Getting students to learn about dirty jobs in middle school is not just about exposing them to unconventional careers; it’s an essential part of helping them understand the diverse world of work that exists beyond traditional professions.
Mike Rowe and “Dirty Jobs”
When asked what his worst dirty job was, TV personality and “dirty job” seeker Mike Rowe said, “The worst job was probably replacing a lift pump in a wastewater treatment plant.”
While this job might not sound at all appealing to most people, it is a job that needs to be done. In the course of his career on the TV show Dirty Jobs, Mike Rowe has done several interesting – and dirty – jobs, such as:
- Coal Miner – going deep underground into coal mines to extract coal, enduring intense physical labour and difficult working conditions.
- Pig Farmer – completing tasks such as cleaning pigsties, feeding the animals, and assisting with farrowing (birthing a litter of pigs).
- Snake Researcher – assisting snake researchers by collecting snake specimens, tracking and studying their behaviour, and helping to relocate dangerous snakes.
- Vomit Island Cleaner – on this seabird sanctuary, an island covered in bird droppings, Rowe helped to clean up the mess left behind by thousands of birds, enduring the overwhelming odour and unpleasant working environment.
- Bat Cave Technician – exploring a bat cave, aiding in studying and preserving bat populations, including handling bats and assisting with research efforts.
But why should kids learn about dirty jobs in middle school, and what are some ways they can do so in a school setting?
Why Learn About Dirty Jobs in Middle School?
When we think about career exploration and dirty jobs, it’s not just about the ones listed above. A dirty job can be anything that many people would find unpleasant. This can include being a crime scene cleaner, an oil rig worker, working in a meat processing plant, a septic tank technician, a plumber, or even a funeral director.
Dirty jobs are often considered jobs that some people don’t want to do. However, there are great benefits to learning about these so-called dirty jobs. It is important as teachers that we try to fix some of the misconceptions about trade jobs. This is discussed further in the blog post, Fun Activities For Exploring The Trades.
Students need to learn about dirty jobs in middle school because they need to know that post-secondary education isn’t solely about going to university or college and getting what is known as a “white-collar job.” Many jobs in the world need to be done. These jobs can pay well and offer on-the-job experience; however, not everyone wants to do these jobs, so there is a great opportunity to learn.
Inspiring Ways to Learn About Dirty Jobs in Middle School
When students learn about dirty jobs in middle school, it doesn’t mean taking them to a wastewater plant to fix a lift pump. There are many enjoyable and inspiring ways that students can learn about these often overlooked jobs in the classroom.
Exploring Various Dirty Jobs in a Career Study
Students often don’t know what careers are available for them besides some of the more “traditional” jobs or jobs worked by members of their family, so it can be beneficial to learn about dirty jobs in middle school and look into some more unknown or uncommon careers they might not have thought about.
Using this Dirty Jobs Career Exploration Lesson, students can look more deeply into some dirty jobs Mike Rowe has completed by watching three TV segments of “Dirty Jobs” and then completing the graphic organizers.
Once you’ve completed watching the segments and filling out the graphic organizer, you can do a few activities to help your students deepen their understanding of the topic and continue to learn about dirty jobs in middle school:
- Reflective Writing
Ask students to write a journal entry or short paragraph about their impressions of the Dirty Jobs Career Exploration Lesson. Encourage them to express their thoughts, feelings, and newfound insights about these various work environments, such as what surprised them the most, what they admire about these workers, or how their perception of these jobs has changed. - Career Exploration
Expand the focus from dirty jobs to a broader exploration of careers using this Career Exploration and Research Project. Have them research different occupations they find interesting or unique. They can then create posters, presentations, short videos, or podcasts to showcase their chosen careers, discussing the skills and qualifications for each job.
Creating a Dirty Jobs Scavenger Hunt
For this fun and simple scavenger hunt activity, you can have students hunt for information or clues related to various dirty jobs. Give them a list of jobs with short descriptions, and they can find videos, pictures, or articles related to that job.
This activity is great if you want to work on research skills with your students and can help them continue to learn about dirty jobs in middle school.
Dirty Job Showcase & Interviews
Another way to learn about dirty jobs in middle school is by putting students into small groups and letting them pick a dirty job to research. They can then create a presentation with the information they find about that job and present it to the class orally, create a posterboard display that can hang in the room once the lesson is done, or create a multimedia presentation about the job.
The information they search for can include:
- The job’s importance
- The skills required to do that job
- The challenges of the job
- The work environment for that job
To take this a step further, the group can assign someone the job of an interviewer, and they can interview the group about the skills, challenges, and qualities needed for that particular job. This can be presented to the class and used for an oral presentation mark.
This activity will not only be interesting and informative for your students, but it will also help them work on their public speaking and research skills and let them tap into their creativity.
Bring in a Guest Speaker or Take a Field Trip
If you ask your class, there are probably a handful of students with family members who work in some of these “dirty job” professions. Arrange for some of them to visit the classroom and share their firsthand knowledge and experience of that job in a career-day style. For more information on hosting a career day, check out this post: How to Host a Career Day at Your School.
You can also plan a virtual field trip where students can talk to professionals in various dirty job industries. Students can ask these professionals about their experiences and maybe even get a tour of their workplace. If you look online, you might even find some virtual tours already available of some of the “dirty job” workplaces in your area.
Here are some links to some virtual tours:
Hopefully, you found ways for your students to learn about dirty jobs in middle school. Check out the Dirty Jobs Career Study with your students so they can learn about some of these interesting dirty jobs when it comes time to find career options.
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