I sent him on the rounds to find a summer job. This was in 2002, a while back. He was at a loss as was I, because of his academic failure. After two days of my sending him to specific places to look for work, he came home with a stunned look on his face. The nearby McDonald's wanted to hire him. I was very encouraging, mainly because he needed to work to begin to rebuild his self confidence.
He worked there the entire summer, entirely cooking, as I recall, not dealing with the customers. Once or twice I visited that McDonald's to sort of check up on him, as mothers will do. It was crystal clear that in many ways he didn't belong there, but I was not about to tell him that.
A year or two later he happened to go into another McDonald's, and the manager of his first one was there and offered him a job on the spot. At that point my son didn't need a job, and was able to politely turn him down.
These days, to brag as a mother is entitled to do, he's in a PhD program in astronomy at George Mason University in Fairfax, VA, not far from DC.
I want to make more than one point here. First is that some very high percentage of all young people have ever worked for McDonald's. Or maybe even some other fast food place. That is absolutely nothing to be ashamed of. A job is a job.
Here's something else. My son, who is extremely smart, is also mildly autistic, Asperger's syndrome. After he flunked out of his first college, I was able to contact his high school college counselor (he did have the good fortune to attend a good private school. I doubt a college counselor at a public school could have helped him out this way) who went to bat for my son to get him admitted to a local public university. I am eternally grateful to that counselor, and have kept him updated on my son's progress over the years. I am hoping that very soon I can let that counselor know my son is getting his PhD.
I think my point is that college counselors are unsung heroes of high schools.
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