bartender. This is what a 4th grader said about the yearbook when asked what he wants to be when he grows up, an answer the school is asking to change.
Zachary Anderson went to White Ridge School and was asked the question last week.
“It’s one way to be creative,” said Anderson, who has an uncle who is a bartender. “You can communicate and meet new people.”
Anderson’s teacher – and later the school administration – asked him to change his answer, something he didn’t want to do.
As a compromise, the school offered to make a separate yearbook for Anderson and his twin brother, who is in the same class, with “bartender” written in both copies, while everyone else will read “hospitality.”
Anderson refused.
“Instead of making a big deal, they just have to support him like the rest of the class,” Anderson said. “They have to support everyone, no matter what.”
Anderson’s mother, Jennifer, herself a doctor and former bartender, supports her son’s choice and advocates for the school administration on his behalf.
She received an email from the school saying that despite her approval of her son’s chosen profession, the term “bartender” could “give questions and interpretations in our community,” Jennifer said as she read the email from her phone.
“They speak on behalf of the community, and I’m sure there are many people in the community who have either been bartenders in the past or are doing so now,” she said in response to the email.
Ted Fransen, head of the Pembina Trails school department, told CTV News that “we will not engage the media in any discussions about the school work of an early age child.”
Some bartenders receive accredited training after high school, as in the Manitoba Tourism Training Council’s bartending program.
“Dealing with difficult situations, knowing when to cut someone, working in a fast-paced environment, you have to do a few things,” said Shannon Fontaine, chief executive of the Manitoba Tourism Board, when asked what skills one can learn. while working as a bartender.
She said teachers should not discourage students from any service profession, adding that some people may simply be misinformed about how far the sector can go.
“A lot of people have no idea what a lucrative career you can have while working in hospitality,” Fontaine said. “I went from a receptionist to a manager, which led me to where I am today.”
Bartenders can also be business owners.
Mark Turner went to psychology university. He now owns and operates the Amsterdam Tea and Bar in the Exchange area.
“While studying, I worked almost full time in a bar and restaurant and learned more about human psychology from my work as a bartender than at school,” Turner said.
Turner welcomes Anderson’s hopes of being a bartender and that he sticks to his decision, traits he likes to see in employees.
“I think if he wanted a job, as soon as he turned 16, I’d put him in the pothole,” Turner said.
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