When teenagers are in desperate need of a first job, we usually choose anything that seems convenient or easy. Fast food restaurants do the same. They choose teenagers with no experience to work for them rather than adults who had previous jobs because they are easier to control. Teens take a first or part time job usually to start paying for things they want such a a car or clothes, and they put making money before school which tends to back fire on them.
On page 78 from Fast Food Nations chapter "Behind the Counter", Schlosser says "As more and more kids work to get their own wheels, fewer participate in after school activities. They stay at their jobs late into the night, neglect their homework, and come to school exhausted." Teens are beginning to put work before school which effects their school work and may cause them not to graduate. Having a job but not being able to graduate high school have a big effect on your life. If you plan on getting a new and better paying job later in life, they see that you either dropped out of high school to work or couldnt graduate and will not hire you. Some places such as fast food chains or retail stores tend to over work teens because they know the teens will not say no. Since teens usually get bored at work, they tend to become interested in negative or illegal activity.
From previous experiences, I worked at my first job at a dance theater as an usher when I was in my senior year of high school for 8 months. I didnt have to work for a lot of hours but when I did work, it was at night during show times. Shows would start at 7 and would end between 10 and 1030 and by the time i would get home it would be 12. Sometimes they would ask me to stay a half hour later and I would say yes because I knew I would get paid more. Then I had to get home, finish homework get ready for school and had about 5 hours asleep. Even though there wasnt alot I had to do, I still felt tired. Sometimes I wouldnt do my homework just because I didnt want to stay up an extra hour and it began to effect my grades even more than they were already.
I cant imagine working more than just the little I did and having to maintain good grades in school, so I guess people dropping out or not graduating high school is one of the effects of this. Teens who are over worked especially by fast food chains are effected more becuase of demanding hours. Us teens usually dont say no to the amount of hours we need to work knowing well be able to have our own money and rather let it effect our school work. Learning to balnce out the two could be helpful but if work begins to overwork and tire you and effect your school work, you should look for a job that is not as demanding. Any pay would still be better than no pay!
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Monday, March 15, 2010
Response #1: "You're Trusted Friends"
The popular chain restaurant McDonalds has changed its eating environment over the years. From its earlier years, the mascot who represented McDonalds known as the clown Ronald Mc Donald was more popular than it is today. His face and the popular red and yellow colors that represented the empire covered almost everything that had to do with the restaurant. The exterior for McDonalds for the most part has remained the same, but the interior has been making big changes such as changing the colors, chairs and taking away the play space for kids. One of the few things that have stayed the same was the toys that came in a child’s happy meal.
Part of the McDonalds franchise is the advertisement techniques they have is including toys in a child’s meal. As time changes, so do their toys. The toys they give vary depending on what is popular to kids at the moment such as television shows, characters and games. Keeping a child entertained is one of the key things in their business. As I read a chapter from Fast Food Nation called “You’re Trusted Friends” It told me about how much work they put into their advertisements and toy ideas to make sure they were appealing children. Keeping a child interested in their business is a big deal. Children will see a commercial or billboard that intrigues them and tell their parents about it and will want to go there.
As I ordered food, noticed a big change in the menu. On each meal picture, there were the calories for each meal. I also recognized they sold small wraps which were called “snack wraps” and also saw salads on the menu. I watched the workers dressed in black and red with two golden arches on their shirts that were all in full view of their customers work fast and put food in trays and fryers. After I ordered, I sat at one of their table, ate my food and observed the people around me. In this particular McDonalds, I noticed how different it looked compared to how I remember it as a child. It was full of more green, blues, brown and grays. Each table included either four or 2 metal chairs that sat across from each other. There were pictures of families on the wall rather than the characters such as the Hamburglar, Grimace and Ronald. It felt cleaner than it used to be when I walked in there, more welcoming. The McDonald’s sign that is known as a big golden “M” was branded on my fries and fountain drink. I also noticed there wasn’t one thing that had Ronald McDonalds face on it.
Since it was earlier in the afternoon, there weren’t many people in the restaurant. The people who were there consisted of a few teens out of school, a couple senior citizens sipping on coffee and reading the paper and a nanny and child. I observed the child who looked to be about 5 and tried to take note of the way he reacted to being in McDonalds. He seems interested in a toy and bag his happy meal came in which seemed to be the only thing that had Ronald’s face on it. He played the mini games on his bag while he ate his food, and then left with his nanny.
McDonalds doesn’t exactly look the same as it used to but something about keeps children and adults coming back for more. Instead of their commercial with the Ronald McDonalds characters, they have regular people like you and me singing about how good the food is and why we should go in. Or maybe it’s the healthier choices of foods such as salads, snack wraps and counting the calories on their menus that may interest more people to go into their restaurants. Either way new and old customers keep coming back.
Part of the McDonalds franchise is the advertisement techniques they have is including toys in a child’s meal. As time changes, so do their toys. The toys they give vary depending on what is popular to kids at the moment such as television shows, characters and games. Keeping a child entertained is one of the key things in their business. As I read a chapter from Fast Food Nation called “You’re Trusted Friends” It told me about how much work they put into their advertisements and toy ideas to make sure they were appealing children. Keeping a child interested in their business is a big deal. Children will see a commercial or billboard that intrigues them and tell their parents about it and will want to go there.
As I ordered food, noticed a big change in the menu. On each meal picture, there were the calories for each meal. I also recognized they sold small wraps which were called “snack wraps” and also saw salads on the menu. I watched the workers dressed in black and red with two golden arches on their shirts that were all in full view of their customers work fast and put food in trays and fryers. After I ordered, I sat at one of their table, ate my food and observed the people around me. In this particular McDonalds, I noticed how different it looked compared to how I remember it as a child. It was full of more green, blues, brown and grays. Each table included either four or 2 metal chairs that sat across from each other. There were pictures of families on the wall rather than the characters such as the Hamburglar, Grimace and Ronald. It felt cleaner than it used to be when I walked in there, more welcoming. The McDonald’s sign that is known as a big golden “M” was branded on my fries and fountain drink. I also noticed there wasn’t one thing that had Ronald McDonalds face on it.
Since it was earlier in the afternoon, there weren’t many people in the restaurant. The people who were there consisted of a few teens out of school, a couple senior citizens sipping on coffee and reading the paper and a nanny and child. I observed the child who looked to be about 5 and tried to take note of the way he reacted to being in McDonalds. He seems interested in a toy and bag his happy meal came in which seemed to be the only thing that had Ronald’s face on it. He played the mini games on his bag while he ate his food, and then left with his nanny.
McDonalds doesn’t exactly look the same as it used to but something about keeps children and adults coming back for more. Instead of their commercial with the Ronald McDonalds characters, they have regular people like you and me singing about how good the food is and why we should go in. Or maybe it’s the healthier choices of foods such as salads, snack wraps and counting the calories on their menus that may interest more people to go into their restaurants. Either way new and old customers keep coming back.
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