$ Now or $$$ Later?

Many high school juniors and seniors hold jobs,(but contrary to belief,)
and in many cases a job may not have a negative effect on a student’s
academics

By Amanda Labrado
THE SAN MATEAN, Bay area, CA
Wednesday, December 8th, 2009

16 to 20 hours per week.

Those are the number of hours a high school student may work and still possibly see an increase

in grades; however, anything over that will cause the detrimental effects of working to begin to

break the surface1.

17 year-old Sandra Campos works 16 to 20 hours per week and attends 6 classes as a senior at

Jefferson High School. Campos has been seeing an improvement in her G.P.A. since she began

working, “I got a 3.0 for the first time! I’m even on the honor roll!” Surprisingly, Campos

dislikes school and loves to work, which is actually not a bad thing as long as her work hours are

kept minimal.

Like many other working teens, Campos has learned to keep up with work and school; by

keeping her school work organized and using her time efficiently, she has been able to get her

homework done and more of it. This time management skill is just one of several beneficial spin-

offs of having a job2.

Teens who work are among the first to:

1 Keister, Mary. "High School Employment and Academic Achievement: A

Note for Educational Leaders." Letter to Joshua Hall. ?
Http://joshua.c.hall.googlepages.com. Web. 24 Nov. 2009.
<http://joshua.c.hall.googlepages.com/highschoolemployment.pdf>.

2 Ibid
 1. Reform their study skills and organizational habits to fit a busy schedule, in turn

preparing them for higher education and future employment-where a person’s schedule

is almost always chaotic if not organized.

2. Develop good work habits earlier hours, correlates with a higher GPA4.

than other high school students; they

don’t procrastinate as much, and they

know what their priorities are, which

allows them to complete more school

assignments.

3. Make the transition into the work

force, so that they’ll be prepared for

future internships and jobs while in

college and after they get out3.

4. Furthermore, working a short amount

of time per week, such as twelve

4 Unkown. "Teens Children and

3 McDowell, Urvia, and Ted G.
Futris. "Adolescent Employment,
FLM-FS-8-01." Ohioline. Ohio
State University Extension. Web.
24 Nov. 2009.
<http://ohioline.osu.edu/flm01/FS
08.html>.
Money - Teen Employment."
Library Index. Web. 24 Nov.
2009.
<http://www.libraryindex.com/pa
ges/1643/Children-Teens-Money-
TEEN-
EMPLOYMENT.html#ixzz0ZEplKc
Hj>.
 The beneficial skills gained by

working as a high school teen can

be utilized both at present (to

benefit school academics) and in

the future; however, the negative

effects of having a job while in

high school may also greatly affect

a student’s GPA.

“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”.5

5 Elliot, Scott. "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.Web. 24 Nov.
2009.
<http://www.daytondailynews.co
m/blogs/content/sharedgen/blogs
/dayton/education/entries/2006/0
4/28/when_teens_have.html>.
 Because of this fact, many American a desire to sleep after working long

students aren’t doing as well in school as hours9.According to an article by the Ohio

they are capable of doing6; Having a job cuts State University Extension, “Working students

into the amount of time a student has for may cheat, copy assignments, or cut classes to

homework, over time lowering their GPA, compensate for time spent on the job rather

especially if they work often and work long than school assignments.10”

hours7. If a teen works more than 20 hours a Also, mindless work is detrimental to

week, they are less likely to complete their brain function as a teen, because once you

assignments and/or complete them on time8. have not thought for a long period of time, it is

Furthermore, those who work long hours are harder for you to think critically or

less likely to show engagement, motivation, analytically when you need to again. This fact

or an effort to learn while in class, which is confirmed by sociologist Ralph McNeal’s

may result in lower grades from overall lack statement, “[Routine work] doesn't make their

of interest- that may be developed further by work experience necessarily a valuable one. It

doesn't require [teens] to use critical thinking

6 Gallis, Victor A. "Teenagers at
Work: How Part-Time Jobs Affect
9 Gallis, Victor A. "Teenagers at
Teen School Performance |
Work: How Part-Time Jobs Affect
Suite101.com." High School |
Teen School Performance |
Suite101.com. Web. 24 Nov.
Suite101.com." High School |
2009.
Suite101.com. Web. 24 Nov.
<http://highschool.suite101.com/
2009.
article.cfm/teenagers_at_work#ix
<http://highschool.suite101.com/
zz0ZEmInNN3>.
article.cfm/teenagers_at_work#ix
7 McDowell, Urvia, and Ted G. zz0ZEmInNN3>.
Futris. "Adolescent Employment,
10 McDowell, Urvia, and Ted G.
FLM-FS-8-01." Ohioline. Ohio
Futris. "Adolescent Employment,
State University Extension. Web.
FLM-FS-8-01." Ohioline. Ohio
24 Nov. 2009.
State University Extension. Web.
<http://ohioline.osu.edu/flm01/FS
24 Nov.
08.html>.
2009.<http://ohioline.osu.edu/fl
8 ibid m01/FS08.html>.
skills; it doesn't require them to be very

analytic, and it doesn't require them to develop

a strong sense of self or autonomy.11”

11 Fisher, Sherry. "Researcher says

teens who work fall behind at
school - September 29, 1997."
The UConn Advance. University
of Conneticut. Web. 07 Dec.
2009.
<http://advance.uconn.edu/1997
/970929/09299710.htm>.
 Working as a high school teen has due to work; nevertheless, if teens fail to

both positive and negative effects on adjust to the demands of work while in

academics. Since teens are working and school, or they work too many hours per

attending school, they must learn to manage week, a decrease in grades may result.

their time; therefore, they often develop

more efficient study and organization habits

to help compensate for homework time lost

 Works Cited
Elliot, Scott. "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.Web. 24 Nov. 2009.
<http://www.daytondailynews.com/blogs/content/shared-
gen/blogs/dayton/education/entries/2006/04/28/when_teens_have.html>.
Fisher, Sherry. "Researcher says teens who work fall behind at school -
September 29, 1997." The UConn Advance. University of Conneticut.
Web. 07 Dec. 2009.
<http://advance.uconn.edu/1997/970929/09299710.htm>.
Gallis, Victor A. "Teenagers at Work: How Part-Time Jobs Affect Teen School
Performance | Suite101.com." High School | Suite101.com. Web. 24 Nov.
2009.
<http://highschool.suite101.com/article.cfm/teenagers_at_work#ixzz0ZE
mInNN3>.
Kalenkoski, Charlene M., and Sabrina W. Pabilonia. "Time to Work or Time to
Play: The Effect of Student Employment on Homework,." BLS WORKING
PAPERS (2009): 1-29. Docs.google.com. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Mar.
2009. Web. 24 Nov. 2009. <http://docs.google.com/viewer?
a=v&q=cache:vWfXwqh4kpYJ:www.bls.gov/ore/pdf/ec090010.pdf+teen+
employment&hl=en&gl=us&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESiZ5_4WUm5f4AqD_CK
iIbAitVSs_oGIgVOEfKgGXTWz5n7thRfaJBBgbToElTlg6ngzY3ZMEiEmDjwb1
6oCo8-YQB1_Nv4g933DXoUlxPN5qaj1AcVXjlg-
hnbbdtvBrL1FXHa8&sig=AHIEtbQmqq5JP7MJpHYgvzOYCwO0oGsDHQ>.
Keister, Mary. "High School Employment and Academic Achievement: A Note
for Educational Leaders." Letter to Joshua Hall. ?
Http://joshua.c.hall.googlepages.com. Web. 24 Nov. 2009.
<http://joshua.c.hall.googlepages.com/highschoolemployment.pdf>.
McDowell, Urvia, and Ted G. Futris. "Adolescent Employment, FLM-FS-8-01."
Ohioline. Ohio State University Extension. Web. 24 Nov. 2009.
<http://ohioline.osu.edu/flm01/FS08.html>.
Unkown. "Teens Children and Money - Teen Employment." Library Index. Web.
24 Nov. 2009. <http://www.libraryindex.com/pages/1643/Children-Teens-
Money-TEEN-EMPLOYMENT.html#ixzz0ZEplKcHj>.