A guest article today from Slinger High School student reporter Elysia Dowd, the news editor at The Nite Crier.
Dowd penned an article about milestones of independence and focused on teenagers and jobs. A portion of her article is below.
Early in December a poll was created and sent to the student body to determine the general opinion on high school employment and how it affects schooling.
180 students responded to the poll, and all four classes were roughly equally represented. Out of that sample, 64.4% held jobs. Of those employed, almost 80% worked 20 hours or less per week, with only 7.8% working more than 30. Having spending money and saving for big expenses like cars and college were the two common reasons students gave for working (each at 80%), with parental pressure (30%), enjoyment (28.3%), and career interest (16.7%) as significantly less common motivations to work. Out of the entire 180 student sample, 70% believed that working affected school performance, with 69.9% of those expecting that effect to be negative or very negative. Yet, 77.8% thought working makes one more prepared for college, and 67.2% thought high schoolers should hold a job.
To view the full results of the survey, click here: https://docs.google.com/a/slingerschools.org/forms/d/1C2GJ2tN5LbI2NhotLIUAC3hr48kpobmLJSd9nCEl0y8/viewanalytics
I was surprised that despite the negative overall opinion of the effect of working on school performance, many still thought that working in high school was a good idea. Maybe the respondents shared my opinion that holding a job is just what teens need to do. It made me wonder how the results of this poll stack up to the national average, if these opinions are backed by any studies, and how high school employment actually affects success in later life.
See the rest of Elysia’s article by logging onto The Nite Crier.