A large percentage (nearly 40%) of students seem to balance work with school.  Do you think it’s a good idea?

According to The Globe and Mail, students who have jobs do worse in school than those who don’t have jobs.  According to a study from the University of Washington, students who work part time can worsen their grades, experience a change in behavior and even drug use.   But, the good news, the same study said that working a part-time is fine as long as it doesn’t surpass 20 hours per week.  According to Walden University, students learn how to manage and use their time wisely. According to PrepScholar, having a job can give you work experience, so you won’t mess up as a “newbie” later — something you won’t get from good grades.  In a random survey taken at Morton east reported that 64% of people said they don’t have a job and 36% of people said they do have a job.   

During this pandemic, it’s been especially hard to get a job even for students.  This teacher is also a mom. 

“I’ve been dealing with that topic for a couple years with my son. He’s a senior and has wanted to get a job, but he was also on the gymnastics team and taking a lot of AP classes. Last year I said no. I’d rather have him just focus on school. This year my main reason for not letting him is the Pandemic. All sports have been cancelled and he’s doing remote learning, so he really wants to get a job and he has time. But the kind of job he could get (like at a supermarket) would expose him to lots of other people and probably Covid. He’s recently been exposed to Covid. He’s tested negative so far, but he’s getting an antibody test today. I agreed that if he has Covid and recovers fine, that he could get a job since he’ll have antibodies against getting it again,” American history teacher Susan Brunelle said.  

Here’s a viewpoint from a student who currently does work.   

“Yeah, I work, and work is not difficult — just don’t be lazy,” senior Brian Swintek said.  

Then there’s a student who used to work during the pandemic.  

“School was coming back and the hours that were needed for the job would get in the way of learning, so I had to quit,” senior Kevin Salgado said.