Education and Work: Can they coexist?

My thanksgiving had its high and low points. High point: Seeing my family and calling my grandmama. Low point: the parental nagging. One point of contention was with my father, who thinks that being a student, all I should do is do my class work. He wonderfully suggested that I quit my job just for finals and studied the rest of the semester. I tried to convince him that I really didn't work that much and that I could handle it but he insisted that work does not mesh with student life. I deduced that with his savings, he could take off and focus on his research versus myself who needs to work in order to fund my life. Is the role of a student solely in the classroom or is it outside as well? Or is it a "stage of life" kind of thing?