[Winona Online Democracy]
I have a 17-year old son. He does very well in school, plays two varsity
sports, is in band, jazz band and pep band. He also has had a job since he
was 15. Eventhough I consider him a very bright and talented kid, I think
that a good work ethic is important. He generally works about 15 hours a
week. That is enough to make some money(of which he saved a majority of
it)and achieving a work record.
One of the things that he has learned is how to deal with the customer. In
todays work world, customer service is much more important than it used to
be. He service industry is growing fast. His goal is to be an attorney, and
I think that the people skills he is learning at McDonalds will be serving
him well for a long time.
-----Original Message-----
From: Joliene Olson
To: onlinedemocracy
Sent: 1/1/01 11:09 PM
Subject: [Winona] Andrew Thompson's comments
In many respects, Andrew, I can agree with your comments on high school
students working habits. I believe that it is a matter of not losing
perspective of what is most important...you education.
However, I also disagree with several of your observations. I truly
believe that no matter what the sport or how menial the job there are
life lessons to learned from both.
Some jobs, especially those that may relate to a career field your
considering, can be very helpful. One example is a student who takes a
nurse aide course and works part time in a nursing home. Another would
be working in a family business to learn it from all aspects and all
levels of responsibility.
All jobs get you set up with a sense of the responsibility of holding a
job. You would be surprised at how many employers in your future will
be interested in how your past employers would describe your work
habits. Examples: Did you come to work on time, did you arrive
when scheduled, did you give proper notice before leaving the job, did
you "see" work that needed to be done or did you wait to be told when &
what to do every step of the way. Did you identify and recommend better
ways of doing something. Did you get along with your boss, did you get
along with your co-workers and work together as a team. Were you a
leader or a follower? How did you treat the customer?
One of the biggest things that sports teaches a person is how to work
together as a team rather than facing the world as an individual
standing alone.
Finally, one of the biggest lessons learned by holding a job, or
playing in a sport for a season is the ability to manage your time. To
learn to balance several obligations at once, to prioritize what is
important so that you can accomplish your goal is critical for people in
today's busy. multi-facted work place.
Besides these life lessons, the ability to earn and the feeling of
having some cash in your pocket, that wasn't given to you by your
parents through allowances etc is very powerful. In a lot of cases it
is "want" but in many cases it is "need" that has young people out
earning money.
Thank you all for reading this. It is kind of long and I apologize for
that.
Happy New Year to everyone.
Dreams can become Reality.
Joliene Olson
[EMAIL PROTECTED] <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
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