Spring Broke
Keeping teenagers entertained these days is big business. And this one of the bigger differences in the fifty years that have transpired since I was thirteen years old. Cell phones are also game changers but that is for another day
I remember getting an allowance. I remember working around the house, yard, and doing special stuff to earn extra money until I could get a regular part time job washing dishes for $1.25@ hour at the farm. There were summer jobs at the golf course and working at the waste water treatment plant.
Now spring break in Miami for a middle schooler includes beach time, movies, field trips to the water parks, the mall for shopping and providing taxi service from 10:00 am until bedtime. Summer camp at a local park is for losers. Breaks from schools make sense, but these days they can also be child care problems.
Kids between 14-17 need jobs, just like adults but the economy ain't like it used to be and in some ways we are creating groups of long term unemployed folks that would benefit from the discipline of a job along with all the other things that happen in life.
Happily, school resumes on Monday, and I will get back to something that makes sense.
I remember getting an allowance. I remember working around the house, yard, and doing special stuff to earn extra money until I could get a regular part time job washing dishes for $1.25@ hour at the farm. There were summer jobs at the golf course and working at the waste water treatment plant.
Now spring break in Miami for a middle schooler includes beach time, movies, field trips to the water parks, the mall for shopping and providing taxi service from 10:00 am until bedtime. Summer camp at a local park is for losers. Breaks from schools make sense, but these days they can also be child care problems.
Kids between 14-17 need jobs, just like adults but the economy ain't like it used to be and in some ways we are creating groups of long term unemployed folks that would benefit from the discipline of a job along with all the other things that happen in life.
Happily, school resumes on Monday, and I will get back to something that makes sense.
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