Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by mathgladiator 1114 days ago
Things have to get done.

I own a house. Some time ago, my plumbing had issues. I had to go down into my basement and deal with shit. Literal shit. Work ethic is what lets you put on the "I got things to do" hat, and then you do them.

That's just life. Life is hard and brutal requiring constant effort.
2 comments
sangnoir 1114 days ago
> Things have to get done

Is homework not inadequate to teach this lesson? Kids are not dumb.

There's a pervasive stench of Calvinism in American work culture, even among atheists. There's nothing sanctifying about work, insomuch as it is a good (or bad) thing to teach kids its importance by having them clock in.

Using children as a backup labor force due to an adult worker shortage is - as the kids call it - yucky.

link
seanmcdirmid 1114 days ago
Maybe if I went to a more challenging school (I was already a straight A student who did all homework in class) I might not have needed a full time job during High School to drill some work ethic into me?

And I think a lot of people saying kids shouldn't work during school didn't have poor parents and the problems those conditions create if you can't take your destiny into your hands before that magical 18th birthday when you can do anything you want.

link
mathgladiator 1114 days ago
Does homework have to get done? Like, really?

Growing up, the yard had to be done weekly. I did it, got paid, and I was able to walk to the store and buy shit. Work when done well is gratifying.

The way we think about jobs sucks...

link
sangnoir 1114 days ago
> Work when done well is gratifying.

As are hundreds of other things[1] we don't try to indoctrinate[2] our kids with. Work is not special and doesn't make one "whole" more than the other potentially gratifying tasks. I say this as someone who enjoys their current job, but I've worked in other less enjoyable jobs (that incidentally pay less and harsher work environments)

2. Expect children to perform at the same level as fully grown adults, but perhaps with fewer hours

1. Sports, math, games, gardening, sex, most hobbies, repairs, etc.

link
jakelazaroff 1114 days ago
Things get done when people are motivated to do them — either extrinsically ("I need money to not starve") or intrinsically ("I want my toilet to work").

Maybe I misunderstood you, but you seem to be talking about "work ethic" in the abstract, though — like, valuing the labor itself, rather than the fruits of it. My question is, why is that important? Who cares about labor for its own sake?

link