Students Who Push Burgers

“Students Who Push Burgers”

“Students Who Push Burgers” is an interesting read. This is a topic that seems to be going on a lot in the community I live in. Some parents with children in high school actively encourage them to find work, while others forbid any thoughts of employment for their children. As a parent, I too encouraged all of my children to work. The economics of the family played a part in my rationale; however as a grand parent, I have come to be more in line with Mr. Minot’s’ position. Mr. Minot believes that education and student employment is not a good mix. As students enter the workforce, less time is available for studies. The students become consumed with demands of the job to the point that the job can become the priority.
The biggest reason why I oppose students, especially high school students working, is that the grade point average can decline. My two oldest children worked starting at age of 15. At first it was minimum hours, but the needs of the company pulled on my children at times. Sometimes the employer forgot they were students and scheduled them to work too many hours. I began to notice that my daughter study habits changed to doing homework later into the night. When my daughters’ report card came in the mail, and my daughter had two C’s. Keep in mind my daughter had never earned a grade lower than a B on any report card. My son on the other hand was able to maintain his grade point average, but his interest in school began to fade away. At one point, my son consider dropping out of regular high school to go to night school, and work full time during the day. My son’s motivation was buying a new car. Both of my children got refocused on school after my wife and I gave them an ultimatum to either focus on school or start paying rent. Paying rent would not leave any disposable income for them to spend on the things they wanted to spend on. In return for focusing on their studies I gave them some money to spend. We all agreed that there was plenty of time in the future to work.
Some student workers endure hardships that make education a second thought. Some students who enter the workforce will want to move up in the company to an easier position with more pay. The student can go to work for a hamburger stand with the thought of paying their own bills; however eventually that student can realize that he/she can buy whatever they afford. What the student does not realize is the more money you have the greater the desire to buy things.
Any parent wants to enjoy the last years of their child’s childhood. The transition to adulthood is so swift that a parent may look back over time and often say where did the time go. My last two children came along, and I forgot about my vow that my kids have to go to school only. I let them go to work for the family business. At first it seemed to be a great idea: nevertheless I began to rely on them being at work, and my children were happy, because I did pay them a fair wage. Sometimes I would throw in a few extra dollars because they were my children. That all changed when I had to cancel a family trip because my children were trying to get more hours to get some outfits for some school social events. Again, I had to give an ultimatum school or work. The point is when children work children miss out on time with siblings and parents. The time children can never regained, and the parent comes to regret not doing more with his/her children especially during those turbulent teenage years. The big take away is a child will not realize any of what was missed until that child has a child of his/her own.

What Mr. Minot’s’ article failed to mention were the needs of the employer. The needs of employees will always grow, especially if a worker proves to be reliable. As the employer depends on that reliable worker, the more the employer pressures the employee to work. What started out as a part time job can quickly escalate to something that is very demanding.
For the reason, I mentioned above I would say unless there is an economics hardship in the family, students should not work until school is completed. I would take that argument a step further and say the completion is not when one graduates from high school but when one graduates from college. So