can a part-time job somehow count for high school credit?

[razorbackmama]

I'm leaning toward no, but I'm wondering if I can somehow put something together.

 

My mom taught General Cooperative Education at a high school about 20-25 years ago. It was a class for seniors only. They got out of school after half the day. Most of them just had to finish up a history and English credit, and the rest of their time at school was spent in my mom's class, where she helped them with the work in those classes as well as work readiness skills like showing up on time, dressing decently, communication skills, etc. Then those kids had jobs in the community that actually counted for credit for this class. Mom would go supervise them on the job once a month.

 

Is there any way I might be able to do SOMETHING to help my kids' part-time jobs count for some credit? Maybe combine it with some sort of career exploration course?????

Or is it pretty much a no-go.

(If it matters, college is not an absolute given for either one of my current high schoolers...my rising senior wants to join the Navy, and my rising junior isn't sure yet what she wants to do. I'm suggesting construction technology since she's good at that and enjoys it, but she's iffy. However, I don't want to rule out college completely, so I want their transcripts to be prepared just in case.)

[clementine]

http://www.pacworks.com/docs_blog.php?p=1009 

 

It's an old article, but the info might be helpful.  

 

My high school had the same option, students could earn .5 credits for their job.  

[regentrude]

I personally would not give credit for a part time job, unless the job had strong academic merit. I also do not give credit for life skills like dressing appropriately and showing up on time.

 

A job can stand out as an extracurricular; in case of a college application, the student would have room to elaborate.

 

One situation where I could envision such a course would be for a struggling student of weak academic standing and lacking credits for whom this credit would be necessary to get a sufficient number of credits  for graduation. So, student with severe learning disabilities, or non-neurotypical student whose education must focus on life skills.

Not for a college bound student.

Edited April 18, 2016 by regentrude

[texasmama]

I personally would not give credit for a part time job, unless the job had strong academic merit. I also do not give credit for life skills like dressing appropriately and showing up on time.

 

A job can stand out as an extracurricular; in case of a college application, the student would have room to elaborate.

 

One situation where I could envision such a course would be for a struggling student of weak academic standing and lacking credits for whom this credit would be necessary to get a sufficient number of credits  for graduation. So, student with severe learning disabilities, or non-neurotypical student whose education must focus on life skills.

Not for a college bound student.

This.

[razorbackmama]

http://www.pacworks.com/docs_blog.php?p=1009

 

It's an old article, but the info might be helpful.  

 

My high school had the same option, students could earn .5 credits for their job.  

 

Thank you! What he describes sounds very similar to what my mom taught.

[razorbackmama]

I personally would not give credit for a part time job, unless the job had strong academic merit. I also do not give credit for life skills like dressing appropriately and showing up on time.

 

A job can stand out as an extracurricular; in case of a college application, the student would have room to elaborate.

 

One situation where I could envision such a course would be for a struggling student of weak academic standing and lacking credits for whom this credit would be necessary to get a sufficient number of credits  for graduation. So, student with severe learning disabilities, or non-neurotypical student whose education must focus on life skills.

Not for a college bound student.

 

That's basically how I feel about it. I was sort of stunned that the students my mom taught got graded on those skills. To me that's rather "duh." But I know it's not for all kids so.... :confused1:

 

The only reason I'm considering this sort of thing for my kids (my son in particular) is because he's really needing some electives. A friend of mine suggested that maybe a little bit of credit for his job might be an option.

 

[Sunshine State Sue]

I had a gf who did that in HS - graduated 1979.  We worked together at a local burger/ice cream joint.  I believe when she graduated, she was made assistant manager and that was her career for a while.  Around here, the PS has an agreement with the local tech school and some of the kids take classes there during the day.  The tech school has apprenticeships which the PS'ers participate in.  But, these credits were all towards a skill/trade/career.

[magic]

Work study is a credit offered in high schools here and I do give my son credit for his job.  He has been a plumber's apprentice since he was 14.  He learns something new every day- studies state and federal codes, grades slopes, cuts pipe, solders, installs water and gas lines, and so much more.  I feel like he learns so much and he is a licensed apprentice with the state.  I have issued 1 credit for each of his 4 years of high school but these are elective credits in addition to all of the mandatory credits.  I feel like it is based on the job and what is being learned on the job.

[texasmama]

Work study is a credit offered in high schools here and I do give my son credit for his job.  He has been a plumber's apprentice since he was 14.  He learns something new every day- studies state and federal codes, grades slopes, cuts pipe, solders, installs water and gas lines, and so much more.  I feel like he learns so much and he is a licensed apprentice with the state.  I have issued 1 credit for each of his 4 years of high school but these are elective credits in addition to all of the mandatory credits.  I feel like it is based on the job and what is being learned on the job.

This seems reasonable.  Your son is doing more than putting salt on the fries or ringing up shirts at Old Navy.

[JoJosMom]

ROP (Regional Occupational Program) and work experience classes used to be extremely common in public high schools and are still available in some places.  I think it's sad that we've allowed these programs to dwindle in a pointless pursuit of every child going to college.  Many children are neither suited to  nor interested in doing so.

 

So, yes, I would absolutely be open to high school credit for a work experience.  I would likely pair the job with a life-skills study, though.

[razorbackmama]

I had a gf who did that in HS - graduated 1979.  We worked together at a local burger/ice cream joint.  I believe when she graduated, she was made assistant manager and that was her career for a while.  Around here, the PS has an agreement with the local tech school and some of the kids take classes there during the day.  The tech school has apprenticeships which the PS'ers participate in.  But, these credits were all towards a skill/trade/career.

 

Yes, our local tech school is part of the local school district, and for kids that attend even a public charter for homeschoolers part-time, they can go for free and get all those credits.

 

This is just a Chick-Fil-A job, nothing to apprentice or anything. :-)

[Eliz]

Could you tie his job with a study of managment, finance or health / safety aspects of the restaurant business so that he learns from his job experience enough for credit.

[Janeway]

Another thing is..you don't need that many credits to get in to college. And I am not really concerned with listing things on the transcript that won't matter to colleges. So, this credit would, well, add credits to the list, but that is about it. It would not contribute to graduation or add to any sort of college application.

[razorbackmama]

Could you tie his job with a study of managment, finance or health / safety aspects of the restaurant business so that he learns from his job experience enough for credit.

 

Oooooh interesting idea!

 

[razorbackmama]

Another thing is..you don't need that many credits to get in to college. And I am not really concerned with listing things on the transcript that won't matter to colleges. So, this credit would, well, add credits to the list, but that is about it. It would not contribute to graduation or add to any sort of college application.

 

In his case, it would help because he doesn't have that many credits. He's sorely lacking in electives.

[foxbridgeacademy]

I would, and I plan to at least Senior year.  It will go along with Financial Planning (required by the state and Umbrella school) and Life Skills(think Home Ec. for the Millennial) .  I'm going to call it Practical Arts and give a full credit.  

[wintermom]

In our city (province of Ontario, Canada), high school students, even homeschool high school students, can receive a full credit (110 hours) for a Coop work experience. It's done through the local public school board, who offer insurance, find the coop placement, complete the pre-placement training (e.g., work safety standards, writing resume and cover letter), as well as visit the students in their coop placement on a regular basis throughout the placement. 

 

My dd will be starting her coop this month at the Government Experimental Farm and Agriculture museum, working with their animals, vet visits, data collection, etc. I think it's an amazing opportunity for her to gain experience in a potential area of academic study such as veterinary science, biology, vet tech, etc.  I'm not sure if it's still a requirement, but our technical colleges used to require potential students to submit a job study of the program they were applying to, so that the college knew they had some knowledge the field. I really wish universities required this, as it would be so valuable to potential students.

 

I've had 2 nephews do coop placements in areas they eventually went on to study at tech college (drafting and computer animation). It was a very positive experience for them. 

 

 

Edited April 19, 2016 by wintermom

[wintermom]

I personally would not give credit for a part time job, unless the job had strong academic merit. I also do not give credit for life skills like dressing appropriately and showing up on time.

 

A job can stand out as an extracurricular; in case of a college application, the student would have room to elaborate.

 

One situation where I could envision such a course would be for a struggling student of weak academic standing and lacking credits for whom this credit would be necessary to get a sufficient number of credits  for graduation. So, student with severe learning disabilities, or non-neurotypical student whose education must focus on life skills.

Not for a college bound student.

 

I disagree totally. High school is a wonderful time for youth to be building up a portfolio of work and volunteer experiences. If they limit themselves to academic experience only, the student has nothing to put on a resume for leadership skill development, teamwork experience, public speaking, and other practical skills. 

 

I gained valuable experience working as a swim instructor and lifeguard in high school, and this experience was vital to my success in entering and excelling in university. It really depends on the faculty or program one is planning on entering in college or university. Many programs require non-academic experience, such as fine arts, music, kinesiology, education.

[regentrude]

I disagree totally. High school is a wonderful time for youth to be building up a portfolio of work and volunteer experiences. If they limit themselves to academic experience only, the student has nothing to put on a resume for leadership skill development, teamwork experience, public speaking, and other practical skills. 

 

I gained valuable experience working as a swim instructor and lifeguard in high school, and this experience was vital to my success in entering and excelling in university. It really depends on the faculty or program one is planning on entering in college or university. Many programs require non-academic experience, such as fine arts, music, kinesiology, education.

 

You completely misunderstand my post. I never said a student should limit his experience to academics and not engage in volunteer activities, part time jobs, sports, music - I completely agree with you that those are extremely valuable and it would be wrong to limit high school to academics..

I said that I would not award academic credit for it on the transcript.

 

All those activities are valuable and extracurricular - and that is where I would list them and elaborate.

[wintermom]

You completely misunderstand my post. I never said a student should limit his experience to academics and not engage in volunteer activities, part time jobs, sports, music - I completely agree with you that those are extremely valuable and it would be wrong to limit high school to academics..

I said that I would not award academic credit for it on the transcript.

 

All those activities are valuable and extracurricular - and that is where I would list them and elaborate.

 

Well, I'm not in the US, and I have limited knowledge of how high school credits are awarded outside of Canada. It seems to me that the majority of people on this board are so focused on "academic credit" to the exclusion of all else. Are there not high school credits which are awarded for subjects other than math, English, history and the sciences? 

 

A credit is the equivalent to a specific number of hours, from my understanding of educational institutions. A credit can be awarded for 110 hours, for example, of music, drama, physical education, accounting, psychology, or business study, is this correct? The OP asked a question about high school credits NOT about credits for academic studies specifically. If a part-time job happened to be a paid cooperative education course that was supervised by a school board employee, it would be worth a credit if the required hours were completed. In my province high school cooperative education courses can be paid positions for students, and the students are awarded high school credits. There may be a similar possibility for the OP. If it can happen in some places, why not explore the possibility? 

Edited April 19, 2016 by wintermom

[regentrude]

Well, I'm not in the US, and I have limited knowledge of how high school credits are awarded outside of Canada. It seems to me that the majority of people on this board are so focused on "academic credit" to the exclusion of all else. Are there not high school credits which are awarded for subjects other than math, English, history and the sciences? 

 

A credit is the equivalent to a specific number of hours, from my understanding of educational institutions. A credit can be awarded for 110 hours, for example, of music, drama, physical education, accounting, psychology, or business study, is this correct? The OP asked a question about high school credits NOT about credits for academic studies specifically. If a part-time job happened to be a paid cooperative education course that was supervised by a school board employee, it would be worth a credit if the required hours were completed. In my province high school cooperative education courses can be paid positions for students, and the students are awarded high school credits. There may be a similar possibility for the OP. If it can happen in some places, why not explore the possibility? 

 

Yes, credits can be awarded in other than the core subjects. The impression I have is, however, that an instructional/educational component is necessary; merely spending a number of hours doing xyz is not enough.

Also, a general recommendation I have seen is to highlight especially strong commitments by saving them for extracurriculars. A musician or athlete, for example, would rather demonstrate the strong commitment by elaborating on an intensive extracurricular than bury the activity as elective music or PE credits on the transcript.

Colleges specifically want to see extracurricular activities. So, not everything for which hours are put in should go on a transcript. (If it is listed as a course, you can't double dip and count it as extracurricular as well)

 

Philosophies vary. Some people list life skills on the transcript; many others (I among them) don't. I prefer to avoid any suspicion that I am padding the transcript because of academic weakness.

So, I stand by my personal opinion that I would not list a job (or, for that matter, an intensive athletic pursuit or volunteer commitment) on a transcript, but rather have it stand out under extracurriculars, if we are talking about a college bound student.

 

YMMV

[Guest2]

I din't have any experience with the above, but wonder if he couldn't do some independent study topics for electives. If he interested in the Navy, would he like naval history? He could design a course with you with film, museum visits, interviewing vetrans. He may really enjoy it. Would he like to do some sort of senior project course, especially if he is in scouts and is planning an Eagle project or something? Maybe look back over the past several years and see if you can cob together some credits over some rabbit trails.

In my area, transcripts commonly have drivers ed and PE on them.

Hth

Edited April 20, 2016 by Silver Brook

[Prairie~Phlox]

Depends totally on the job.

[Ravin]

When I was in high school, I did that sort of co-op class my senior year. The class itself covered topics like how to write a resume, interviewing skills, how to look for a job, etc. The actual job itself did not count for credit--you were simply let out early each day to give you time to go work. You had to be in the co-op class to get early release.

[mama27]

My 16 yo is working as a vet assistant and I will be giving her a credit for it.

[razorbackmama]

Thanks for the great discussion everyone! I think I've managed to put together a plan for him to get enough credits without using his job. The trick will be in getting him to actually do it, but that's another ball of wax entirely. ;-) It helps to know that this is a possibility for future kiddos though!