Teachers consistently say that one of the most important things parents can encourage in their children is a strong work ethic and the ability to stay focused on important tasks, especially when the rewards are far off. They say this because they often don’t see it in their classrooms, particularly among the students who are falling behind.
Junior Achievement’s Keith Gall fears that TV is sending the wrong messages about all of the cool stuff kids can get in an easy credit culture, and that parents aren’t doing enough to counter it by giving children responsibilities.
“We sort of teach kids that you can have this and you can have it right now,” Gall says. “Nobody tells them that you have to work really hard to be able to get it. There’s a difference between dreaming hard and working hard.
“Most kids who are graduating want to start as a manager or a director of a business,” Gall says. “They didn’t see how their parents struggled when they first started. It’s good to realize there is a process (that includes career job training).”
William Rapai is a stay-at-home dad of two girls in Grosse Pointe, Michigan, who has also worked as an editor at the Detroit Free Press and the Boston Globe. With his youngest daughter starting kindergarten next year, he’s starting to think about his own career goals — again.