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Introduction
The first step to understanding the contents of any article is through analysis. It is very important to understand an authors general ideas and modes of argument so as to articulately get the picture an author tries to bring out. This paper is bent on doing precisely that; understanding the ideas and basis of arguments of Amitai Etzioni in his article, Working at McDonalds .
Summary
The article, Working at McDonalds by Amitai Etzioni explores the effect of the McDonalds on students with reference to their studies. Etzioni begins his essay by showing the great influx of students in part-time jobs, which do not guarantee career development but instead result in high-drop rates among youngsters from school. He uses McDonalds because it is referred to as, the pioneer, trend-setter and symbol (Etzioni 280).
The article goes further to bring out the disadvantages of part-time jobs on school performance despite the perception of the Founding Fathers educational manual that part-time jobs were important in bringing up self-reliant, ethically driven and productive individuals in society. According to Etzioni, part-time jobs are associated with truancy and skewed values amongst the teenagers on the worth of a dollar.
In addition, McDonalds part-time jobs do not impart any skills or expertise on the teens for use in later life due to their highly structured nature hence; fail to consider the potential of these teens with regard to tomorrows high-tech posts. The McDonalds idea of part-time jobs is in comparison with the lemonade and paper route because they neither provide opportunities for entrepreneurship nor for self-supervision, self- disciple and self-scheduling (Etzioni 281).
Critical Response
Etzioni has articulately stated his position with regard to part-time jobs, most of which are in fast-food chains. He specifically states that McDonalds and related fast-food chains part-time jobs are not good for teens due to their negative effect on the teens studies. He tentatively acknowledges the benefits associated with part-time jobs as presented by the Founding Fathers educational manual when he says that these jobs might seem right as indicated by the manual.
Etzioni is vehemently against McDonalds part-time paying jobs because he deems them to be non-beneficial and do not foster personal growth and development. It is worth noting that the author is specifically against McDonalds and fast food chains related part-time jobs. This is because he deems the lemonade stand and paper route jobs to be more rewarding in terms of creation of entrepreneurship opportunities and instilling self-discipline, self-scheduling and self-supervision.
His arguments are based observation as through choice of words like closer examination. In addition, he uses meta-analysis by applying related prior studies. The article targets parents whose children are involved in part-time paying jobs at the McDonalds when he says that McDonalds is bad for your kids (Etzioni 280). In addition, this article is an eye-opener to students who pay more attention to part-time jobs, compared with their studies. This choice of audience is appropriate because parents play a key role in shaping their childrens future.
The students on the other hand need to face the reality side of it hence make informed decisions and choices. The author states that much attention has not been paid to this issue. This is very true because I had a hard time trying to find peer reviewed articles to back up Etzionis statements. In comparison to other researchers, Etzioni upholds the need for education as a guarantor for high-skill jobs and increased employment rates to students.
The author is against McDonalds part-time jobs because they do not help the students to gain a high-tech career. He supports his arguments by presenting studies that have been previously carried on students with regard to part-time jobs. I strongly agree with the author because, these part-time jobs are usually causal jobs that do not require any special skills or expertise.
Etzioni presents a counteractive argument when he acknowledges that students indeed gain some skills but he argues that these skills are not at all educational, wholesome and do not require too much time training. In addition, the author indicates the skills are not directed in the right way because they are governed by sheer blind obedience. This being the case, there is no room for invention, creativity and innovation. The authors arguments are logical because they are based on both observation and prior studies.
He explicitly indicates the predicament brought by the McDonalds and related food-chains because they erode teens skills. The minute a teens supervises another teen makes the whole supervision process tight and woefully inappropriate as indicated by the author (Etzioni 282). The views of Payne based on her findings on the effects of part-time jobs on students performance have seconded Etzionis views on the general negative influence of part-time jobs on school work.
To start with, similar to Etzionis views, Payne indicates that part-time jobs are associated with high drop-out rates from school. In addition, both authors present various reasons why teens engage in part-time jobs.
One thing worth noting is that poor financial familial backgrounds are not necessarily the reason for students engagement in part-time jobs. The negative effect of part-time jobs on student performance was significant with regard to long working hours since students lacked adequate time to study, do homework and revise (Payne 65). Etzioni associates the McDonalds to long working hours hence their negative impact on students performance and achievement.
Conclusion
This analytical assessment of the article, Working at McDonalds by Etzioni indicates the generally held that part-time paying jobs have a general negative impact on students performance. Etzioni presents his arguments based on observation and meta-analysis of prior related research findings. His stronghold position is that McDonalds and related fast-food part-time paying jobs are not ideal for students. The limited research present on this subject calls for more research on the same.
Works Cited
Etzioni, Amitai. Working at McDonalds. The St. Martins Guide to Writing. By Rise Axelrod and Charles Cooper. 9th ed. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martins, 2010. E-book.
Payne, Joan. Students and Part-time Jobs: Patterns and Effects. Norwich: Queens Printer, 2001. Print.
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