Right now, there are over 57.4 million people who are unemployed  due to COVID-19. Despite this,  many Fullerton teens are looking to get jobs within this  school year. This surprising revelation was part of a Back-to-School survey filled out by 176 high school students in the Fullerton Joint Union High School District last month.  Read on to find out more about this and other things you might be delighted to know about our City’s youth.

#1: Work: Currently working? During summer break? Wanted to but parents do not approve? Too busy with sports/school? Will work after high school? Will work  after  college?

Seventy-eight teens as young as 14 years old are eager to get jobs within the school year.  However, 31 of these have indicated that their parents wouldn’t let them.  There are 11 more who are currently working and another 11 who work only in the summer.

According to the Department of Labor, 14 years old is the minimum age one is allowed to work.  This means anyone who took the survey could apply for a job as long as he/she followed the requirements.

This is good news for all aspiring teen workers but the bad news is there is already extreme competition to get jobs these days, not to mention the risk of getting COVID-19 if work is done outside the home.

#2. Do you plan to go to college after high school?

Yes—156

No—2    

Maybe—11

Don’t Know—7

The overwhelming interest in getting a college degree shows that students are driven to do what it takes to increase their chances of landing the job of their dreams and have a better future.

#3. What career would you like to pursue?

Teens have varied career choices but at least 32%  have common interest in the medical field despite the horror brought about by the pandemic. This should be good news. This will help ensure that our community can keep up the fight against the many diseases that bring misfortune upon us.

#4: How do you see yourself 15 years from now?

Ninety-two percent of teens see themselves pursuing their dream career, happily married, having their own families, living in their own homes, financially stable, and able to go on vacation. This is a good sign that teens are making conscious efforts to visualize who they want to be and what they want in life, because as author Stephen Covey tells us in his book, Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, it empowers us to shape our lives and helps us stay focused.

#5: One person in the history of the world you would invite to dinner?

Teens responded with a huge variety of personalities but at least 11 teens agreed on one historical figure  they would love to chat with over dinner— Martin Luther King, Jr.  This is likely inspired by the ongoing fight against racism and how teens would like to fully understand the situation so they can be part of the solution.

Many people are likely to think all that teens care about these days are gadgets, social media, video games, and friends. This survey offers a fresh perspective on our City’s young adults.  Their revelations provide great opportunity for dialogue between the teens and their teachers or parents regarding social issues,  work plans, career plans, college prep, and even the path to getting college scholarships or student loans.

Note: The FJUHSD survey was made possible with the help of FJUHSD teacher and ASB adviser Michael Paris.

Reece is a year-old neutered male tabby who loves people. He enjoys cuddling, getting petted, and talking. His foster family took care of him for one month and fell in love with him. Reece likes naps near the window in a shallow box with a blanket in it. If you have a small dog or a cat already, he will be fine with it. Reece would love playing with mice toys that would keep him busy every now and then. He also likes playing with his water, so make sure to provide a full bowl of water! If you ever need help, OC Pet Care has a Hot Weather Pet Safety Social Media Kit to keep your animals safe. Find this and other information about pet adoption  on their website at www.ocpetinfo.com.

September 15 is National Online Learning Day. It celebrates the huge amount of learning resources available to students online. The holiday was made to raise awareness of all the educational courses and materials that are available online and to get people of any age to use the Internet as a learning tool. Recently, most students have been attending school through a screen. The pandemic has made it difficult for students to return to school, resulting in school going completely online. This is an additional reason why this national holiday is so important this year. Without the Internet and its available resources, going online wouldn’t have been possible for schools. To celebrate this holiday, you can sign up for a course online.  Check out these top websites that offer free online education:

1) Khan Academy: Offers free learning platforms for students in K-12, widely used by schools around the world.

2) Coursera: Created by two Stanford professors, offers free and paid courses from partner universities and organizations around the world.

3) EDX: Created by Harvard and MIT, offers free and paid university level courses to students worldwide.

4) Code Academy: Offers free coding classes in 12 different programming languages such as Python, Java, etc.

The world was stunned at the news of Hollywood actor Chadwick Boseman’s passing after his four year battle against colon cancer. This devastating news was announced through Boseman’s final Twitter post, becoming the most liked tweet in Twitter history.  Thousands of fans from across the world paid tribute to the actor and wished their deepest condolences to his family. In honor of the late Chadwick Boseman around 70,000 (and counting) people have petitioned for a statue of the actor in place of the Anderson Confederate Memorial in Anderson, South Carolina, his hometown.  Recognized as a real-life hero, Boseman served as an inspiration for people coming from all different backgrounds, and most importantly for the Black community.  Like Boseman, we all have talents. Skin color shouldn’t keep us from fulfilling our dreams.

The 2020 National Football League season is here! The new season started this past Thursday,  September 10.  Here is a guide to what you can expect for the 2020 season.  As with all other sports, the NFL has a system set up to prevent COVID-19 breakouts in the locker rooms. Teams will test their players frequently, and they will fine players if they choose to not follow guidelines. They are choosing to follow the MLB (Major League Baseball) and their protocols and procedures rather than the NBA (National Basketball Association) and their “bubble” strategy. We’ve seen the problems the MLB has run into using this strategy, and we’ve seen the positive effects of the bubble tactic, so we will see if the NFL’s plans go accordingly. The NFL is also one of the only major sports leagues to attempt to have a regular season, so hopefully that works out for them. Football is a very physical contact sport, so expect a couple of outbreaks to pop up here and there.