What is the labor issue today? This project was about the current labor issues that workers face every day. In order to understand labor a little bit more, we became historical analyses and explored the world of labor in the industrial era. After diving deep into the past, we went further into the present and future jobs and what labor holds for us.
Timed Writing
Labor Presentation
Reflection The greatest challenge I faced in this project was doing the work alone and managing my time. It was really hard to manage my time, especially when we were doing exhibition prep, but it was also really hard doing most of the work alone even though my partner was in the classroom sometimes. The hardest part to do alone was editing the podcast. My partner didn’t have a working computer so I would edit it alone, even though I offered them a headphone so they could listen in on it. I also have a really short attention span, so it was really hard for me to actually sit down for two hours and continue editing a podcast. I had to do it over time or else I would become really restless and lose focus. Another challenge I faced were the three days before the exhibition. My partner left the classroom on one of the most important days and I couldn’t find them. I was left to do the brochure, posters, and everything else that we needed for own podcast. That was really stressful. I overcame these challenge by getting help from Saige and also by just having that mindset that this is a really big project and I need to get it done. I also got my partner to help me edit the podcast the night before it was due, which helped a lot more. Saige really helped me, especially in the last few days. She knew I was stressed on everything, and she helped me write my abstract. Her help really helped me finish everything. If I could go back and do this project differently, I would make a more strict schedule, get more interviews from teachers and students, and I would choose a different partner. While making the podcast, we were everywhere, getting interviews, and we didn’t get many interviews because we wouldn’t really schedule times with students or teachers. I would choose a new partner because I wouldn’t want to be stuck doing the work on such a huge project, and it would be great to see someone also take control rather than me taking control over everything. I would want a group or partner that would also work and produce ideas, rather than not listening or walking off for the whole class period. It would also be good to switch up groups rather than working with the same person the whole year. I learned so many things in this project, I don’t even know where to begin. One of the most interesting things that I learned was about child labor. I have a whole entire different perspective now. I never really thought about kids that worked in factories, mills, etc., at the age of three or five and older. Those kids weren’t even paid much, they didn’t get breaks but worked more than 8 hours a day, and that was all to support their families. Since I grew up in this era, and I don’t have to help support my family, it really opened my eyes how those children sacrificed their childhood just to support their families. Another topic that really interested me was automation. Automation was really cool to learn about because it takes up most of the working force, and it improves every single day. Learning about how we got to automation, and how it is and going to improve is just so fascinating to me. It was especially cool to learn about self-driving cars. When I was younger, I would’ve never thought that we would have self-driving cars. I’ve always known my dad had a robot in his shop, but I never really understood the importance of it until after I learned about automation. The plotter in my dad's shop is what cuts out and prints the stencils. Before they had to that, they had to do it by hand and that would take a longer time. The plotter does it for them and it saves them so much time and saves them from hiring another employee. It was just really cool learning about how automation is right now, and then how it could be in the future. One way I grew in this project was with research. I have always had a time hard time focusing on one article, breaking up different kinds of information, etc. This project taught me how to break down types of information, from Primary and some secondary sources. For example, the Historical Thinking Skill sheets were a long process for me to finish. I have a short attention span, I can’t sit down and read complicated material for too long, or else my mind will travel and I won’t receive any of the information. Because of those sheets though, I learned how to persevere a little bit, and how to find material and put them into categories. Like, we would need to find out what year this was written, and reading the article could give insight about what time period it was in. Those historical thinking skills really helped me understand the importance of research, how to dive deep into primary sources.