Local Jobs Field Trip

Grade: 6
Course & Curricular Content: 
Career Education: (1) Factors affecting types of jobs in the community and (2) local and global needs and opportunities.
Social Studies: (1) Economic policies and resource management, including effects on indigenous peoples (ie: mining) and (2) globalization and economic interdependence. and economic
Time of Year: Fall or spring (no snow)

I grew up in the East Kootenays and my Dad had he same jobs as most of the other men living in the area; he worked at the coal mines for most of my life, but also worked in the logging industry. I imagine, many of the students today have fathers. or people they know, working in these two industries as well, but how many of them actually understand what the coal and logging industries do? I was in my 20’s when I had my first tour of the coal mines and it blew my mind. I had seen the big, green dump truck in Sparwood, but I just hadn’t grasped the enormity of the equipment, roads, and space that encompassed the mine. For most of my life, I had incorrectly pictured my Dad at work and I had no idea of the complex work that took place at the mine. I never understood the environmental science work that took place prior to choosing mining sights or after to reclaim the land. I never considered the pyrotechnics team who carefully arranged explosives to expose the coal seam. I just didn’t understand and I don’t think my friends did either. As a teacher, I’d like to change that.

I contacted the Elkford Visitor Centre inquiring about a school field trip mine. They suggested I contact the mines individually to set something like that up, as the Visitor Centre only offers tours on Saturday mornings, but they were confident that this could be arranged. I have not made any of those calls as I didn’t want to interrupt people’s work days for a “hypothetical” field trip but I’m going to go forward with this idea as if I had been assured it was definitely possible.

If I took a class on this tour, I would have students work in small groups, recording what careers they see or can imagine within the mine. Hopefully, the students would recognize that there are plumbers, electricians, janitorial staff, administration jobs, equipment operators, explosive specialists, geologists, etc. This could then open up a discussion into the many career options at Teck Coal. I would, also, have the groups brainstorm ideas as to why the local area contributes to this specific type of employment. Lastly, as a class, I would have students learn more about coal and it’s uses. With most of the coal from the elk valley being shipped internationally, it provides a prime opportunity to learn about globalization.

Lastly, to include some cross-curricular learning, I would love to create a crystal coal garden and some “coal” cookies (made up of smashed Oreos). I have linked some of my ideas to my Pinterest account, so feel free to check them out.

I would love to follow this tour up with another career field trip – this time to the Canfor Lumber Mill in Elko – to allow students a more thorough understanding of the local logging industry.

UPDATE NOVEMBER 24, 2022: This week I toured the SD5 District Resource Centre and look at this little treasure I found! I’m pretty sure I could use this somewhere!