Princess Entitlement

[earl colby pottinger]

Resumes

What's sad is that some 15-year-olds I've seen on the net have told me when I call them out on their spelling that "I don't care, it's for school and I'm not at school"

Usually I then shut them up by trapping them in their own logic and pointing out that they will never get a job if they use "netspeak" instead of that new-fangled "school speak"

It is my understanding that a lot of resumes are being rejected for real for exactly that reason.

[TruthHurts]

Turns out she's 15, and "can't" get a job and "can't" earn any money.

BS! I got my first job at 15. Maybe if she spent less time looking for furry outfits and more time looking at want ads, she's find a way too earn some money.

[fireheart]

(I run into this a lot. Melodramatic teenagers treating being furry like it was some huge deal, and they need to be "in the closet" or "come out" or whatever about it.)

To be fair, some of the books I've read lately regarding teenagers and classroom behaviour have said that teenagers are melodramatic about EVERYTHING.

The book I'm reading right now is very worthwhile as it explains some strategies on how to keep the peace in the classroom.

[dalesys]

...some strategies on how to keep the peace in the classroom.

Better than a Prozac mister?

[BeeMused]

It is my understanding that a lot of resumes are being rejected for real for exactly that reason.

I can speak from experience, we get a lot applications for our trainee openings, about 5% are full of netspeak, typos and bad grammar, those are put into the big round filing cabinet.

It's worse with interns, we reject about 50% just for that. 25% didn't bother to read that you'd have to be about 18 due to the nature of our products.

[Seshat]

My brother went out and got himself a job before he was of legal age to do so.

And assuming (which may be a big assumption) that the parents know some of the adults in the neighbourhood, there's always the option that we had growing up: do childminding*, garden maintenance, simple cleaning, laundry, ironing, basic cooking and other chores for our own parents or other neighbourhood adults.

* childminding was done with parents on call for genuine emergencies. We were supposed to learn to handle the basics, but if little Timmy broke his arm, it suddenly became an adult's job.

[protege]

BS! I got my first job at 15

Yep, bullshit here too. I had a paper route when I was 10 or 11. Once I paid my parents back for the 'start-up costs' (namely a beat-up 1978 Radio-Flyer "station wagon") I was in business. I had that job about 6 years, before the Pittsburgh Press was merged out of business...and all the carrier jobs were discontinued. After that, I delivered advertising flyers, and other things until I left for college.

There are always jobs out there for minors--working at Scout camp, landscaping, washing cars, etc.

[Sapphire Silk]

15? I was guessing more like 8.

All 3 of my nieces knew at 8 not to ask for something for nothing.

One of them might have done so at 6.

I gave her a bit of a lecture about luxuries vs. necessities

Her response was "OK i get it"

I feel like a teenager's parent all the sudden!

Yeah. She's didn't get it. That was a "talk to the hand" response. She's probably pulled this crap on people in person and gotten stuff for free and figured she'd give it a try online.

I suggest she get a job selling vacuum cleaners door to door. She'll go far. No writing involved, and she's clearly got the metaphorical testes for the job.

Purchase orders. She'll have to write those. Unless the assumption is she never sells a unit

And assuming (which may be a big assumption) that the parents know some of the adults in the neighbourhood, there's always the option that we had growing up: do childminding*, garden maintenance, simple cleaning, laundry, ironing, basic cooking and other chores for our own parents or other neighbourhood adults.

So this. I was making money doing odd jobs in the neighborhood when I was NINE. My parents made it quite clear they were not made of money. We got presents at birthdays and Christmas. Not much else the rest of the year. If we wanted something, we had to have money to buy it.

We did chores, rake leaves, mow lawns. I did a lot of babysitting. I always had money. Not enough for anything as expensive as a $1400 fursuit . . . but enough to buy computer games, go to the movies whenever I wanted to, or buy other things. And save . . . I started my first savings account when I was around 12.

[Pixilated]

If it took me TEN MINUTES that still would not make it okay for them to want it for free. It's my work, and my time, and how would it NOT screw me to give it away and get nothing in return?

You are right: the actual time spent is irrelevant. But it might make a bit more of an impression on Miss "I know this is a lot to ask" if she knew how long it does take you to make a fursuit.

I based my suggested response mainly on both her emails, which at least were polite. She may be an E/SC in the making, but she's not quite there yet.

[An Haddock]

BS! I got my first job at 15. Maybe if she spent less time looking for furry outfits and more time looking at want ads, she's find a way too earn some money.

Age 14 here. I was a prep chef for a French restaurant. Lost the tip of my finger in a food processor because I was being idiotic in its use.

Granted, a lot of places won't take a chance hiring a kid for liability's sake, but if you look hard enough there's always someone who'll bend the rules. Usually friends of your parents. One of them had me work at her pastry shop for a couple of days and another had me helping with a roofing crew. Decent money for a teenager and you learn a few things, too.

[Teskeria]

I had part time jobs in the school year and full time in summers from when I was about 14. My Mom had 6 kids and we all learned to work. She got $30 per paycheck (which she added to the food budget so we got treats like fresh fruit and other more expensive foods than her budget allowed without our help), and we HAD to put half in the bank. So each fall we were able to get more school clothes than she could afford, and we got to choose them ourselves if we stayed within her requirements. We sometimes hated it, but we really felt proud to help put the food on the table.

[lobo94]

I had a paper route at 9, sold books to a dealer at a flea market during my teenage years, and worked at a family friend's Chinese restaurant at 14-15. As far as "netspeak"-I shake my head at some of it.

[sevendaysky]

There's one point I haven't seen mentioned yet. I am the youngest of three siblings. Both my elders had paper routes. When it came my turn, my mother refused to let me try it, saying that it had been too hard on my siblings and she regretted letting them do it. In high school, many of the kids that I had classes with also had parental restrictions on what they could do (in terms of work) and when, for varying reasons. Mine wanted me to focus on my school work.

Of course, princess entitlement here wanted a full fur suit for free, so take her usage of the word "can't" with a grain or pound full of salt.

[Pixilated]

On the issue of jobs: yes, at 15 it's likely that she could find something. It's not like she's eight years old.

However, as a 56-year-old who's back in school ... I don't know where the "wanna-be" princess lives, but I can tell you jobs are hard to come by where I am. Paper routes? Perhaps, again depending on where she lives. Around here, the paper routes are mostly done by adults. Anecdotal evidence also suggests that at least one newspaper in this area is notorious for screwing its deliverypeople. Stores? Nobody's hiring. IF you're lucky you MIGHT be hired for the Christmas rush.

None of which, of course, means she is entitled to free stuff.

As for her spelling and so on, my sister, who is 12 years younger than I, was not a good speller/writer in her early years. My mother went to confront the teacher about why sis wasn't being corrected. (B/g: sis looked like a tiny Dresden figure in her early-school years. )

Teacher: "Oh, but when she looks at me with those big eyes, I just can't correct her."

Well, that's useful, isn't it ...

I'm also told that many schools have been told the only important thing is that teachers "understand what the student means"; the actual grammar/spelling/sentence structure issues are seen as "cramping their free expression." And, I need not add, their self-esteem.

[Sapphire Silk]

There's one point I haven't seen mentioned yet. I am the youngest of three siblings. Both my elders had paper routes. When it came my turn, my mother refused to let me try it, saying that it had been too hard on my siblings and she regretted letting them do it. In high school, many of the kids that I had classes with also had parental restrictions on what they could do (in terms of work) and when, for varying reasons. Mine wanted me to focus on my school work.

Understandable. My parents refused to let me get a "real" job until I was 18 for the same reasons . . . and I'm the oldest. I struggled in school. My brother didn't; he was allowed a job at 16.

I'm also told that many schools have been told the only important thing is that teachers "understand what the student means"; the actual grammar/spelling/sentence structure issues are seen as "cramping their free expression." And, I need not add, their self-esteem.

I so see the results of this as a community college teacher.

I am merciless on issues of grammar, spelling, and punctuation. If you want to be taken seriously as a professional, you MUST sound professional in your writing.

I tell my students, "If you sound like a hick from the holler or a homie from the hood in your writing, no one will take you seriously."