The Future is Theirs

My daughter graduated 5th grade today and I was really blown away by what some of these kids have planned for the future. Brain surgeons, authors, athletes, aid workers and more. The ceremony was terrific and despite me having very bittersweet feelings about seeing my daughter graduate, it was a really good day.

Earlier this year, I taught a Junior Achievement class to my daughter's 5th grade class. It was my 4th time doing this sort of volunteerism, and I continue to really love the experience. As with most volunteer activities, I started out thinking this would be a great way to give something back. In the end though, it's me that gets the most out of the time I think.

This year's class wrote me notes after our sessions ended. While it's always nice to get a thank you, these notes really went over the top. I feel so lucky to have had the chance to show some of these kids more about business and to get them excited about their own futures.

Stephen wrote "It was cool to see how much of a difference unit production and mass production worked. Thank you so much for talking with us about business."

James wrote "I learned that you can find ads almost anywhere."

Anthony wrote "I never knew there were different typs of advertising. I just thought advertising was advertising!"

Jen wrote "When I grow up I want to be a sole proprietor and open a nail salon called Jen's Tens."

Alison wrote "I really enjoyed the toy store lesson because it showed me how a business really needs a lot of different people and equipment. I found the advertising lesson interesting because now when I see a commerical on TV I try and figure out what type of ad it is."

Not only do I think Junior Achievement has a great model, I think it's a super way to bring real world expertise and really rich extra content into the classroom. I can't wait until next year...