Every so often, I hear a parent or someone on television say that high school students shouldn’t have jobs. They complain about how students need to “put their studies first”, “focus on extracurricular activities” and my personal favorite, “just be a kid”.
All of it is BS.
First of all, it’s entirely possible to put school first and have a part time job. How do I know this? Because I’m doing it! I have a job and believe it or not, I still study when I need to! My job doesn’t interfere with school. If yours does, then you’re doing it wrong. Even better, most of the companies that employ teens (retail type shops like American Eagle, Old Navy, Target, etc) know that you have school and will work around your schedule.
Second, how is working not extracurricular? It something “extra” you do after you’re done with school, a.k.a ” the curriculum”. You learn extra skills like how to fill out tax forms and how to deal with all kinds of people. When I was filling out my college applications there was a specific section titled “Work Experience”. I was able to fill that out and it sure as hell didn’t weaken my application.
Third, what does “just be a kid” even mean? I don’t consider me or my friends “kids”. Some of them are even *gasp* 18, or in other words: full legal adults. For me, I think I stopped being a kid in 7th or 8th grade. Definitely by 10th grade. If by be a kid they mean still being able to hang out with friends and do stupid shit, then I hope I never become an adult in “their” eyes. Even better than being a kid is being an adult with CASH FLOW.
In the end people, it’s called balance. No, teens probably shouldn’t try to work 60 hours (not that you could in this economy), go to school full time, hang out with friends, and expect good results. But we could certainly work a few five hour shifts a week at the mall.
