A common pattern among students of Prairie after their sixteenth birthday is to find a part time job. Whether it be to help their parents, save for college, or to have more freedom with what they buy, a reliable source of income is important to many. But how do most students manage both their education and their job?
Students of different skills, grades, or credits take different classes, some easier than others. Some students choose to take harder classes, whether it be for record or for college credit, like AP or Honors classes. Some students are perfectly content with the regular classes. Either way, high school students can be loaded with a lot of work, and with some of these students wanting or needing money to make, the struggle to manage both efficiently can be tough.
These struggles are escapable, though. “At the start of the year it was a little challenging,” Senior Caleb Harr said in regards to how his job affects his schoolwork and how he works around it. “Getting everything going. But, uh, I figured out a good plan, and that is when I get off of school, I have a 3-4 hour shift, so I get home around 7:30, then I do homework for about 2 hours.”
Students try to manage their time in different ways. Whether it be specific time frames to do specific things, cramming extra study time or work time during other classes or events, getting extended due dates by communication with teachers, or through other means. The difficulty also depends on the experience or preparation students have for these things.
Students of all grades experience these struggles. “Most of the time I find myself kind of doing work for one class in another class,” Sophomore Class President Jesse Driscoll said in regards to his own management of his employment and education. “And just kind of keep that cycle going.”
The school does have work arounds for this predicament. The Work Based Learning program provides students with the opportunity to gain high school credit whilst having a job, given you meet the criteria. But overall, each student finds their own unique way to manage their time between the two equally.
