Teenage Jobs

Teenage Jobs Affecting School Performance

Blake Longhenry

        Almost every teenager attends school. Many teenagers also have a job. Having a job while attending school takes a toll on some students. They’re tired and have a hard time keeping up on their school work.

Teenagers have jobs for many reasons.  Some reasons are to support their family, have spending money for themselves or saving for their future. Most teenagers are paid minimum wage and work around five hours after school.

If a teenager works four hours right after school, they will have only three free hours to choose between a social life and school work to get the recommended eight hours of sleep. If a teenager happens to stay up later, they will most likely be tired when they get to school because they didn't get the recommended eight hours of sleep.

“I can’t keep my eyes open in class,” said Mason Hille a student at Rosemount High School who also works at Paradise Car wash. On some nights, Mason has to go right from work to hockey or lacrosse practice. “Studies have shown that school does start too early and it was all lined up for us to start later. It was because of the bus situation that we can’t,” said Dr. Conboy, an administrator at Rosemount High School. The buses in the school district start picking up and drop off the high school students, then pick up and drop off the middle school students, and then pick up and drop off the elementary school students.  If the school changed its start time, it would push the middle school and elementary school times later, which isn't desirable.

If the reason why kids need to go to school is to succeed and get good grades, then why wouldn't the school start later to help the students do better in school? “If school started later, I would stay up later,” said Jake Simonet, a student at Rosemount High School. This is another argument for not starting school later.  Many students would just stay up later and still wouldn't get the recommended amount of sleep.

Starting school later and getting the recommended amount of sleep would give working students an extra hour or two to finish their homework and spend time with their family. Going back sixty or seventy years, school was not as important as a job. Kids would work all day on the family farm and not have time for school. It was not that big of a deal if a high school student didn't do well in school because they most likely were not going to go to college but instead would work in their family business after graduation.  Now, school is much more important.  If one doesn't do well in high school, then it is very difficult to get into college. If a person doesn't go to college, the chances of them succeeding is reduced. The first thing most job interviewers look for in a candidate is where they attended college and what degree they hold.

If you’re a student and your job is causing you to do poorly in school, this job may affect the type of job you have in the future.