Last June, a grim scene unfolded outside Chatelech Secondary School in Sechelt. An accident involving two vehicles left one teenager dead and several others seriously injured. The local police, ambulance service and fire department attended the scene. Later that day, students, still bloodied, were on hand when WorkSafeBC handed out two awards for this year's student safety video contest.
The crash - thankfully - represented a mock drinking and driving scenario, meaning no one was hurt. But it did signal one Chat teacher's decision to dedicate an entire day at the school to raising awareness about youth safety. Paddy McCallum was the link between the staged accident and the subsequent awards ceremony; he orchestrated the mock crash and sponsored two groups of student contest award winners.
By championing safety in the classroom, McCallum said he hopes his students learn the importance of asking questions and insisting upon a safe work environment.
"In some ways, this is a very empowered generation," he said. "Kids have a strong sense of themselves as individuals. They take that into many aspects of their lives, but don't always carry that into the workplace."
Still, McCallum's efforts to teach workplace safety in the classroom seem to have caught on at Chat. In last year's WorkSafeBC video competition, Chat students Myesha Geoffrion, Willow Koski-Kendel and Maeve Talbot-Kelly took second place for a child's eye view of mould in the workplace, while students Terran Tasci, Erica Thumm and Arielle White received honourable mention for their video on the dangers of jobsite distractions. McCallum's students took top prize for the Grade 11 to 12 category of the contest in 2010.
In an unexpected twist, contest sponsors (Seaspan, Ledcor, Kiewit and Sons, London Drugs and Actsafe) chose to add McCallum himself to the awards roster after hearing he was at the helm of the school's safety day events and an annual champion of the safety video contest.
"Year after year, Paddy motivates his students not only to get involved, but to really invest themselves in these productions," said Trudi Rondou, manager of young and new worker programs at WorkSafeBC.
McCallum is grateful for the award, but reluctant to take credit.
"It took me awhile to sell the video contest concept," he said. "At first I said to students, 'Here's a neat contest with some prize money attached to it'."
His pitch got a lukewarm reception.
"Most kids just wanted to make goofy, comedic videos," he recalled.
That prompted him to try a different approach.
"I said to them, 'You're all out there, working all sorts of jobs. Think about your safety, your rights and your right to be looked after. I talked to them about making a video about something that was real and actually happening in their lives. That turned out to be the motivator," he said.
McCallum said kids are desperate to find part-time work and often forget about their rights and responsibilities on the job and what they need to be safe and secure.
"It's a hurly-burly world and it's getting more and more challenging out there for kids," said McCallum. "They're worried about graduation, about working and about making enough money to go to university."
He said his work gives him a vested interest in students' safety.
"I teach the children of my friends and colleagues; I teach my neighbours' kids," he said.
McCallum teaches drama, film and video production and English literature but said teachers needn't wait for the student safety video contest for a chance to bring safety into their classrooms.
"Student safety is a cross-curricular topic and can be embedded everywhere."
McCallum expects his students will produce six videos over two semesters and enter them in the 2012 version of the contest. And if the Sunshine Coast school takes top honours once again, one teacher's dedication will ensure it's no accident.
The theme of the 2012 Student Safety Video Contest is Home in one piece: What motivates you, your friends or your family to come home safely from work?
The contest is open to students across the province in Grades 8 through 12. A new feature this year is the ability for students to post their videos online. Once they're posted and accepted by WorkSafeBC, the videos go live and are available for public viewing. A new People's Choice Award category allows viewers to vote for their favourite videos - in two separate categories, one for Grades 8 to 10 students and another for those in Grades 11 and 12. The deadline for contest entries is April 13. And, as in past years, students and their sponsoring schools are eligible to win cash prizes for top-rated entries.
For full contest details and to view and vote on your favourite videos, visit www.tinyurl.com/Vidcontest2012.
- Reprinted with the permission of WorkSafe Magazine, WorkSafeBC
