Why do Americans let their children work?

First, cultivate the ability to communicate and cooperate with others.

I asked my American parents why they let their children go out to work. My American family is still relatively rich, and there is absolutely no shortage of pocket money for my children. As far as I know, Sarah 14 started working in the supermarket.

My American parents believe that only by going out to work can we really get in touch with society. School is a peer group, and there are all kinds of people in the workplace. They believe that it is very important for children to get in touch with different people as soon as possible and learn to deal with people.

Indeed, Sarah often tells us about her colleagues when she comes back from work: girls who drop out of school, aunts in their fifties, immigrants with poor English, and bad-tempered old men. As a cashier, Sarah has to smile at those bad-tempered shoppers who have worked hard all day.

Through the observation of my classmates, I found that there is a big gap between those who have never worked or have worked for a short time and those who insist on working, whether in the ability to communicate with others or in the ability to cooperate with others. For example, my classmates in Central, although studying very well, are obviously worse than ordinary classmates in social skills because they don't go out to work. They come to my house and almost never knock. They just stood outside and texted me to open the door. When they first met my family, they would be at a loss.

When Cora and Clarissa first came to my house, I was surprised to find that Sarah greeted them with a smile and held out her hand and said, "Hello! I am Gogo's sister, nice to meet you! " And they just stood there, not knowing what to say.

My friends from the Central Calculus Class came to my house to attend my party. Except me, they didn't even say hello to anyone, just gathered in a pile and chatted in the basement. Like my sisters, some of my classmates who work outside are also very generous and polite.

At my party, I heard a conversation between Christina, who has been working in a clothing store, and Antonio, a friend of mine who never works.

Christina: "Hello! I am Christina! "

Antonio was about to pass by her when he suddenly turned and waited for a while and said, "Are you talking to me?"

Christina smiled happily: "Yes! It is you! I haven't seen you. Are you Gogo's friend in Central? " Antonio replied, "Yes."

Christina exaggerated "Wow!" "Great!" He said loudly. I've heard Gogo say a lot about you. You are all so clever! I chose Japanese in Central, which is really my favorite school! It's a pity that the teacher in our school won't let me choose another class, otherwise we may become classmates! "

Antonio was very interested: "Really? Why doesn't your school let you take other classes? "

Then they talked for a long time.

In this way, Christina and my introverted central friend also became friends.

Christina has a good family condition and good academic performance, but she still has to work about 20 hours a week. She often tells me about the people she meets at work.

"Oh, my God," she came to pick me up to the mall one day. As soon as I got on the bus, she couldn't help it. "You really don't know how horrible it is today!"

"What's the matter," I asked, "is there another thief?"

She shook her head helplessly.

"Today is very strange," she said. "I am in distress situation. In the afternoon, a gay man in women's clothes came to the store and took off his pants in front of the cashier as soon as he came in! "

I was too shocked to speak.

After a while, I smiled.

"You still laugh!" She said reproachfully, "If you had to make him put on pants and go out like me, you wouldn't laugh!" "

"what!" I'm surprised. "You must tell him! That ... "

"Look! This is my job! Not only to fold clothes, but also to do such a thing ... "She shook her head. "A girl came in the day before yesterday and said that she had been raped. Let's take her to the police station. This kind of thing is still good, there is really no way to spread people like today! "

"Then you can't change your job?" I opened my eyes wide and asked, "You still do this kind of work!"

"Hey, this is at least a job!" She looked at me with a wry smile. "It's better than some people who don't have jobs!" "

It is because of working outside that Christina has developed the ability to communicate with anyone and can communicate well with anyone. In my opinion, this ability is necessary for a high-quality talent. The best way to cultivate this ability from an early age is to work. Imagine, if we are not forced to do so, how can we invite a pervert out of the store?

My parents in China often tell me that this ability can be cultivated in the future, but my parents in America don't think so. They think that knowledge can be learned at any time, but this ability can only be cultivated when you are young, and then you can form your character. Therefore, even very wealthy families in the United States will let their children go out to work in order to cultivate their abilities. And those parents who really have bookworm children often shrug their shoulders and say helplessly, "He was born like this, and there is nothing I can do. I have told him to find a job and do something else. He won't listen, and I can't help it. "

Second, let children develop the habit of financial management.

My American host family believes that when children have their own income, they will have a new understanding of money, not only can they realize that it is not easy to make money, but also learn how to manage money and let them use it on the cutting edge.

My sister Sarah has a bookkeeping book in the car and bag, and every expense will be recorded. She will go to the bank to deposit money and withdraw money at the end of the month.

American families generally don't pay full tuition fees to their children. The tuition fees of American universities are quite high for ordinary families, especially those who want to go to prestigious schools or schools in other States. The average American family has two or three children. For the sake of fairness and justice, parents can't just send one child to an expensive university. Therefore, students in the United States basically have to work to earn tuition.

Although Christina was born in a well-off family, her parents refused to pay her tuition, which led her to go to Iowa State University. But she worked hard and applied for many scholarships, and now she has saved enough tuition for the first year. She intends to continue working in the university and save money for university exchange and study abroad.

It is common for students to save money in the United States, but as an adult of 18 years old, I have never saved a penny in the bank. I think this insensitivity to money is because I have no money, so I have no interest in financial management. When I earned $20 as a Chinese tutor for the first time, I photographed the $20 excitedly and put it carefully in my wallet for fear of misusing it.

Third, keep the children busy.

There is a good saying: "The most efficient people are the busiest people." I think this sentence is very correct. If there is only one task to be completed in a day, the time to do a task is extended to one day; And if you have to do ten tasks a day, the time to do one task will be greatly shortened and the efficiency will be improved.

American schools are relatively relaxed, and if you don't choose AP class, the course is basically not difficult. Students can take part in many extracurricular activities, but they will still have a lot of free time.

My little sister Christine, who goes home every day, just watches TV and sends messages. Therefore, as soon as her 16 birthday is over (generally required for work 16 or above), her parents urge her to go out and look for a job every day.

During that time, she had been interviewing and finally decided to work as a waitress in Applebee (a restaurant) next to my home. After starting work, her free time is obviously less, and she won't stay on the sofa all night watching TV and texting. Every time she goes out to work, my parents will say, "Work hard and be happy! Work hard and enjoy your work! )"

Fourth, cultivate children's professionalism.

On the day I left Iowa, Sarah was suddenly told that she had to work in the afternoon, and I happened to be on the plane after 5 o'clock. Sarah really wanted to see me off at the airport, but she finally chose a job. She told her parents that she would take me to the supermarket where she works to see her one last time before sending me to the airport. So we went, and she was at the cashier's desk, so we simply hugged and said goodbye to each other.

One spring break, the church organized a volunteer trip to Chicago church, and Jessica and I both participated. Sarah can't go because she has an appointment. She was angry for a long time, but finally she didn't ask for leave. Sarah has never been absent from work for any reason, even on Saturday after surgery. She doesn't like her job, but she is very dedicated. Every Saturday morning after 5 o'clock, she can be heard downstairs heating breakfast in the microwave oven, because she has to work from 6 o'clock in the morning to 2 o'clock in the afternoon.

Similarly, so is my friend Christina. In their minds, work is always the first, and going out with friends is the second.

After returning home, all the students in China have finished the college entrance examination, and many people also want to go out to work. But according to my observation, my classmates' professional quality is much worse than my American friends. They always have various reasons to excuse themselves, and their parents will actually help to excuse their children! This kind of professionalism may really need to be cultivated from an early age.

Compared with China, the United States provides many good job opportunities for children. We may not be able to copy this from Americans, but we have to admit that they have their reasons. It is very important to instill this truth in the education of children in China.