Summer Jobs and the "Real World"

When I was in high school and college summer jobs seemed plentiful. I could work even during the “year” in high school at a series of meaningless jobs such as movie theater usher, low-end department store worker and so forth. Our student had a much more difficult first go around. First of all, there is the all consuming nature of high school activities. As a runner on the cross country and track teams there is no time with meets on weeks and weekends and daily practices for anything else. And then most employers weren’t interested in hiring just for summer. But inevitably something was found.

This is where, for me, it gets interesting. I think there are a wide variety of benefits to work, but I also think that these virtues can be overstated. The virtues that are most often celebrated are responsibility and stamina as keys to entry into the adult “real world.” I get the argument, showing up every day, being responsible for accomplishing tasks and chores and sticking it out when the fun drains away are indeed adult work experiences. But aren’t they also school experiences? Success in all environments, intimate or family ones, education and training, and a life of adult work all require responsibility, reliability, stamina, and conflict management. These are as much in evidence in athletic or arts practice, academic environments, and of course work. Work, on its own, doesn’t teach the negatives either: tedium, disappointment, unpleasant peers and “managers,” and so forth are all to be found in school, family and the playing field.

It seems fair to say that work, school, and life all blur together more than the old narratives admit, and young people know this better than anyone. Still, summer interrupts the blur just enough. A job that isn’t tied to grades or long-term advancement can create a small pocket of perspective. This is a reminder that not every experience has to justify itself to the future.

My student is teaching little kids how to ride bikes.