JOBS: Why some teens aren't working

As a teenager, I felt called to bring light to the situation of jobless teenagers. Who, to some, appear as lazy video-playing zombies. I must say (with great sadness and disappointment) that part of this is true. There are teenagers that spend majority of their time doing things that are less than… er… desired. However, this does not represent the entire teenage population. One of my friends is 15 and has his own landscaping business, his own car, and is on his way to getting his permit. He paid for the car all by himself. Another one of my friends was volunteering at the hospital while juggling Driver’s Education and a time-consuming lifeguarding class. The point that I am trying to get across is that just because you see teenagers making out at the library or know a few that stay home to play video games every day, that doesn’t mean the whole population of teens is that way. There are many hardworking teenagers out there that don’t have jobs for reasons that don’t relate to uncleanliness or laziness.

For one thing, many teenagers don’t know where or how to search for jobs. For another thing, many teenagers do not have adequate transportation. They may not even have a license. Driver’s Education can be quite expensive, with the cheapest option being taken at a public school for a total of about $200. Because of these factors, many teenagers would be forced to rely on parents or friends for transportation. Say that there was a teenager who had a license, but did not have a car. Assuming the parents could not pay for such an extravagant expense, the teen would have to get a job… and rely on somebody else for transportation.

What I am trying to say is that you can not put a stereotype on the next generation. Every generation has people that collect welfare while drinking Starbucks and playing games on their iPhone (though we know that this is not typical of all welfare recipients), but there are some hard workers out there. After all, aren’t we the generation that you will be depending on a few decades from now?

MADDY BAKER

Age 15

Post Falls