Five working adolescents were interviewed for a project to assess the effect of work on young people still in school. They ranged in age from 16 to 19. Four of the students were attending school full time, while one of the students attended an alternative high school part-time, and worked almost full-time. All of the students interviewed said that they liked to work. They all said that they intended to finish high school, but most were more vague when it came to future career goals. It appeared to this observer that some of them were not achieving their true potentials, preferring instead to live for today and their minimum wage earnings.
The students interviewed were Josh, 19, Kimberley, 16, Troy, 18, Marcus, 17, and Denise, 17. Josh worked as an automobile detailer for the body shop of a large dealership. Kimberley was a movie concession stand worker at a shopping mall theater. Troy delivered specimens for a diagnostic lab. Marcus worked at a fast food restaurant. Denise worked as a library page in a suburban library. All five students said that working and going to school at the same time were not difficult, since graduation from high school was basically seen as a given. "Show up, get counted, get passed on," was the recurrent theme of their comments concerning school. Troy, at 19, was trying to finish up some credits that he should have attained more than a year ago, however, and Kimberley said that she was failing two subjects. She appeared to be unconcerned though, and said that she would just load up with more classes next year, if necessary.
Denise showed the promise with regard to academic achievement, as might be expected from her interest in library work. She said that her job gave her lots of time to read in the book stacks when she was shelving books. She liked the variety involved in assisting the patrons and occasionally answering the phone, too. Sometimes she worked at the circulation desk whe...