In today's dynamic and competitive world, workers' skills and experience are essential for growth in a country's economy, yet they have been widely neglected in the current state of economic affairs. "The part-time jobs that American teenagers once took for granted — but that millions can no longer find — provided a lot more than pocket money" says David Brooks, an Op-Ed columinst for the New York Times.
Teenagers gain many important skills by being a part of a business or service. Whether working in a restaurant, a department store, or even the school library, there are many responsibilities associated with the work which require organization, innovation, and adaptabilty. Teens can also aquire valuable abilities such as time-management, civil mindedness, and social skills.
I realize that it is much more important for adults to have jobs so that they can put food on the table and clothes on their children's backs. I understand that desperate times call for desperate measures. I know that many people aren't thinking about the future right now, but are worried instead with how they will cope with the present.
But is this an excuse to not prepare my generation for our already-pathetic-looking future? We're already going to be icurn debt billions of dollars, probably still fighting a war with the Middle East, be drinking polluted water, have our world ravaged by preventable diseases like AIDS, and have a ozone level thinner than our wallets. No offense to all the adults of the world, but haven't you done enough?
2 comments:
This is a really interesting situation and I can sympathize with both sides of the story. Obviously, adults need to be able to provide for themselves and their families but you are right that the jobs teenagers take on can help prepare them for the future. Such essential skills cannot be read or learned in school, they have to be learnt by hands on experience. And adults will likely have the top hand in the application process because many of them will have some experience (ironic because they are depriving the younger generation the chance to gain such experience which may make things tougher for them in the future) .
This is a very interesting article, because it's hard to pick a side. While it's important that teenagers work toward self-respect and self-reliance, it's also really sad that adults are so desperate that they need to get such meager jobs. It really is a testament to how dire the economic situation is.
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