Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, April 19, 1994 TAG: 9404190154
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Sander helps them understand the process and the people involved, from the farmer who grows the wheat for the dough to the deliveryman.
And she uses that exercise to help the children think about the things they would need to start their own business.
Sander, who works for Allstate Insurance Company, volunteers to teach the fourth-graders at Lincoln Terrace Elementary School about business and economics.
Her volunteer work is part of an expanded program by Junior Achievement to show students how education is relevant to the workplace.
Junior Achievement, a national organization that helps youngsters understand the American economic system, has offered programs for high school students for many years.
But it has broadened its business education program to the elementary grades, including kindergarten.
Once a week for five weeks, Sander visits Lincoln Terrace for a 50-minute class to talk about personal economics, local economic development, the free enterprise system and other economic issues.
The children like it - they get a break from their regular subjects.
Elizabeth Triplett, 10, said Sander's classes have helped her learn things she never knew. She now knows what a farm is and how farmers help produce food.
Sander likes the volunteer work because she enjoys children. Like the children, Sander gets a break from her normal routine.
She tries to remain up-tempo with the children and make it fun for them.
Last year, Junior Achievement had pilot programs in several elementary classes. They were so successful that the organization decided to offer them in 20 elementary schools in Roanoke, Salem, Blacksburg and Roanoke County.
Sandy Kingma, educational services manager for Junior Achievement, said 3,000 children in elementary grades are in the program this year. Another 2,000 students in middle and high schools are enrolled in JA classes.
All Lincoln Terrace students are in JA classes because it is one of two schools sponsored by companies. The Allstate Foundation is providing the materials and volunteers so all students in the schools can receive the instruction. (Hurt Park Elementary is sponsored by Shenandoah Life Insurance Co.)
In some schools, only two or three grades are participating in the business and economic education program.
The volunteer teachers become role models for the students, Kingma said. Research shows that the role models are an important and effective component of the educational program, she said.
The volunteers include college students, corporate executives, small-business owners and professional people.
The JA program teaches the children how to work together. In a recent class, Sander divided the 15 students into three groups. Each group was given a set of cards representing different equipment, materials and people. The students were asked to determine what type of businesses could be formed with the resources they were given.
One group came up with a proposal for a carpentry business, and another suggested a sewing company.
"We want them to begin thinking about the things they can do with resources and how it relates to business and economics," Kingma said.
by CNB