Child Labor

This week we are writing about child labour and our feelings towards it. My opinion is much like others’, it is wrong and it should stop.  Many young children from the ages of 3 to 19 work in factories to pay off their families’ debt, this way these children may spend their entire childhood working in a factory and later in life not have a proper education and end up working there again.  This is unfair compared to the privileges that we children have in Canada.

            Many children in third world countries are born into a family with their life almost planned out for them. The children must go to work in a low paying job to pay off their parents’ debt. These children nor the parents have any way of knowing when the child will have done paying off the debt because they are never paid with physical money but with time. This way many ‘owners’ of factories trick the child or parents into thinking that they are close to paying off their debt, when in fact they aren’t. Thus, the factory owner makes the children work harder in hope to be finished soon when truthfully they have many years more. This can go on for a long duration until the owner is finished with that child. This usually happens when  they are not children anymore, but adults who require fair pay, and who wants to pay an adult more for a job a child could do for less money?

            Not only is the method of payment unjust to children but so are the circumstances they are required to work in. Most of these children are not even clothed properly for normal conditions let alone the job they are asked to do. For example, a child might be a metalworker that labours with hot and bright flames that can shine very brightly in their eyes and this child may not have any protective eyewear. This may cause long-term damage as well as short-term damage. This child may get burnt or develop bad eyesight from long hours they could also easily inhale toxic gases from the factory and grow lung diseases.

            These child labourers  are treated as slaves, maybe worse than that. They have no idea what life they could have but they just get through every day that hopefully in the near future, they will be free. These children are so naive and hard working that they do everything they are told without thinking about it, just because they are told to. None go to school and are not ever taught how to properly read or right and none are aware of the wonderful and interesting features of the world around them. They will never know how many beautiful things our world has to offer and will never get to explore them. The few that have the chance of going to school do, those children are considered as privileged when others in Canada and other fortunate areas in the world complain about school and have no idea how lucky they are.

             The adults that use child labour should be stopped. In these third world countries there are  laws to protect these children or  and those that are against child labour, but these laws are not followed. In these countries, the government usually ignores this unfair treating of children because this child labouring usually help the rest of the country. This is a very sick thing to do, get children to work from dawn to dusk in dangerous jobs for cheap labour for the country to make more profit. These countries use their child labour to make more profits than they are paying their workers, and the government  ends up getting most of it. Most of the money even made by these children are taken by taxes the government later collects.

People in other fortunate countries that have power should take action because if anyone can make a difference, it would be them. This should happen soon because the longer time that is waited the more children will be mistreated.

            I think that these parents should find ways for  their children to be able to work and learn  because it is not fair that they do not get a proper childhood. Truth be told, they will end up working in a job like that when they are older so they should get a chance to be a kid when they still are. 

Remembrance Day

Remembrance Day means many things to many people, and to me it is a day to be thankful of our country. This day might mean to remember their lost ones for many people but for me it is a day to be thankful that the country I live in has such wonderful people who are willing to sacrifice their lives for the good of others.

Many losses come to mind on Remembrance Day, such as our loved ones and our losses. This is not the case for me thought, I have never had to experience this sorrow so I am quite unaware of the horrors that come to a loved one dying, and I can only imagine and try to feel for others. Nevertheless, I am proud to be a citizen of Canada and know that then and now there are people fighting for my well-being. To know that others are risking their lives for us I feel that there is hope in the world for crime and war that there is something better to fight for.  

I feel that remembrances day is a day to celebrate Canada’s accomplishments and grieve for the soldiers’ fate. In these few hundred years that Canada had existed, we have accomplished  many things and changed many things in the world. Our accomplishments are great but so are our losses. We have lost so many from our country and we will never forget that they once loved and were loved

When November 11th comes, the whole country shows their gratitude to our veterans and soldiers that fought for our freedom. The Canadian flag is one that is proud to be held on Remembrance Day because as such a young country we have gone through so much.  Our country wears poppies on our chests to show our appreciation for soldiers that paid the ultimate price.  We give moments of silence all around the country to reflect and think of their sacrifices for our freedom. The poem 'In Flanders Field' is remembered and retold to remind others of the soldiers’ bravery. We do all we can to remember and show our respect for their courageousness and forfeit.

Remembrance Day is not only about thinking about the past but also the present. We have Canadian soldiers in many countries in the world not only fighting for Canada but also for other countries and lives. Canada has reputation of the country that is always helpful and will always help when it is needed. In the poem 'In Flanders Field’, it is stated that; to you from failing hands we throw. The torch; be yours to hold it high. This means that as Canadians if we do not continue to fight for our rights and our country their hard work and sacrifices will be for nothing.

As I was born in another from another country, Remembrance Day always holds special significance for me. It is an opportunity for us to parade with pride, showing our respect for those that went before us, and our pride in the accomplishments of our country. Remembrance Day affords service members, cadets and RCMP officers the opportunity to publicly demonstrate our histories, accomplishments and our fallen comrades. 

Girl Power

            In history, girls were always the underdogs when it came to power and authority. Before men had gained this advantage they had worked hard in getting their power, this hard work has waned to a small amount now a days. The MacLean's Magazine article “Are we raising our boys to be underachieving men?”  mainly talks about women's recent improvements and shocking decreases in men’s reputation.

            Typically, boys have the authority in the work place, which makes them smug, and tend to work less than girls do. This overconfident attitude even starts at a young age; in school boys tend to get lower grades, study less and have a higher dropout rate than girls. Recent statistics show that males have a dropout rate of 10.3 percent while females have only 6.6 percent and this percentage is made mainly of teenage moms dropping out in order to support their child or other family problems. 

            It is proven that girls mature faster than boys do, which means that girls have the advantage when it comes to learning. Girls mature faster and are more serious about learning sooner than boys . Girls stay concentrated longer and are less likely to be scolded or get yelled at which gives them a  positive impression about school.   Once boys get the impression that school is stupid and that the teacher is out to get them are convinced that it is a better idea to drop out than stay and be yelled at. After this realization the rest is like a chain reaction, once one drops out the rest get pressured and soon follow.  

            One solution to these attention problems are single gender schools. Single gender schools would be used to remove the distraction factor and so each gender can work on skills that they typically need help with .  There are pros but there are also major cons to single-sex schools that will make a huge impact on the students. The major con would be that  social skills with the other gender would be worse then in a coed school. If schools only consist of one gender that gender will not be used to its opposite and later in life when they are mixed with the other gender they will have major problems working together.

Not only do women dominate the lower schools but they also dominate universities and colleges. Men only make up 30 to 35 percent of most colleges and universities that makes finding educated male workers a hard thing to do. In addition, the dropout rates for boys in high school make the numbers of men who actually go to the next type of learning even smaller. Most boys who finish high school do not even go to university or college to get a career but only stop their education and go right into a job that will not give them a future of improvement or importance.

             These high college/university rates for women mean that they have better education than men do. This is a great thing for women because they are on top of the game and are in high demand. This necessity exists because highly educated workers are always needed. If someone fulfills the requirements of the job, gender does not matter.

            Women have made so much progress recently that the “glass ceiling” has been  almost completely removed. At this rate, women will end up being heads for all major companies and men will no longer dominate. Many men as well as women think that this will be a problem. They think with an unbalance of men and women in the work place there will be hardly any “male talent” left. Frankly speaking, the roles will only be reversed and women will be in the place of men, this may be a good thing instead of bad. Women will get the equal chance to dominate as men did for many centuries  and huge improvements may be made.

            No matter when this change of roles will occur, there will also be a compromise somewhere in the middle where both parties will be equal. When this time comes, I predict that it will be the most innovative time because both genders will work together as equals and the world shall embrace the ideas and will be enlightened by both groups, for each has tricks up their sleeves.

            The work place has and will have to undergo a huge change but so will  the home of the traditional family. The kids go to school, the mom stays at home and cleans while the dad makes all the money. This is not how the typical family looks now a days, the  number of stay at home dads has increased and the numbers of working moms has also increased which puts a spin on the norm of families.

            In conclusion, women at this point have a good lead and an advantage over boys in many areas, which will help them in the end and in high positions of power. If boys do not pick up the pace soon they will be too far behind to catch up and the girls will already be improving, raising the bar even higher.  Nevertheless, just because women now have the advantage there is not that big of a gap between the two and no reason to get cocky and slack off. As a wise man once said, “Those who forget the past are bound to repeat it.”

Is Our Generation As Bad As It Seems?

The Article “Outraged Moms, and Trashy Daughters”, talks about girls with no self-respect for themselves and others. This article resonates with me because it covers the issues that  girls in my generation  have to deal with and have troubles with.


Generation gap makes it hard for parents to deal with  their children's problems,  because if they need to give advice to their children but do not have any experience with those things it might be hard to be helpful. If someone has not gone through the same problems it is hard to put themselves into other's shoes.


On the other hand, parents always try to compare their generation to their kids' and usually over exaggerate. They say, “It was different when I was your age.” This fretting over the changing world is unnecessary because every generation went thought the same problems of not being able to relate, it is just something we have to adapt to.


Parents who already have enough to deal with in this always changing world also have the stress of equal opportunity for their girls to deal with. Many parents choose to ignore the fact their girls will never get equal chance while others talk to their girls up front so they are prepared. No matter the reason, they want their child to go into their first jobs with the mentality they can do anything but it is better to tell them first instead of  letting them find out for themselves.


Girls these days have no respect for themselves. They are prone to having their friends call them demeaning names and boys calling them sexually degrading names and comments. Songs and raps that are about not treating women fairly are considered merely ‘songs’ and the swearing and put downs are regarded as lyrics that rhyme. This is a far cry from years back where if you were heard using that language you would have your mouth rinsed out with soap.


The media practically shapes the world now a day, how we act, what we eat, how we dress and whom we look up to. The media is a terrible influence for young girls because it encourages unhealthy living, promotes sex at young ages and pressures girls into thinking everyone should look like models. There are hardly any good role models out in the media that are not known for their looks or ridiculous behaviour. For example Snooki is known for “smushing” everyone she meets, drinking and partying excessively this is not what young girls should look up to. Many say it does not have to do with them it is so ridiculous, but it actually allows girls to act like sluts and act terribly.


There is a constant unfairness to girls and women who have sex compared to a man who has had the same amount. Women that have sex are called sluts, when a man is not judged at all. This gives men the advantage and makes them think it gives them the ‘right’ to control women. Many girls think being a sex object is powerful when it is quite the opposite. Many say they are in control that it will be fine but pleasing men sexually gives them the wrong idea. Even dating to earlier times men were always superior and some women’s bad behaviour and attitude does not help at all.


The media is always starting new trends and putting new looks across that people wear without even giving it an extra thought. Some of these looks require the “perfect” body type meaning that ultra skinny with huge breasts are always in. All styles are made around showing the upper curves and legs long when reality is no one look like that. Girls that keep up with latest trends are constantly put down by looking at the beautiful models and do not realize all the photo shopping done to make that picture. They starve themselves to look like that and even when they already look beautiful, enough they still torture themselves for no reason. The article states that hardly any girls these days have healthy self-esteem and it is completely true because this constant drilling that skinny and full in beautiful blocks their brain from realising their true beauty.


In conclusion, things these days are very different then they used to be. The media is promoting bad self-esteem and examples that are changing the way people look at themselves. However, sometimes change is good, good for people to realise that things can and will change for the better. People should alter the way they treat others and themselves because it will make a huge impact on their life and future. As a wise man once said “When it comes to the future, there are three kinds of people: those who let it happen, those who make it happen, and those who wonder what happened.”