture and would be severely punished if they even spoke their language. In some schools more than 50% of the students died due to terrible care and lack of medical care. The government even banned the aboriginal people from celebrating their culture with potlatch but many of the villages were isolated so they continued to have potlatches in secret. The government did everything they could to assimilate their culture.

Finally it was time to learn why Canada entered the war. We did a reading and watched a couple of videos about how Canada entered the war and there part in fighting in it. Here are the Videos. After we had a general understating of Canada’s part in the war we read a really cool graphic novel called “Shattered Ground”. It was about a boy who finds his great grandfathers journal from his time in the war and tells the story of what it was like in the war for Canadian men. It has amazing visuals and tells a really good story.

Next we did a couple of readings about life on the battlefront and the technology they used to fight the battles. Life on the battlefront was not pleasant. Bodies were scattered all over the place and men lived in cold muddy trenches filled with rats. The men often got sick and commonly got trench foot which is when your foot pretty much starts rotting. The technology they used in the battle fields was the most advanced technology they had at the time. After learning about life on the battlefront we started to learn about the specific battles that happened during the war. We went on this really cool Website with descriptions of each of the battles. We also had to fill out a chart with interesting facts about the battles and how Canada played a role in the battles. 

Finally it was time to do the final project for this unit. This year as you may know our focus is on podcasts so for this unit we had to make a podcast answering the question “How did WW1 shapes Canada’s identity as a nation?” To do this everyone had to pick a Canadian soldier from the Great War and tell his story. The first thing we did was go on this Website and find a soldier to tell the story of. I found a soldier named Arthur George Knight and he had an amazing story so I picked him. Next I had to make my script. I found that writing the intro was the hardest because it was hard to find a way to hook everyone. After my script was done my teacher critiqued it and I revised it. Then I made some music on GarageBand which I found a little challenging because I’m not very good at using GarageBand. I then found a quiet room and started to record my script. Once everything was done I put the podcast together in iMovie.

I really enjoyed this unit and I loved the project. It was so interesting to learn about a specific soldier and how he impacted Canada. Canada had such an important part in the great war that before this unit I knew nothing about. It was also a great project to help me improve my podcasting skills. I’m very excited for the chance to use my new skills in another podcast.

How WWI Began

In humanities we are starting off the year with learning about World War 1. Of course before you can learn about a war you have to understand how it was started. The problem with learning about WWI is that no one knows exactly how it started. It was a very complicated war with many different alliances. Many people have tried to find the answer to how the war was started but it seems like there may never be an exact answer. There are many, many theories about how WWI started and I will be telling you how I think it started. 

Competition between the Alliances and the nations was the catalyst that started the First World War. All of the nations in Europe wanted to be the best and take each other down but the biggest completion was between the two alliances. The first alliance was between England, France, and Russia. That alliance was also partly allied with Serbia. The other alliance was between Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy. Each of the alliances would always try and one up each other. For example England had the strongest navy because they needed it to protect themselves. Germany did not need a very strong navy but built a stronger one than England just to be better than them. 

In June of 1914 a man from Serbia shot and killed the heir to the throne in Austria-Hungary, Franz Ferdinand. This obviously infuriated Austria Hungary and they decided to attack Serbia. They already had been feuding with Serbia because they both wanted to have power of th same areas. When Austria-Hungary attacked Serbia the first alliance of England, France, and Russia decided to help Serbia to defeat the alliance of Austria-Hungary, Germany, and Italy so they could be the best. This was in my opinion how World War 1 started. 

After learning about how the war started everyone had to make a video explaining it. I got in a group with Sydney and Alex and made a video explains why we think the war started with supporting evidence. 

This war is a very sad part of our history in which 40 million people died. Hopefully we can learn from this and the possible ways that it started so that we will never have another war again. 

Smart Goals

To start the year off in plp we all had to write three goals we had for the year. I feel this is a great way to start off the school year because it helps us remember what we would like to work better on so everyone can it in the write mindset to do their best work. The goals all had to be S.M.A.R.T. goals. S.M.A.R.T. Stands for specific, manageable, attainable, realistic, and trackable. Everyone had to write three goals. One goal was about our learning in school, one was about how character, and the last one was about our learning outside of school. I really wanted to challenge myself this year so I really thought about strong goals that I want to reach. Of course because this is plp we couldn’t just write down our goals. This year we are focusing on using our voices so we had to record each of our goals. We also had to make a visual to go along with each of the goals. 

For my goal about learning in school I wanted to have a stronger worth ethic.

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I got a few pictures that I felt symbolized my goal and put them together. I put the clock in to the symbolize time management. I put the mountain climber to symbolize that this is a challenging goal and I will have to work hard to reach it.

For my goal about my character growth I chose to challenge my self to be more brave.

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For the visual for this I drew a picture to symbolize bravery. 

In the picture the firery sky symbolizes the passion I have for my work. The lion symbolizes the bravery I need to get and the lines coming out of his mouth symbolize speaking. The mountains are the fear that I will have to overcome to be able to be more comfortable speaking in public. 

For my goal about learning outside of school I chose to challenge myself to improve my literacy skills. To do this I have decided to try and read a book each month and write a review on it. 

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For my visual I made a collage. 

I put the books in to symbolize reading, the screenshot of the app Pages is to symbolize writing, and I put the Goodreads icon to symbolize where I will write the reviews. 

I love making goals at the beginning of the year and I really feel like I challenged myself. I am very excited to try and reach these goals and become a better student and maybe even a better person. I am a little scared to try to reach some of the goals but I know that if I don’t try I will regret it.