Baseless Complaints About Young People, Part 2: Working

Another day, another Baseless Complaint About Young People. Old people, who reminisce fondly about their dinosaur-fighting days in the late Cretaceous, do not like it that there are young people out there... just... existing. Who do they think there are exactly? And why aren't they at work?

One particular screed goes something like this: "Look at all these lazy kids! Nobody ever works anymore! Meanwhile, I invented coal mills back in 1848! Uphill I invented them!"

On one hand, it's hard to compare work and school; it's like apples and Calculus Apples. The latter involves all kinds of memorization and reasoning and imaginary numbers, and often veers perilously close to not making any sense at all. The former is a sack of apples.

Your classes may not involve bewildering math, but even the easiest classes still require you to show up. You're still in school for almost a full workday. Add in homework and studying, and you're working what a professional would consider overtime. Factor in clubs/activities, sports, anything extracurricular...

So we're sorry, Imaginary Cantankerous Old Person, but students are actually pretty busy as it is, thank you very much. On top of that, grades are permanent, and every student trying to force her sleepy brain to comprehend Moon Physics knows that even this nonsense will matter in the long run. After all, you can't just leave a bad sophomore year off your transcript (as opposed to coincidentally forgetting to mention your Domino's job on a resume because you accidentally burned the Domino's down).

Related Post: Baseless Complaints About Young People, Part 1: Writing