Students take on their parents’ jobs
As a controlled grease fire blazes in the parking lot at fire hall #9 in Surrey, grade-nine student James McDonald eagerly volunteers to put it out. He pulls the pin on a fire extinguisher and grips down on the handle to release the fire repellent inside. What looks like a cloud of dust promptly forms, encasing the fire. When is fades, the fire is gone.
Learning how fire extinguishers work and how to operate them was one of the several activities undertaken by grade nine students as part of the City of Surrey’s ‘Take Our Kids to Work Day’. Take Our Kids to Work is a national event organized by the Learning Partnership, a non-profit organization that champions a strong public school system. The goal of the event is to give students insight to the working world so they can start to determine the type of employment that may or may not interest them. It also encourages them to consider the schooling they need for a profession, and gives understanding into the role of a parent to provide for their family.
The Delta School District takes part in the event every year, with grade nine students from all seven high schools taking part. McDonald, a student from Burnsview Secondary, spent the day with the City of Surrey where his father is a firefighter. He started his day with a visit to the Surrey RCMP, followed by the new Surrey library, and finally his dad’s work, the Surrey Fire Department. This last visit was his favourite.
“I want to be a firefighter when I’m older, so it’s good to start now,” he said when asked about his day.
During his visit with the fire department he was able to cut up car wrecks, shoot the fire hose, put out fires, and drag a dummy to safety through a dark, smoky building. For McDonald, this experience was meaningful because it gave him an opportunity to take part in a career he plans on pursuing, but he also sees the value in Take Our Kids to Work Day for students who have not determined a career path.
“Experiencing your parents’ careers gives you ideas of what you want to do,” said McDonald.
This benefit is exactly why Valentini Brigham, a grade nine student from Delta Secondary School, also decided to go with her dad to work for the day.
“It’s good to see how people work,” she said.
Brigham’s father works for Triumf, one of the world’s leading subatomic physics laboratories and Canada’s national laboratory for nuclear and particle physics research. Located on the UBC campus, Triumf houses the world’s largest cyclotron. The cyclotron machine accelerates negatively charged hydrogen atoms to three-quarters of the speed of light in order to extract protons. The protons are used for all sorts of research, including medical disease detection and treatment.
During her day at Triumf, Brigham was able to tour the cyclotron, as well as learn about some of the numerous research initiatives taking place.
“I hope she’ll get excited about what we do here and will think science is fun,” said Mike Brigham, Valentini’s father. He believes Take Our Kids to Work is beneficial because it shows kids that work can be fun.
“It’s good because there are really interesting jobs,” he said. “If you put in the time you can find interesting places to work and you can really enjoy going to work.”
Starting in grade nine with a glimpse of working life is a good place to start.
More than 80 per cent of Delta’s grade nine students took part in this year’s Take Our Kids to Work Day.