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If we remove the "safety net" that catches kids when they fail to study, I think we'd see a lot more motivated kids. What incentive is there to study and work hard, when the nanny government is waiting with unemployment benefits, medicaid, food stamps, housing assistance, etc.? The "sink or swim" of 100 years ago is gone, and with it, ambition.
If we remove the "safety net" that catches kids when they fail to study, I think we'd see a lot more motivated kids. What incentive is there to study and work hard, when the nanny government is waiting with unemployment benefits, medicaid, food stamps, housing assistance, etc.? The "sink or swim" of 100 years ago is gone, and with it, ambition.
A hundred years ago, a motivated boy who wanted to work could start earning money around the age of 8 or so. Many of the self-made men were working full time by the age of 12. Do you want to go back to that too? I'm all for kids being able to work full time by the age of 14 or 15, but insurance companies won't let businesses hire them for real jobs.
Its the parents. However educators are to busy trying to teach kids about two gay daddies than worrying about 2 + 2.
Cut the crap already!
In China they teach a lot more "political agenda", which does not prevent them to export engineres, computer schientists and matematicians to the US on the regular basis.
What is interesting, is that some kids are self motivated. I taught school, and one student I had, at 7th grade, was already checking out the cost of college tuition, and trying to decide between Stanford and Harvard, he came to school motivated, he was a great kid. His parents were dirt bags, and definitely were not a motivational factor in this kid's life, except as a motivation to get away. He did make it to college, a small private university, with scholarships.
My own children, 2 were pretty self motivated, 2 were pretty much lazy kids, who preferred to watch tv over study. My daughter told me at age 13 that she did not want to go to college if that meant she had to study all the time. We discussed making choices, and that she could make those choices, but that they were probably not good ones in the long term...she is in college now.
A hundred years ago, a motivated boy who wanted to work could start earning money around the age of 8 or so. Many of the self-made men were working full time by the age of 12. Do you want to go back to that too? I'm all for kids being able to work full time by the age of 14 or 15, but insurance companies won't let businesses hire them for real jobs.
Considering it was a job in a machine shop that convinced me to go to college in the first place, I'd be ok with kids over, say, 12 working as long as we set restrictions on what they can do (nothing physical enough to result in problems with growth).
I have a 13 year old who is DYING to get a job. She has PLANS (that include going away to college) and she hates that they're making her wait to get started. She baby sits but that's not regular enough (too much competition in the neighborhood).
Seriously, many a 16 year old might change their mind on education if they actually got out and worked for a year and saw their options without an education.
Considering it was a job in a machine shop that convinced me to go to college in the first place, I'd be ok with kids over, say, 12 working as long as we set restrictions on what they can do (nothing physical enough to result in problems with growth).
I have a 13 year old who is DYING to get a job. She has PLANS (that include going away to college) and she hates that they're making her wait to get started. She baby sits but that's not regular enough (too much competition in the neighborhood).
Seriously, many a 16 year old might change their mind on education if they actually got out and worked for a year and saw their options without an education.
I guess paper routes are a thing of the past. When I was growing up kids could start working at 14, but they couldn't work past 6pm.
I guess paper routes are a thing of the past. When I was growing up kids could start working at 14, but they couldn't work past 6pm.
Dd can't start working until she's 16. There are few opportunties like paper routes anymore. I had one when I was 13 until I got my first job at 16. I'm sure dd will be like me and start work on her birthday...actually, not because she was born on a major holiday and everything will be closed.
Dd can't start working until she's 16. There are few opportunties like paper routes anymore. I had one when I was 13 until I got my first job at 16. I'm sure dd will be like me and start work on her birthday...actually, not because she was born on a major holiday and everything will be closed.
My brother and I had a paper route when we were really young. That's definitely a thing of the past. I worked fast food starting at 13 (forged my working papers, also a thing of the past lol). I wouldn't want my kids working fast food, tho. That was a bad scene. Providing I'm financially secure when we have kids (god willing) my plan is to financially compensate my kids for volunteer work if they cannot find employment I approve of.
My brother and I had a paper route when we were really young. That's definitely a thing of the past. I worked fast food starting at 13 (forged my working papers, also a thing of the past lol). I wouldn't want my kids working fast food, tho. That was a bad scene. Providing I'm financially secure when we have kids (god willing) my plan is to financially compensate my kids for volunteer work if they cannot find employment I approve of.
I did the same thing (forged the papers) when I was 14, but my delightful first job was sorting dirty clothes in a dry cleaning business.... in Miami... in the summer. I can assure you that job made it more than clear to me that college was a great idea!
My kids also worked every summer during HS. DH and I made it clear that school was their job during the school year, but if they wanted any money for summer fun, that was on them. I like your idea of compensating for volunteer work. These days it can be pretty tough for kids to find paying jobs.
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