Chalkbeat: Prof. Mary Elizabeth Collins Highlights the Benefits of Youth Employment
Schools around the country received aid during the pandemic to address the challenges of online schooling. Some schools, like those in the Kenai Peninsula, an Alaska school district, used this funding to employ high school students as tutors for younger grades. The students learned about teaching, explored career opportunities, and were able to contribute to their households. BU School of Social Work Prof. Mary Elizabeth Collins shared her expertise on this practice and its benefits for both tutors and students.
Excerpt from “With COVID Aid, Schools Try Something New: Giving Students Jobs” by Kalyn Belsha, originally posted in Chalkbeat:
‘More career preparation, or even thinking about careers, is quite a good thing at early ages,’ said Mary Elizabeth Collins, a professor at Boston University School of Social Work who has studied workforce development for vulnerable youth. ‘There are a lot of potential career pathways available to young people, and we as a society don’t do a great job of letting them know the range of things that they could go for, and what they need to get there.’
School leaders say the money is especially helpful for teens who can’t afford an unpaid internship, or who are struggling to balance their schoolwork with a late-night part-time job. If teens are working as tutors or mentors, the jobs also provide an academic and emotional boost for students’ younger peers. To work best, programs should offer students plenty of adult guidance, especially if they are working with younger children, Collins said.”