Great post! There is so much to be learned serving customers that can't be taught in a classroom. This sounds like a great opportunity for students and a valuable way to get community service hours done.

Thanks, Karen, for reading and commenting. I've often thought that working retail and in a restaurant should be a prerequisite for many careers!

What a great experience for everyone. You are right that we tend to undervalue such experiences and shy away from those activities. Somehow our lives become so busy that these simple yet valuable tasks lose out to other priorities.

It is such a shame that kids don't have the opportunity to get after school or Saturday jobs anymore. Here's a link to a recent Town Square thread on the subject. Web Link

I am reminded of my own first job one summer in retail. It taught me so much more about life and responsibility than anything I learned in school. I learned to be responsible to my job and my employer, as well as my fellow workers. I learned loyalty, the importance of being polite and professional, to dress for success and the rewards of a hard day's work with a nice fat paycheck to spend how I chose. Such a shame that today's youth don't have the same opportunities today. It seems that this volunteer session is a nice compromise.

Thanks, Debbie, for reading and commenting. We do lose sight sometimes of taking the time to acquire some of these basic skills.

Thanks, Resident, for reading and commenting, and for the link. My daughter also babysits for neighbors which is a learning experience, too, but jobs serving customers (and a boss) do teach all the important skills you've noted.

Concession stand at Stanford games is also a good opportunity for students to learn to deal with money, work in a team and be respectful. Thank you Sally for writing about work experience for students that is necessary in life.

Thanks for posting Sally. We always say that making money for the band is the 3rd goal of the concession stand. The first is to take care of our venders who come every month and really support our program. The second is to offer our students work experience that few have time (or motivation) to explore. It is a win-win situation, and I always am proud of the kindness and diligence our students demonstrate.

Hi Maria,
Thank you for reading and commenting! Good to know about the concession stand at Stanford.

Thanks, Julie, for all you do to give the kids this opportunity. You are without a doubt succeeding in all 3 goals!

Great experience for a good cause! One thing the kids still have to look forward to is their first pay stub listing all the deductions. Unless they own their own businesses, right?! Thanks for the post, Sally.

Hi LJ,
Thanks for reading and commenting. Our oldest two have had that shock. My daughter called us for advice because she was absolutely certain there was some kind of mistake on her first paycheck!

Well said, Sally--Thank you! What a great experience for both the students and the vendors!

Thanks, PR, for reading and commenting!

Great post!

When I was a kid, everyone had to work. Even my (few) "rich" friends had to have jobs in order to have spending money.

Many people find that the general skills they learn in jobs come in very handy. There are elements of management, marketing, sales, project management, problem solving, accounting in even the most mundane positions.

I used to notice a lot of local kids working in our retail stores. I don't see that much anymore.

Dear Robert Smith,
Thanks for reading and commenting! Once during my medical training a supervising physician complimented me on my ability to quickly develop a rapport with patients. I told her that was honed working in retail where often one only has a few minutes to assess what the customer is most interested in!

Stating on your college application that you held a part time job on weekends on after school to learn responsibilities and how to deal with strangers unfortunately is not as impressive as spending those after school hours doing sports, volunteering at the hospital, running a charity for disadvantaged children, presiding over a club activity, taking calculus at Stanford as a high school sophomore, etc. etc.

Also, all those kids driven by their parents to take a chemistry class at the local tutoring store, before they take the chemistry class at the high school so they can guarantee their A+, also prevents students from doing the "old fashion" activities that was once common place a generation ago.