This article is focused on a couple of schools who have noticed that part time work has been affecting the performance of student on their academic progression.
This article’s main focus was on reports from school systems in Fairfield and New Haven Counties and Hartford that high school students have been snoozing in class due to fatigue or sheer exhaustion from after-school jobs. The author of the article derives his information through interviews with some of the school’s board members. The author finds out that this increase of part time jobs with schools is usually due to children trying to help their parents or just rather trying to buy things for themselves like boom boxes and clothes. And some of the employers are offering incentives for the kids to stay. And these children are being encouraged to work these part time jobs; for example, McDonald's gives $50 to every kid working there who brings in another employee who stays at least three months. Not only are the kids being tired in school, these part time jobs diminished the number of volunteer work done by students. Also it took away time from after school extra-curricular activities, such as sports bands etc. And with the increase of opportunity for part time jobs this trend will not diminish but rather be boosted to cover a bigger population of young school kids.
2. David Sterrett. "McDonald's opposes Obama on unions | Crain's Chicago Business." Chicago business news, analysis, rankings, and more | Crain's Chicago Business. 08 Dec. 2008. 16 Mar. 2009
McDonald’s USA President Don Thompson urged 2,400 franchisees to "contact your U.S. senators and representatives to oppose" the Employee Free Choice Act. This act will greatly help workers to form unions, which will threaten the McDonald’s Corporation labor strategies.
This EFCA, or "card-check" bill, would enable unions to organize a workplace by obtaining the signatures of a majority of workers on authorization cards. It would also establish a bargaining process that could lead to binding arbitration for labor contracts. If this act is passed then the 600,000 employees of McDonalds corp. could unionize and demand higher pay and stricter work rules in McDonald's kitchens. Unions have been almost nonexistent in fast food in the past 25 years. Removing the secret ballot requirement would have a particularly strong effect on the fast-food industry because of its high turnover rate and large percentage of young workers who may be more easily pressured by co-workers to sign union cards. Now thinking on the other side of this if the employees get better wages the higher the prices will become for fast food. This will completely diminish the aspect of “cheap” fast food. This really will destroy the franchise money making strategy. But on the other hand it will help out with the wages for the people dependent on a fast food job.
3. Selliott. "When teens have jobs, schoolwork suffers | Get on the Bus |Observations on schools, kids, teachers, teaching and education by Scott Elliott, Dayton Daily News." Dayton Daily News | Dayton, Ohio, News and Information. 285 Apr. 2006. 16 Mar. 2009
This article is describing the author’s finding about the effects on part time jobs on teens derived from an argument from a study done by a Cleveland State University professor.
In this article the author told us that after school jobs are bad for kids by lowering their grades, affecting their behavior and in some cases even forcing teachers to lower their expectations. The author lists some statistics that he has found from the professor’s study. One of the statistics was that most adolescent part-time work is in the fast-food sector with few skills to acquire or transfer to other jobs; these jobs are filled by adolescents only to meet the demands of the sector through minimal wages. Another statistic would be how teachers lower their expectations if they have a large number of students working long hours, therefore having a spill-over effect on the overall teaching-learning environment, including those who do not work. And finally how only in the U.S. is part-time work widespread among high school students; while it is rare in other industrialized countries, where students are only expected to continue their education. This article is a great complimentary article with the “SLEEPING OFF THE JOB IN CLASS” because they both combine to give a bigger picture to the youth part time work.
Anecdote
I was constantly being pressured by people all around me to get a job. One of these people would be I, who desired many things for me but with financial issues due to the $5 a week allowance. Yes I only got $5 a week. My parents though that all I ever needed in life was to have roof on top of me and a lunch box. I would have to save up for so long to be able to buy anything for myself. So I finally took the initiative and applied for a job. My first job was at a Chick-Fil-A fast food restaurant. It was what was expected as the fast food industry is highest employer for teens between the ages of 14-17. I started out with a pay rate of $6.00 an hour; also expected from the industries usual minimum wage pay rate. Even though I was able to achieve what I wanted; I have drastically increased the responsibilities in my life. I would go to work 4 times a week; shifts starting directly afterschool to about 9 pm or sometimes later. This left me with a measly one and a half hours to do my homework, which I never did. Even in the days I was off I was too lazy and tired from the week’s work to do anything productive. I was simply too tired. This is a problem for me till this day; it is extremely hard for me to manage school, work, and personal life all equally and in a timely manner. This is why I am writing this at 2 am in the morning.
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