Kids not only think that avoiding school work is "cool," they think that avoiding any measure of work is the way to go. And I'm not sure I can blame them because they are simply following a major trend in the workforce and our society. We have turned into a society that values leisure. We are constantly looking for time to spend on ourselves; the weekends, vacation time, and early retirement, are the goals of our work efforts. Even while work is supposed to be being done, there are many employees who try to get "the most" for themselves on the boss's time; surfing the internet, playing solitaire, taking an extra-long lunch, using every sick day that is available because it is "time deserved," and generally finding ways to avoid labour, are common in the workforce today. We have developed a lazy society by placing what I believe is a dangerously high value on leisure time.

Why shouldn't kids follow the same trend that our society has adopted? Many school systems are also starting to encourage this trend. Students don't "fail" grades anymore in many schools. If a child in grade 7 does not pass any courses, he or she is often still "advanced" to grade 8, because it would be psychologically harmful to remove him from his age group. Also students often aren't forced to adhere to specific due dates in many school systems. If a student passes in an assignment that is a week or two late, it is to be marked as if it was passed in on time, because the school system is evaluating the ability of the student to achieve certain outcomes, and being "on time" isn't one of them. When the lackadaisical attitude of society combines with these practices, what is the result?

Many kids are looking at students who value the work ethic and they are saying "What a fool you are!" The studious student, who works hard, passes in assignments on time, and achieves to the best of his or her ability, is mocked openly by students who do nothing, and in the next school year, all are still in the same grade. Or, the "slack" student will wait until some assignments have been handed back, or the teacher has reviewed the answers to material from the assigned work, and then complete and submit the work, knowing that it will be marked with the same standard as the assignments that were handed in on time. We are enforcing and even encouraging an "avoid work" attitude and a no-consequences standard.

As a person who thoroughly enjoys his work, and who volunteers in several capacities, I personally hate this trend. I am scared to think of the resulting society that is going to be created by many of the students who are currently in the school system. Yes, there are still many students who enjoy learning and who complete assignments to the best of their ability and pass them in on time, however, they are the smart ones and I've seen a trend where even these are taking those extra days past the due date to complete an even better assignment, or are taking school days off to go shopping, or take an extra week off of Spring Break to go on a trip to Cuba. I personally think that we should be encouraging pride in work and a do-my-best attitude, and we should be showing students that there are consequences attached to not performing in the work force. Until these changes are made, is there any wonder that kids believe that not doing school work, or any kind of work, is ... 'cool'?

Learn more about this author, Reilly Fitzgerald.
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