UNESCO and MWA10 Connections:

1.4: Mark-up
o Note that some companies get their goods made cheaply in sweatshops and other
poor working condition areas (i.e. where the workers rights are not protected by law
and unions); the company will then charge a significant mark-up and keep the difference
as profit. Companies that buy items ethically have to pay more for the good, but must
still charge a mark-up in order to make a profitin this situation, the customer usually
has to pay more, but the company often does not make as much. Therefore, companies
that exploit workers usually make more money than ethical companies do, because the
vast amount of people still buy the cheaply made product.
1.5: Currency
o Goal: assist students to break the stereotype of the developing world (i.e. not only
exploited countries and/or corrupt governments)
Ask students why are there different currencies in different countries?
Lead to answers such as:
o the economy and resources, goods, and services that are sold
between countries;
o The exchange rate between any two currencies is determined
by relative money demand and money supply between the two
countries.).
o Trade depends on infrastructure, and infrastructure in turn
depends on investment. The more developed a country is, the
more money it is capable of making. So in talking about poor
countries, we are talking about Less Economically Developed
Countries (LEDCs)this is a better term than the developing
world.
Ask students Why would a country not be developing its economy?
Geographical factors:
o Climate, landscape, natural resources, stability
Political Factors:
o Poor management, corruption, trade laws, and political
instability
Cultural and social factors:
o Discrimination, population, and culture
Extension: How can we help to change these factors?
2.1: Wages
o Minimum Wage
Why do some countries have a minimum wage? (Answers may include: To
protect workers rights; to not exploit workers; to pay a livable wagethe
minimum amount of money/income needed to meet basic needs in that
area/economy; in order for people to not be living in poverty)
What might happen if a country does not have a minimum wage law? (Answer:
Could go either way: some countriese.g. Sweden, Demark, Iceland, Norway

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 and Switzerlandsimply treat their people well and are paid more than those
with much lower minimum wage restrictions (e.g. min. wage of $1.00); others,
are simply not paid a wage for numerous tasks.)
Does having a minimum wage protect workers? (A: Sometimes; sometimes the
minimum wage is still below a living wagei.e. poverty) **Minimum wage does
not equal
Application of math and connections: Calculate what the minimum wage
would need to be in order to be a living wage in different areas of the country.
http://livingwagecanada.ca/index.php/about-living-wage/calculating-living-
wage-your-community/ ; http://livingwagecanada.ca/index.php/about-living-
wage/what/
o Overtime and Shift Premium
Why are there overtime and/or shift premium laws? (Answers may include: To
protect workers rights; to not exploit workers)
What might happen if a country does not have overtime pay/shift premium
pay?
o Tips (the good and the bad)
Good:
Make more as a server, etc.
Bad:
Some servers, etc., depend on tips to make a living wage (there is no
responsibility from the business); companies in the USA are allowed to
pay less than minimum wage as long as the tips make up the difference.
Studies show that tips are not affected by the quality of service, instead
it is about the charisma of the server (if they said their name, were
flirty, wrote a smiley face on the cheque, wore a more revealing
uniform), etc. Many servers are female, and therefore this principal is
more about objectification of women than about hard work and good
service.
Stereotypes are created when different cultures/groups are met in
these situations (e.g. they left a lower tip because the woman paid or
someone is from a country that does not have tipping at all because it is
viewed as a bribe).
Some companies make sure that tips are shared (or kitchen/bartenders
are tipped out); if a customer does not leave a tip, then the server
must still tip out a percentage of the bill, leaving the server to pay out of
pocket or from their other tips to make up the difference. Sometimes
management also takes large amounts of tips from the staff.
Customers feel bad if they do not leave a good tip, or are guilted into
leaving a better tip because of societal expectations; they feel obligated
even if they cannot afford the extra amount.

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 2.4: Deductions
o Canadian Pension Plan:
Note the history of this government initiative and its efforts to becoming a
respectful program for the elderly:
The Canada Pension Plan (CPP) is an earnings-related, public pension
plan that transfers income from workers to the retired. The Canada
Pension Plan Investment Board manages about $300-billion in CPP
assets, making it one of the largest pension fund managers in the world.
The CPP was created through federal-provincial negotiations in 1965, as
a response to growing poverty among retired Canadians.
The CPP started as The Old Age Pensions Act:

1927 The Old Age Pensions Act was enacted, permitting the
federal government to give assistance to provinces that
provided a pension to British subjects 70 and older.

Note: After the war, and approaching the dirty 30s, there were
financial issues for the elderly. Canadians bound together to give
them a better way of life. At the time though, this program was a
strictly anti-poverty measure, that often humiliated the
elderly.
1952 The Old Age Security Act came into force, establishing a
federally funded pension. It replaced the 1927 legislation
that required the federal government to share the cost of
provincially run, means-tested old age benefits.
1965 Amendments to the Old Age Security Act lowered the
eligible age for the OAS pension to 65, one year at a time,
starting in 1966 at the age of 69.
1966 The CPP and QPP came into force on January 1, 1966.

o Information on taxes:
Note that while doing federal taxes, one may use methods like the website
SimpleTax.ca (free to use) but donate for the service. This allows all low-income
people to be able to use the service without sacrificing other expenses.
(Explanation: it is a legal requirement to do/submit taxes, but low-income
citizens may have to choose between this legal obligation and paying rent, etc.
because methods like Turbo Tax or H&R Block charge fees (minimum $20, but
can range up to $150); instead, those who can afford it should keep free
services available for all).
o CPP $3500 Exemption:
Ask students why would an amount be exempt from deductions? Lead to: CPP
was created to assist the poor; they are not wanting to further exploit the poor.
Therefore, the lowest income individuals are able to keep more of their money.

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 (e.g. Only if you are making a decent amount of money will you be contributing;
wealthier people helping poorer people).
3.3: Surface Area and Geometric Nets
o Making a geometric net from a sphere. Real-life example: the Earths map

Connection: How do these manipulations of geometric nets shape our

worldview/persective of the world? Does the Mercator Projection amplify European
and western countries while giving less presidence to third-world and/or lesser
than countries? Consider how many European countries you can name vs. how many
African countries you can name?

3.3: Surface Area and Geometric Nets

o Include surface area questions regarding:
solar panels (note renewable energy);
greenhouses (note food sustainability), etc.
3.4: Volume
o Include volume questions on:
low-flow toilets (e.g. the volume of a toilet tank is filled 75%; only _% is used
per flush compared to _% on standard toilets; what is the amount of water
saved per flush?);
garden beds (note food sustainability);
top soil (note soil quality where grazing animals are; when it rains after a
drought, much of the top soilwhere the nutrients/microorganisms areis
washed away)

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