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Summer Jobs
Where are you working this summer? We survey
Bay Area teens on their plans
By the Spring 2001 Youth Radio
Bridge Class
 Memorial Day is about a month away, but already Bay Area
high school students are thinking ahead to the summer. More and more
kids across the U.S. take summer school classes to improve their grades
from the regular academic year. But many young people spend the hot
months on the job-whether they like it or not. Leon Sykes, Allison Lee,
Ke'Yuanda Evans, and Melanie Falls describe their experiences with
summer jobs.
Leon Sykes
What do you do when school's out for the summer?
Usually I go to summer school, but not this year. My Mom and Dad said to
me, "You're going to get a job." No!!!!! was my first
reaction. But then I thought, I can save up my money and I'll be rolling
in dough. My wallet will be so full of money it probably won't close.
I'd rather bag groceries at Safeway or sell popcorn at the movie theater
than fill out work sheets and do the same math problem over and over -
and over. I don't like being in school during the school year, so why
would I give up a great chance to make money just to review the same
thing I learned during the regular year? I plan to work, but not because
my parents want me to. I'll work because I want to.
Allison
Lee
America needs to dispel the myth that teens today are a
generation of couch potatoes and impatient youth. Every summer an influx
of students crowd behind counters from Jamba Juice to Starbucks. In the
GAP in my neighborhood, I always see 16 and 17-year-old kids wielding
clip boards, folding cargo pants and hanging up jean jackets at 9:00 at
night, with the customers long gone. These young retail employees look
pretty responsible and motivated to me. They prove that Generation Y is
making an effort on the employment front. I personally have never had a
job but I respect those who are dedicated enough to hold one
down.
Ke'Yuanda Evans
School will soon be dismissed,
and it'll be time for summer fun, right? Wrong! For teenagers like me,
the end of the school year means that we have eight hour days to look
forward to - sitting at a desk doing tasks that are just as tedious as
math homework. Over the summers I work as a civil engineering intern at
East Bay MUD. The problem is, I have absolutely no interest in
engineering whatsoever. Sure, I'll earn lots of money, but what
difference does it make if I'm too tired to do anything enjoyable by the
time I get home? My parents don't force me to work. But when I want to
do something social, they say I can do it as long as I have the money.
So of course they're implying that I better get a job if I plan to have
any fun with my friends. At this point, working is just something that I
have to do in order to get that cute new jean skirt and bright orange
halter top, or to go to the movies every now and then. If I had a choice
of whether or not to get a job, my answer would definitely be
"No."
Melanie Falls
I've never had a
summer job because summer school takes over my life from June to August
every year. From my position in a boring biology class, where we do
tedious labs to waste away the afternoon, the idea of working doesn't
sound half bad. At least you get to interact with people in a
business-like manner. It'd be a nice change from feeling like a student
all the time. Business skills are going to serve me a lot better in the
future than knowing how to dissect a frog.
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