Having learned to balance school and work during high school, many youth are able to follow a path that continues this effective time management while in college. A pattern of steady work across the high school and college years has an even bigger impact on adolescents in weaker academic positions– those with fewer academic resources to draw on in their pursuit of a Bachelor’s degree. Consistent with what we know of many processes of inequality, these critical adolescent patterns are class differentiated, with disadvantaged students less likely to follow the moderate steady work pattern. (Johnson, M. K., Crosnoe, R., & Elder, G. H., 274)

Adolescents have various reasons to want to work: having something to do during their free time, acquire experience to show in college applications, and perhaps the most popular one: the money the job offers. When I was a 17, what led me to apply to my local Starbucks was not the delicious smell of coffee, but the $9 per hour the job advertised. After reading the quote above, I thought about my own experience and my students’ experiences as adolescents who work. In my case, my job in high school prepared me for what college and graduate school were going to be like. I remember that I used to do homework during my free periods or stay up late during the weekends to finish assignments ahead of time. Now seven years later, I realize that I am doing something very similar by trying to balance student teaching, university classes and a part-time job. However, in the school I student teach in, I see that most of my students who work are not having the same experience I did. Many are late to class because they overslept, others don’t hand in assignments on time, and they use work as an excuse. When I ask them why don’t they have a homework completed, I usually get this response: “I didn’t have time Ms., I worked until late and was very tired”. So I wonder, how do we, as educators avoid this? Extracurricular activities are designed to teach us valuable life skills, but what happens when they interfere with completing schoolwork? How can we have a conversation with our students about the importance of schoolwork while we also encourage responsibility at their jobs?

“Another conceptual theme draws attention to the role of individuals in their own development. Here, we delve into the complex ways in which young people select into personal experiences, interpersonal rela- tionships, and social settings in ways that reflect their past and contribute to their futures. As we discuss, this process of selection of person occurs through the agentic strivings of individuals as well as through the interplay of environment and biology.” (from Insights on Adolescence From a Life Course Perspective)

I love this passage. So many sources and research on adolescence study this period of life as a very linear stage of development that is similar across different cultures and environments. There is a notion that adolescence consists of stages and milestones of development that are universal. However, perhaps more than any other period of life, the teenage years are so varied and shaped by so many different factors. One of the most important is certainly the individual, and what an individual wants, what goals he or she has, how they see themselves, etc. So many factors in adolescence are dependent on motivation and the power of the individual. Knowing this can be very empowering, and this school of thought is more comprehensive in that it places the focus on the individual in general.