All the grandkids are headed back to school, two daughters are again teaching teenagers, and I don’t get to go.
Just when I have some really great ideas that would revolutionize modern education, my body poops out on me and I don’t get to go.
Is that right?
I feel left out, like the last lonely child in a large family who sits waving goodbye as the school bus pulls out with all the brothers and sisters inside.
I actually saw that happen once. I'll never forget it.
A poor, despondent 5 year old sat perched all alone on a little, front yard fence. Mom was on the porch watching and smiling, as the excited gang of kids pulled away on that magic yellow bus.
The sad slumping shoulders on that little one is an image that’s stayed with me. Now I know how he felt.
One class I used to teach was my favorite.
The class was called “Lifeskills.” It was directed to teenagers with learning disabilities, who are, in my opinion, the most underestimated group of people on the planet.
Topics included everything imaginable from job interviews to driver safety, preparing for natural disasters to parenting, to how to manage credit and basic cooking.
In one lesson we even went over the importance of not mixing bleach and ammonia when cleaning a bathroom.
This was a little lifeskill which none of my male students knew. And since in that lesson we also learned that “Housework is the Work for the People Who Live in the House,” it may come in handy for them someday.
"Lifeskills" was the most relevant high school class I’ve ever seen.
These were things that really mattered. I was in favor of making it a requirement for all students.
Here was knowledge I wish someone had passed on to me when I was 18.
For instance, who knew that I’d be a millionaire today if I’d started as a teenager and faithfully saved just $20 a week in a savings account and never touched it until now! Why didn’t somebody pound that into my head instead of some of the useless stuff we had to learn?
Happily, one of the things we studied in our Lifeskills class made an immediate impact on the life of a student. This young man earned a raise at his first job because of a Lifeskills lesson. He was excited to tell us all about it and great for a teacher to hear.
(I actually made a difference with that one! Yeah!)
The lesson was this. When on the job always do these three things.
1. Check first impressions.
2. Go the extra mile.
3. Don’t stand around.
Check first impressions means always check your work before anybody sees it, from where they’ll see it.
Actually stand in the exact place that your boss will stand when they first see the job you’ve done. Look hard. Look under stuff. Look in corners. Is it perfect? If it’s a paper or a report what does the cover and title page look like? Are there peanut butter or onion dip stains anywhere? If so, do it over!
If it's a yard to be mowed does it look perfect from edge to edge?
First impressions need to be impressive.
Go the extra mile means that you do something that you weren’t told to do.
If you were to bring the box of office supplies into the back room it means that you put them neatly on the shelf and straightened the shelf below them.
If you’re the hostess at the greasy spoon it means that you brought crayons and coloring pages for little kids and that you ask all adults their names and say “Hope to see you again soon, Mr. Newspickle,” when they leave.
If it's that yard you mowed it means you swept the sidewalks and driveway and rolled the hose.
Don’t stand around means just that.
Never wait to be told what to do next. Find something useful to accomplish until further instruction is given.
If you’re clearing tables and finish, go wipe the fingerprints off the front door until the next table needs bussing.
If there’s a lull in your line at the bank, start wrapping coins in between customers.
If you're babysitting teach the kids how to count to ten in French, which you just learned in class this week yourself. That really impresses parents, believe me!
Whatever seems needed to help the cause of your employer.
Back when I was teaching this class I remember a conversation I had at a big family gathering.
I was talking with three relatives who were all bosses at the time. I asked them what they thought was the most important skill that teens needed to succeed on a first job. I was half expecting to hear “math skills” or "people handling." Boy was I was wrong.
All three of them said virtually the same thing very emphatically.
“We need kids who know how to work! We can teach them how to do the specifics of the job but none of these kids know beans about how to work!”
My son-in-law, a restaurant manager, said he’d just promoted a busboy for doing that fingerprint cleaning thing, as a matter of fact. He was shocked to find a young employee who didn't just stand there waiting to be told what to do next. Other busboys who’d been there longer protested when they heard of the raise, saying that cleaning the front door wasn’t their job. Scott just told them, “My point exactly. You do just what's on your job description and that's what I pay you for. This other kid does more so he gets paid more."
My sister said she wished her young employees showed up to work instead of to make social connections with other workers on company time.
Son Dane said he longed for employees who didn’t think they had 10 absent days allowed each semester like they had in school. Show up. Everyday. On time. That’s what he longed for.
The others agreed. They said I should add that to our list.
So we made that number four.
4. Show up. Everyday. On time.
This means If you have a headache, cramps, or your girlfriend invited you to the lake when you’re scheduled to work…..Go To Work! No matter what. No excuses.
And be there on time. On time means 10 minutes early not 10 minutes late.
So teenagers, remember these four simple steps to success in the workplace. Make them all habits and you’ll go far in life. I promise.
A last word to parents. Unfortunately, unless your child has a disability, he probably won’t learn about these important principles in school. Since they could be the difference between success and failure in every job your child ever holds, you might have to teach him yourself.
I think teaching “Lifeskills” is actually in the parent job description, by the way.
Better get going.
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