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School sports are very demanding and often do not have a predictable schedule. If a kid miss school sports practices for any reason other than academic commitments they will not get much playing time. If you miss games for any reason other than academic commitments you will be off the team. Sports require a commitment to the team that is incompatible with having a job.
You do realize that school schedules and activities have remained relatively constant for at least fifty years and many kids have managed what some here view as impossible, right?
You do realize that school schedules and activities have remained relatively constant for at least fifty years and many kids have managed what some here view as impossible, right?
You do realize that school schedules and activities vary around the country, right?
If you are on basketball, swim, wrestling, softball, football you have practice almost every single day. Plus homework. Plus if you are on other activities like Key Club or Yearbook or Speech & Debate. Some of those clubs meet several times per week.
I am in favor of summer jobs for teenagers, but I think many young people have tremendous difficulty balancing school and work. For this family, school always trumps job.
My teenage grandchildren are fortunate that there is a family business they can work for during high school and college breaks. It is a wonderful confidence builder, as well as a way for them to save money for car insurance and college. Whether or not they learn the value of money seems to depend more upon the personality of each child than the fact they work. The oldest has half the first dime ever made, and he'll always be thrifty. His sister spends everything she makes, and the jury is still out on #3 child.
A family business makes it easier to work around school schedules, too. My daughter has a friend who worked at Whole Foods in high school. They weren't going to give her the time off to attend her own high school graduation! Something was worked out, but at first they were not going to budge.
What skill sets will my child learn from babysitting or working at a store that they will not learn from school, volunteering, extracurriculars or other life activities?
The level of responsibility found in a job is not the same as that of volunteering and certainly not the same as that found in band or basketball. Ask any adult who has a job as well as volunteers or plays in a sports league.
But then, maybe I'm trying to explain how Midwestern Work Ethic comes to be to people who aren't really going to get it...
The level of responsibility found in a job is not the same as that of volunteering and certainly not the same as that found in band or basketball. Ask any adult who has a job as well as volunteers or plays in a sports league.
But an adult job is different than a job you have as a teen. As I said before, I started working when I was 12. I had no ties to any jobs I held until I was out on my own. If I didn't like the job, I quit.
Quote:
Originally Posted by itsMeFred
But then, maybe I'm trying to explain how Midwestern Work Ethic exists to people who aren't really going to get it...
NICE jab, Fred! Right under the radar. Is that part of the Midwestern Ethic you hold so dear?
Work ethic has nothing to do with being PAID for a job well done. You should want to do a good job because that is the right thing to do. Not because you are getting paid for it.
Wow you really went all over the place with this post.
1. When you are involved with other people, whether its serving on a board, playing a sport, learning to dance, participating in a speech and debate tournament, you are interacting with others and need to learn how to do so effectively. Add an hourly wage really doesn't change the game. You're either committed or you're not.
2. Children complete many tasks for themselves without a parent or teacher hovering about. As a matter of fact GOOD teachers and parents make sure this happens.
3. I'm almost 40 years old. Rarely have I felt the level of satisfaction of earning a paycheck to be equal to the satisfaction of many of my other accomplishments in life. Yes, earning money is good so you can pay bills and save to do things. But many of us don't live to work. I find other things much more gratifying.
4. Why does one need to learn how to handle a difficult boss at age 16 rather than 22? What is so much better at 16 than 22?
5. Extracurricular activities are great for adults and children alike. Being involved with activities is good for the body, the brain and the soul. You went off the deep end with this part of your post. Do you have children? The extracurriculars my children are involved in are nothing like what you posted. Not everyone does a good job but trying is encouraged.
If anything is a "herd mentality" it is the idea that the only valid satisfaction one should value is something that produces money.
Because it's much more beneficial to do this at 16 at McDonalds than as a newly sheepskinned graduate expected to get a job done rather than learn how to work. Many topics in the Employment section here illustrate just how unprepared so many college grads are the day start their first job as opposed to those who may have worked for eight or ten years and are now starting their first "real" job.
Empire may have gone "all over the place" in his/her post but every place he/she went was cogent and to the point.
Because it's much more beneficial to do this at 16 at McDonalds than as a newly sheepskinned graduate expected to get a job done rather than learn how to work. Many topics in the Employment section here illustrate just how unprepared so many college grads are the day start their first job as opposed to those who may have worked for eight or ten years and are now starting their first "real" job.
I think jobs during college are fine. So change my age from 22 to 20.
Either way there is going to be a learning curve for some people and not for others.
The level of responsibility found in a job is not the same as that of volunteering and certainly not the same as that found in band or basketball. Ask any adult who has a job as well as volunteers or plays in a sports league.
But then, maybe I'm trying to explain how Midwestern Work Ethic exists to people who aren't really going to get it...
Now hold on. I grew up in the Midwestern family that absolutely valued hard work, but I think it can be really difficult for kids to find balance in an academically-demanding setting. My kids simply cannot keep up with their course work and a part-time job and still get enough sleep to be healthy during the school year. I'm perfectly okay with one-off jobs like babysitting or lawncare, but regular part-time work has to wait for summer break.
Because it's much more beneficial to do this at 16 at McDonalds than as a newly sheepskinned graduate expected to get a job done rather than learn how to work. Many topics in the Employment section here illustrate just how unprepared so many college grads are the day start their first job as opposed to those who may have worked for eight or ten years and are now starting their first "real" job.
Empire may have gone "all over the place" in his/her post but every place he/she went was cogent and to the point.
You know, I've known a few kids who didn't work much, maybe not at all, in college. But somehow, they usually figured it out. And I've seen employees young and old who didn't figure it out.
I've been on hiring committees. We didn't look for people who worked at Mac's in high school, in evaluating new graduates. We looked for people who had good references from professors and the like, and good grades. In fact, I don't recall ever getting a resume that had high school jobs on it. I know when my daughter applied to grad school, which is similar to a job, they were not interested in anything done before college.
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