Editorial

EDUCATION, NOT JOBS, MUST BE TEENS' PRIORITY

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American teenagers encounter greater temptations than ever before. This is not only in the sense of illegal substances or cultural corruption, but in terms of monetary seduction. Stoked by economic and social pressures and by the growing number of service sector jobs, more teenagers are joining the labor force. The result of this, studies are showing, is a trend toward declining academic performance among these teens. While governments can go too far in trying to regulate this trend, parents, teens and the business community should recognize the need for good sense in this category of employment.

A just-released study that addresses this issue was conducted by the Workforce Preparedness Project in Chicago. A survey of 27 high school guidance counselors and at the 35 largest public high schools in Illinois found, not surprisingly, that teenagers working too many hours too late at night tended toward absenteeism and declining grades.

Officials at the Safe Workplace Institute, which directed the project, make some valid points about the dangers involved in teen employment. They say that because of the shrinking number of 16- and 17-year olds, employers are reaching for even younger teens to fill the void. They also say that government is working at odds with itself by pouring billions of dollars into education without more closely regulating teen labor.

While favoring these concerns, we would draw the line at insisting only government intervention can arrest them. By recommending that a 10 p.m. curfew be imposed on student workers and exacting a recommended pledge from employers not to hire drop outs, government would be exerting undue influence on concerns that could better be resolved between business people and educators. These restrictions could also impose an economic hardship on good students who need truly need the jobs. It's easy to ask government to solve all of society's problems but we know too well that doesn't always happen; sometimes, new laws don't do the trick.

The survey in this case was conducted in an urban and suburban environment, but the problem is not limited to a metropolitan setting. In Cape Girardeau, a December 1989 survey of Central High School students indicated that about half the school's enrollment, and 67 percent of the seniors, held jobs. We contend this is not bad in itself, that jobs can teach teens responsibility, time management, social interaction and the value of money earned. This becomes destructive, however, when jobs take precedence over what should be a priority for teenagers the pursuit of an education.