Ryan's 5th grader classes had the coolest field trip to JA BizTown. I was complaining because I had to go to training a few weeks ago to be a parent volunteer for the actual field trip (it's 30 mins from the home so in addition to the additional 2 hours of training there was an hour car drive). I quit my whining when I was actually there with all the kids yesterday. The classes had spent 40+ hours in preparation to learn how a community worked. Each student chose 3 jobs they were interested in, had to apply for them and then had an interview with their teacher. There were 19 businesses, including City Hall with a mayor and attorney and staff.
This was Ryan's speech at the end of the day as CEO of Intel. The BizTown TV station interviewed him earlier which was broadcast at all the businesses (and they make a DVD for the teachers to take back to class). Each business had to borrow money from the bank at the beginning of the day and then paid bills and received money for services. Students each received 2 paychecks during the day, had to deposit them, take some cash out and then use checks to make other purchases. Checks bounced if kids had insufficient funds and they had to pay fees to the bank. The kids could actually buy various items, including snacks from the snack bar--all kid managed. Some businesses were able to make enough for a profit after paying salaries, rent, utilities, operating costs, etc. Each business had a CFO who did all the bills and paychecks. It was amazing. Every single child had a job and was busy, busy, busy! It was the best field trip/learning experience ever! Ryan loved it and it was amazing to see the kids so involved and serious about their jobs.
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