Child labor
Something has been bugging me about the whole Summer school jobs program, and I can't put my finger on it.When I was in high school (over twenty years ago) I remember the people of Bob Evans coming to my high school and recruiting for wait and kitchen staff. I remember applying and being disappointed when my friend Michael got a job and I didn't. That did get me applying to other jobs and I got my first job working at Winn-Dixie. There were labor laws out there regulating hours so there wouldn't be a conflict with school. I held that job from the time I was a junior in high school till I was almost a junior in college.
My younger cousins in Laurel, MD were on a similar track, working for national food chains (you want fries with that?) in their junior and senior years in high school.
So I'm wondering, don't DC high school kids get jobs for the rest of the year? I understand that in Summer there is this ability to work more than 10 hours a week, and students are available during business hours. But what's going on in DC that discourages kids from working the rest of the year?
I got a lot out of my year round high school job. I learned about balancing school, work and home. I experienced taxes being taken out of my paycheck. I learned how to be a good cashier and offer decent customer service. I got job experience that helped with later, more 'professional' grown-up jobs. And I got about $60-$70 a week.
So really are kids in DC not working the rest of the year? A part-time job keeps you out of trouble, gets a few dollars in your pockets, and allows you to excerise work habits on a regular basis.
Labels: employment
posted by Mari @ 21.8.08
2 Comments:
There is, apparently, better income to be had on the streets.
I'm 1/2 way done with "Off the Books: The Underground Economy of the Urban Poor". So that and the Freakonomics lead me to believe that faster, not higher, income is to be made on the street. Problem with regular jobs is that it's 1-2 weeks before you see your money. On the streets the money is instant.
I was listening to WHUR (I think... I was just a passenger) and there was a talk program on and one caller said kids, teenagers, don't need afterschool/midnight basketball they need jobs, 'cause there are no basketball jobs out there after HS. Well, no realistic ones for regular people.
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