Most of my ancestors have immigrated from the United Kingdom; however, I feel I am most connected to England specifically. My grandfather is from England, and immigrated to Canada in 1966. I had never known much about my family's history, specifically my grandfather's, and by conducting an interview with him, I was very intrigued at some of the responses he had. Ultimately, I found out if my grandfather had never immigrated, and theoretically was still living in England, my life would be similar to what it is now.
My grandfather had an interesting childhood being born in 1943 and living through WWII bombings in his hometown of Portsmouth. Due to the impact of the war, his family left England for Palestine, known as Israel now, for his father's work as a bomb disposal officer. In Palestine, his family lived in a police officers' district as his father was a bomb disposal officer. As such, his family had multiple conflicts with the citizens of Palestine. One of his most interesting memories was almost being kidnapped around the age of 5. “I was in a Police tent when a group of either Arabs or Jews rode in on camels, grabbed me and took me away. I struggled with my captors and was able to break free and hide behind a sand dune. At this time, the police officers were coming out of the station and my attempted kidnappers road away” (Dearsley). Three years after the war had ended in 1948, he and his family returned to England where he grew up attending school, and entered the police force. Then in 1966 he immigrated into Canada for the opportunity of work.
“We returned to England in 1948. I still attended school, and entered into policing after I was finished with school. Then came the opportunity of working in Canada at the Toronto Police Services, so I took it. I traveled to Canada by boat, I believe it was around a 7 day trip. I landed in Montreal for immigration, and was supposed to take a train to Toronto; however, the taxis taking us the train station were running late, and I had to wait until the next day to get on a train to Toronto. Upon arriving in Canada, I could tell things were different. It is hard to explain, but it is almost like it was a different standard of living in Canada compared to England” (Dearsley).
Additionally, my grandfather was able to provide pictures of his Canadian immigration papers.
After briefly looking into what my life would have been like for me if I had grown up in England, I was intrigued to look into the complexity of the educational system in England, as well as how everyday life was in England.
Education being most important to me, I first looked into the system in England. “The education system in the UK is divided into four main parts: primary education, secondary education, further education and higher education” (Watkins). Throughout public school, there are a series of standardized testings including an aptitude test in year 6 of school. Students who score in “the top 10% get to attend Grammar School,” and “all others attend Secondary Modern schools, [where] their ranking determines which stream they enter, similar to our Workplace, College, and University” (Abraham). In the United Kingdom, after the age of 16 public schooling is no longer required; however, in England a form of education is still required until the age of 18. Planning on pursuing a career in law and going to university, after public schooling, at the age of 16, I would first have to complete my A-levels, similar to grade 11 and 12. Then I would have to apply to university in order to receive all my qualification to become a lawyer costing on average £35,350, or $56,475.21 Canadian, which is considerably lower than it would cost if I were to complete my schooling in Canada (InternationalStudent).
Secondly, I researched things that would affect my everyday life at the age I am now. One thing that stood out to me was the fact that minimum wage is only £4.00, or $6.30 Canadian (Gov.uk.). I then found out the cost of consumer goods in England is considerably lower than in Canada (numbeo), and the lower minimum wage would not have much effect on me if I decided to get a job. Additionally, I was surprised to find out that "it is legal for someone aged 16 or 17 to drink a brewed alcohol like: cider, beer, or wine, while accompanied by an adult at any restaurant or pub if they are having a meal," even though the legal age to buy alcohol is 18 (Watkins).
Ultimately, I have discovered that if I was a teenager living in England I believe, I would actually enjoy the subtle differences England has to offer in their educational system, and social standards, as well as the reduced cost of both education and consumer goods. Nonetheless, I am still thankful that my grandfather took the opportunity to move to Canada. Although I might enjoy England better at my current age, I hope to enter the workforce in the field of law, and believe that Canada has more opportunities for me to enhance my career pathway in the future.
Works Cited
Abraham, Murray. Interview. By Andrea Harthold. 13 Jan. 2017.
“Cost of Living Comparison between Canada and United Kingdom.” Numbeo, www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/compare_countries_result.jsp?country1=Canada&country2=United+Kingdom. Accessed 15 Jan. 2017.
Dearsley, Peter. Telephone interview. 7 Jan. 2017.
Government. “National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage rates.” Gov.uk, Government Digital Service, 10 Jan. 2017, www.gov.uk/national-minimum-wage-rates. Accessed 13 Jan. 2017.
“UK Education System.” International Student, Envisage International, www.internationalstudent.com/study_uk/education_system/. Accessed 15 Jan. 2017.
Watkins, Megan. Telephone interview. 13 Jan. 2017.
It seems both our grandfathers went through difficult times before immigrating. It must have been a very scary time to have lived through WWII bombings;the bombings most likely made them feel unsafe, hence, leaving England and moving to Palestine. Much like your grandfather, my grandfather also thinks Canada feels much different than the country he immigrated from, being Chile. Although your life in England would not be much different to the way you live in Canada, I do think you would have many benefits: lower cost for education, social standards, and pursuing a job in law, as you are very dedicated and smart. I can see your grandfather worked hard trying to immigrate to Canada, proving that hard work results in success. I also see that hard work in you, as you are very dedicated and work hard to achieve your career goals being a lawyer.
ReplyDeleteKevin, it's very interesting how many times your family moved around to different countries. I believe it was a good decision for your grandfather to immigrate to Canada because of all the benefits we have here and the better opportunities for employment .Germany’s education and England’s are similar because the education costs less than Canada’s.Overall I thought this was very interesting how your ancestors came over to Canada.
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