VCE And Part Time Job - What Do You Think?

[fionas]

DSD is about to go into Year 11 to start VCE.

She just got a shocking school report - mostly fails for not handing in homework.

For this and a few other reasons, we have told her that there will be no pocket money until her next school report.

DP has been giving her money here and there for train fares into the city, coffees etc.

I have gone nuts at him and said, "no money means no money."

Anyhow, DP and I do generally agree that she should get a job. This is not to punish her but to make her manage her time better. You don't need seven hours a night to do homework but she thinks she's got all the time in the world, fluffs around and it doesn't get done.

She thinks this is unfair and that if she's going to improve at school that she can't have the distraction of a part-time job.

My other theory is that if she's doing that badly at school, she won't even finish VCE and a solid job history will stand her in good stead.

So ... my question is:

1. Do your teens who are in the crunch years at school have a part-time job? or for those without teens
2. Did you have a part-time job as a teen?

[Junglemum]

When i was 15, i wanted a job, i wanted my own money so i didn't have to ask for it. I was only allowed to work if my school work didn't suffer too much. I worked every weekend and school holidays from when i was 15 until i finished uni. In all honesty i think my school work did suffer a little, employers never were really that sympathetic to me needing time off at exam time! (oh and i did party a little too much, that probably had something to do with it as well. ) I did well in VCE, but i could have done better if i wasn't working and had applied myself a little.

I'm not sure work is a good thing if someone else is forcing her to do it iykwim? If she has no access to money and therefore wants to work to earn money then i think perhaps, you will have a more positive outcome.

On the other hand, if she doesn't want to work, as it will interfere with her school work then perhaps you could strike a deal. She gets pocket money, but only if she is putting in at school and getting the grades she is capable of. Otherwise she will need to go and earn her own money.

i think it really depends on the person.....

[PumpkinZulu]

Personally I think it would be a bad idea to force her to get a job. Working should be something she wants to do, to gain indipendance, become a responsible adult etc. I can understand your reasons (job references, experience etc) but if she doesn't want to be there, it sounds like ot could be more detrimental, kwim? If she isn't turning up for work or has an attitude her references might not be so good. Year 11 does need a bit of study time, year 12 even more so. If she wants and can handle getting a job at this stage I think it's a great thing, but I think you'd be overloading her by making her get one.

[*TripleJ*]

well i got my job right at the end of yr 12 and i think it did stuff up my schooling but that was because i had a boyfriend and got lazy i rekon if i had the job earlier i would have been a lot better at using my time

[Lulu]

Nope, get a job. Yr 11 isn't the crunch year at all, but you might want to watch she doesn't use it for an excuse for more crappy reports.

Ya gotta pay your way, sooner they learn the better for everyone....

[Nai]

I had a part time job from year 9 through to the end of year 12 and I managed to do that and all of my school work - I did my degree at Melbourne Uni so I got a good result at the end of it. It really taught me how to manage time, study, work and my budget. I say that year 11 is a perfect time for her to start learning how to balance her work and study.

[Liviam]

I had a part time job as a check out chick while I did Year 11 and 12. I passed well and it really did help with my organisation. Plus I loved having some money to spend on myself.

[Ca Plane Pour Moi]

I had a job while doing my A-Levels. I'd rather have not done that, but my parents insisted. In hindsight, it didn't damage me any.

TBH, a check-out chick job in a quiet-ish local shop meant that I could take my revision notes in and go through those on the quiet parts of the afternoon. It meant that I could also chat about the "scary" biochemical pathway pictures to interested customers, which was great for my revision (put it like this, over 10 years on I can still picture some of this, and I've not used it since my A-levels).