Editor’s note: Wellesley Middle School Social Studies students as part of a Civics Action Projects has this week taken over The Swellesley Report‘s letters-to-the-editor page. The students are well-versed in their topics, have carefully researched all angles, and are ready to present their opinions to the community. Thank you to the WMS Social Studies teachers for organizing this community-based project.

To the editor and the working community:

Teenage employment is a large issue which we want to solve. Teens (14-16) are overlooked when applying for a job.

Teenage employment has decreased 25% since 1997 and 17% since 2000. This is concerning because if teenage employment is low, then jobs are not filled, and teens don’t get working experience.

Teenagers also have other responsibilities like sports, extracurriculars, and family. These activities will help in a working environment because they are a mirrored version of a workspace. For example, a basketball team represents coordination, teamwork and effort, all which are key characteristics in a good employee.

Teens are limited to eight-ten working hours a week and cannot work more than three hours a day, so if a business owner wanted to have an adult work more hours they could. If teens were given an opportunity in the workforce they would build good life experience rather than wasting time.

The Worcester community is already starting to hire more teenagers as they know teens are incredibly abled workers. There are many groups that support the teenage working community and we want you to be a part of it. Teenage employment around the world is low because teenagers are snubbed in the workforce, even though teens can work just as well as adults.

We hope this new information helps your understanding of teenage employment grow. Teenage employment is incredibly important and business owners shouldn’t look over teenagers just because of their age when hiring new employees.

Sincerely,

Caiden Lainer
Wellesley Middle School student