With fresh cover from the Biden administration to mandate masks in the classroom, the nation’s teachers unions have made it clear that they plan on depriving public school teenagers of yet another year of actual school anywhere they can.
American Federation of Teachers boss Randi Weingarten already teased the possibility of closing down the schools again in a conversation about full-time mask-wearing in the classroom. Now, with the union’s refusal to require that teachers get vaccinated, it’s clear that delta-plus (or whatever the hottest new variant is) will be used to justify another year of canceled classes, aborted sports programs, Zoom proms, and failing test scores.
So, the time is ripe for parents to embrace a gap year. Luckily, the job market is providing perfect conditions in the form of a raging-hot job market.
Some 1.8 million people have turned down jobs simply because extended unemployment insurance has proven more profitable than actually contributing to society. In this artificially tight labor market, employers are far more willing to hire teenagers — they might even pay them bonuses just for interviewing.
Whereas teenagers usually comprise 10% of new hires in June, payroll provider Gusto found that they constituted more than a third this June. In the past two months alone, teenager wages have risen 13%, handily beating inflation. With adults happy for Uncle Sam to fund their midday Netflix binges, teenagers have filled their summer days with jobs instead of clubs and Kumon. Youth unemployment is down from 20.5% in June of last year to 9.3% now. All in all, one-third of teenagers age 16 to 19 now hold jobs.
The gap year idea has merit for any teenager considering future goals but especially for those considering college. Before taking out six figures of loan debt, teenagers could take advantage of this unusual labor market to try sussing out which industry or skill they would want to pursue. Even an entry-level job offers the opportunity to skill-building, mentorship access, and experience. Just ask anyone who’s worked in reception at a doctor’s office versus behind the counter at a restaurant — even minimum wage jobs are quickly differentiated. Some low-wage jobs (McDonald’s and Walmart come to mind) have programs that they could eventually use to help pay for school.
Furthermore, with inflation showing no sign of abating and the cost of Zoom universities still soaring, it’s probably worth it to spend a year capitalizing on artificially high wages. A year of real-life work experience could become a year of tuition or a down payment on a car or a condo. And if you think that’s impossible, just dive into this extraordinary report from the Financial Times, which details how teenagers such as 19-year-old Jason Cabrera are earning $50,000 annually plus bonuses as a fast food chain general manager, a job that usually requires 10 years of experience.
High school isn’t high school without extracurriculars and the full, all-American social calendar that distance learning will be denying students this year. So, why not let them try something different? It will be a valuable and character-building experience, and it’s not as though they’ll be missing out on anything in schools controlled by Weingarten and her minions.
