“Hello Summer School, Goodbye Wages” Check out the student guide you can use and download for this lesson on making decisions about decision-making and informed career choices.
What did your last summer look like? A break from classes with a summer job, or more of the same? Did you have any say in what you did, or did parents make the decision for you? Did you perform a “cost benefit analysis” to determine what the best arrangement was for your future? If the proof is in the pudding, statistics show students around the country have concluded that skipping experience with work just makes sense; if that time is replaced with academics. The chance to get ahead in studies, or remediate when needed seems to be an increasing trend among high school teens. While students may be equipping themselves for college with extra studying, there is concern with a lack of work experience when entering the workplace. When high school students make the decision to forego working a part time job, what are they really giving up other than earning minimum wages? Discuss with a partner and make a list of what teens are sacrificing when they give up work experience. Read the article attached and consider the following:
Create a half page flyer, to help students in your career navigate between choosing summer school or summer work. You may choose to include a pro and con list, or a venn-diagram to help illustrate your thoughts.
Florida Financial Literacy Standards: SS.912.FL.6.9: Explain that loss of assets, wealth, and future opportunities can occur if an individual’s personal information is obtained by others through identity theft and then used fraudulently, and that by managing their personal information and choosing the environment in which it is revealed, individuals can accept, reduce, and insure against the risk of loss due to identity theft. SS.912.FL.1.1: Discuss that people choose jobs or careers for which they are qualified based on non-income factors, such as job satisfaction, independence, risk, family, or location. SS.912.FL.1.2: Explain that people vary in their willingness to obtain more education or training because these decisions involve incurring immediate costs to obtain possible future benefits. Describe how discounting the future benefits of education and training may lead some people to pass up potentially high rates of return that more education and training may offer. SS.912.FL.1.3: Evaluate ways people can make more informed education, job, or career decisions by evaluating the benefits and costs of different choices. SS.912.FL.1.4: Analyze the reasons why the wage or salary paid to workers in jobs is usually determined by the labor market and that businesses are generally willing to pay more productive workers higher wages or salaries than less productive workers. Literacy Standards LAFS.K12.R.1.1 Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text. LAFS.K12.W.3.8 Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, assess the credibility and accuracy of each source, and integrate the information while avoiding plagiarism. Check out the student guide that accompanies this post:
When job hunting, teens eager for their first job, are quick to take what is offered- anything to get that first paycheck. Likewise, soon out of college, young adults intent on pinning down a professional job to make use of their college degree and pay off that school debt, will take the first job that comes their way. Fearful of letting any opportunity be a missed opportunity, many adults are not taking their time to truly evaluate job offers that come their way. Many career opportunities present themselves with a variety of benefits that exceed the paycheck. Fringe benefits like a company car, health insurance, travel per diem, access to a gym or even discounts with phone companies are common in attempt to not only lure quality workers but retain them. Studies show that 30% of individuals do not know if their employer provides the benefits of a retirement plan. Employers are only 70% of the way to clear communication regarding financial or retirement benefits with their workers. Is it the job of the company to furnish ample information to educate their wage earner regarding fringe benefits and retirement plans? Absolutely! However, it would be remiss to not hold the laborer responsible as well. When offered a job opportunity, do not miss out on considering fringe benefits as payment too! Employees at any age should take charge of their retirement future, near or far, and investigate what is best for them. Putting money aside from every paycheck, paying yourself first is the way to get ahead. Read the attached article.
Why do you think that 30% of those surveyed do not know what benefits their employer offers? Does this surprise you? Why or why not? What benefits are important to you? Make a list of benefits that would lure you away from one employer to another. Use Fidelity’s article to think about how much money you should reserve from your monthly paycheck for retirement.
Conduct more research on fringe benefits offered by employers. Design a half page flyer to educate college students on what to research when considering fringe benefits. On the back of the flyer, explain how a 401K works. Florida Financial Literacy Standards: SS.912.FL.1.1: Discuss that people choose jobs or careers for which they are qualified based on non-income factors, such as job satisfaction, independence, risk, family, or location. SS.912.FL.1.3: Evaluate ways people can make more informed education, job, or career decisions by evaluating the benefits and costs of different choices. SS.912.FL.3.7: Explain how employer benefit programs create incentives and disincentives to save and how an employee’s decision to save can depend on how the alternatives are presented by the employer. SS.912.FL.6.3: Describe why people choose different amounts of insurance coverage based on their willingness to accept risk, as well as their occupation, lifestyle, age, financial profile, and the price of insurance. Literacy Standards LAFS.K12.R.1.1 Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text. LAFS.K12.W.3.8 Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, assess the credibility and accuracy of each source, and integrate the information while avoiding plagiarism. Here is the student guide that goes with this activity.
During the current COVID-19 shut-downs, many people have either lost their jobs or are working from home. Some workers have been deemed essential. Take for example, the healthcare workers, who are tirelessly helping people who have fallen victim to the virus. Now, check out the recent article from the Tampa Bay Times on essential workers. Before Reading: Consider the title: Cities differ on who's essential, who's not. Why do you think cities might differ in their assessments of which workers are essential? Predict some of the city workers that you think are deemed essential during the COVID-19 shut-down. During Reading: While you read, record which workers are deemed essential. Take notes to compare and contrast Tampa, St. Pete, and Clearwater.
After Reading: Which workers were deemed essential? What were the differences and similarities among the cities? Why were some people given more money than others? What changes in the labor market created these changes in salary? Why do you think some people have lost jobs? What else did you learn? Extension: Many of the jobs that were deemed essential are people with skilled trades. There are many different jobs people can do that don't necessarily require a college degree. Many of these jobs require certifications or on-the-job training. Sometimes people just apply to college without a future job in mind. Check out the Career Cluster infographic to learn more about different jobs and careers. What did you find? Now, visit Florida Shines.org to plan your future. When you find some jobs that look interesting, visit ONetOnline.org to conduct research on job options. What skills are required? What education is required? Which jobs match things you like? How much can you make? Use the PACED decision-making model to evaluate different jobs. Choose four different alternatives. Evaluate those alternatives, based on criteria important to you.
Florida Standards:
Language Arts-
Financial Literacy- SS.8.FL.1.1 Explain that careers are based on working at jobs in the same occupation or profession for many years. Describe the different types of education and training required by various careers. SS.8.FL.1.2 Identify the many decisions people must make over a lifetime about their education, jobs, and careers that affect their incomes and job opportunities. SS.912.FL.1.3: Evaluate ways people can make more informed education, job, or career decisions by evaluating the benefits and costs of different choices. SS.912.FL.1.5: Discuss reasons why changes in economic conditions or the labor market can cause changes in a worker’s income or may cause unemployment. |
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January 2022
CategoriesAuthorDeborah Kozdras, Ph.D. |