It is time to bring back summer jobs for teenagers

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

The lifeguard scans the water methodically from behind mirrored sunglasses. Perched on an elevated chair at a Washington apartment complex pool, she looks like a hard-working American teen. When she opens her mouth to coordinate with a fellow lifeguard, the words she calls out are Bulgarian. “We do have a hard time hiring enough American teens to fill our need for lifeguards,” said Doug Winkler of Winkler Pool Management. “That’s why many pool employers in the Mid-Atlantic region reach out to the foreign markets to attempt to hire workers.” Winkler believes the problem is that American teens do not want jobs at the low end of the pay scale and instead want to practice sports or go on family vacations in the summer, prompting him and other pool managers to do their hiring through the State Department’s cultural exchange visa program.

A Pew Research Center analysis found that the Great Recession of 2007 through 2009 caused a drastic reduction in summer jobs for American teens. The teen summer employment rate used to range from 46 percent to 58 percent, but in recent years less than a third of American teens have held summer jobs. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects the decline will continue, with 26 percent of teens holding summer jobs in the year 2024.

Why the downturn? There is no one reason, but there is plenty of speculation. Government statistics show more teens are attending school in the summer, partly because of greater pressure to take advanced classes that look good on college applications. Some teenagers also choose to enter into unpaid internships that are not counted as jobs in government data. Over the decades, high schools have added community service requirements for students, which take up time, as well. In addition, many school districts have shortened the length of their summer breaks, which may make short summer jobs seem like too much trouble to students and employers. Whatever the reason, some say it is a shame teenagers are not scooping as much ice cream or counseling as many campers as they used to.

I emailed Julie Lythcott-Haims, a former Stanford University dean of freshmen, who argued in her book “How To Raise An Adult” that making your children do chores is essential to their success as humans. Might summer jobs be important, too? I asked. “Summer jobs are even more valuable than chores to a kid’s skill development,” Lythcott-Haims replied. “Let’s face it, a boss isn’t motivated by love and typically doesn’t dole out ubiquitous praise. So a kid develops responsibility and accountability from having to show up on time, do as expected and not breach any behavioral codes. But that’s just the start. Things will go wrong, and the kid will have to problem solve. Unexpected situations will arise, and the kid will have to improvise.” Someone who develops such skills, she added, “will be a highly valued employee in the real world.”

https://www.heraldnet.com/business/it-is-time-to-bring-back-summer-jobs-for-teenagers/?utm_source=DAILY+HERALD&utm_campaign=8c36715e48-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_d81d073bb4-8c36715e48-228635337

[tazkcmo]

1. And maybe

There are more adults doing those jobs now.

[leftyladyfrommo]

7. A lot more retired adults who have to take

jobs like that to survive. I see rgem everywhere.

I saw a probably 70 year old woman working as a carhop at Sonic.

[leftyladyfrommo]

8. A lot more retired adults who have to take

jobs like that to survive. I see them everywhere.

[oberliner]

2. This does not make a compelling argument for that

In fact, it seems to provide support for the counterpoint.

That is to say, that it is more valuable for students to take classes or do community service over the summer rather than scooping ice cream (the example given).

This seems to not really recognize the changing nature of the future economy.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

3. The example given was a lifeguard

They went overseas to hire one.

[oberliner]

4. "Whatever the reason, some say it is a shame teenagers are not scooping as much ice cream..."

That's in the third paragraph of what you posted.

Personally, I think the argument in favor of taking advances classes or doing community service is stronger than the one in favor of scooping ice cream.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

5. The general topic was summer jobs

There are a lot more of those than scooping ice cream. Don't focus on one sentence and say it's the article

Teens in my are used to do farm work during the summer. These days those farms have to hire foreign labor.

Perhaps we were poorer or maybe our parents encouraged us to work.

[oberliner]

6. Understood

My assertion is that the arguments in favor of teenagers taking summer classes or doing community service are stronger than the arguments in favor of teenagers working summer jobs.