Working Themselves Away From Graduation

Teachers nudge high school students, as collapsed heads rest on hands that hang over the side of desks. Students brag about staying up late texting, watching television, Facebook surfing. But some students collapse in bed at night after closing at fast food restaurants or finishing janitorial services. After school jobs can teach high school students money management as well as life skills. Let's look at the three main parties and their involvement in the situation: students, parents and employers.

Students: Without guidance, students can be careless with financial situations, and to compensate, take on extra work hours. Students amass huge cell phone, car, insurance or credit card bills in their names. Dependent on their age, students may even accumulate more serious debt. Students can also save a great deal for college and build a resume.
Parents: Whether it is from dire situations or selfish motives, some parents 'assign' their children bills, such as the water or gas. Others use jobs as a way to teach their children time management, budgeting skills and responsibility.
Employers: Too often employers take advantage of students. Student workers are expected to work before classes, and then again after school. Some employers ignore curfew laws and student workers, either ignorant of the law or fearful of losing financial means, say nothing. Other employers create a supportive working environment and teach invaluable lessons.

These three parties overlap in their responsibility toward keeping student workers safe, rested and healthy. While many student workers do graduate from high school, a percentage does not. Researchers from the US Department of Labor analyzed data on high school students aged 15-18 from the 2003-2007 American Time Use Surveys and found that "Although student employment may have some positive effects on students' future earnings by providing work experience, some researchers have documented a small negative relationship between working while in high school and a student's academic achievement."  This relationship between working and academic achievement could be due to several reasons. Students may befriend adult coworkers who do not have academic responsibilities. Students may want a break after working so hard, and be reluctant to devote break time to schoolwork. While student workers dedicate less time to studying, some drop out of high school altogether; Dr. Steven D. Meeker's research in "The Voices of High School Dropouts" showed that students "indicated that financial problems in the home and family made it necessary for them to go to work."  Situations that minor-aged students face prevent them from finishing high school.

Students may balance school and work well. Research and experience with teenagers show that when students work, they make sacrifices along the way. Additionally, research shows that the students who may need extra time to graduate have families that rely on those extra finances. Jobs and their effects on high school students do not comprise the greatest reason for dropouts, but it is a percentage worth discussing.

Photo Credit: Flickr