BECA forges new partnership with Junior Achievement
SJBS Junior High Students Explore Personal Economics
By Bridget Kelly, SJBS Middle School Teacher
Every Tuesday afternoon, SJBS middle school students gather together to explore their strengths and interests, discover career options, and learn financial management skills through their participation in Junior Achievement’s Personal Economics program.
The program, administered by a Honduran businessman, is offered to SJBS students for the first time this year. It adds a practical skills component to the middle school curriculum that parents, teachers and students all agree is valuable for the future success of SJBS students. Classes began in March and will continue until the end of the school year in June.
Students began envisioning themselves as successful professionals from the first class, when they drafted their own business cards for ten years from now, using their teacher’s card as a model. Judging from the cards that resulted, SJBS can expect some civil engineers, general managers, computer technicians, and doctors to be on the rolls of alumni lists in years to come.
Other activities in which students have engaged so far include making timelines of their lives, learning what levels of education correspond with the highest and lowest levels of unemployment, and taking a survey that suggested what careers they might enjoy.
In one recent class, students played a game involving cards containing career descriptions. Students had to pass the cards around until they had a hand full of cards that were of personal interest. They then discussed why they made those choices, what type of education is required to achieve the positions listed on the cards, and what positions require similar skill sets. Topics for future classes include credit, supply and demand, budgets, and investments.
While studying these content areas, students learn valuable skills such as following directions, decision-making, teamwork, and problem-solving. Each week the teacher designates one student as the “President” of the class. That person is responsible for asking questions on behalf of the class, clarifying information for classmates, and expressing student concerns.
Half of the funds for the SJBS students’ program materials were provided by SJBS parents, who decided as a group that the program would be beneficial to their sons and daughters as they approach graduation from the institution. BECA donated the other half of the cost, making the program more affordable and showing its support for integrating practical and academic curriculum elements.
Junior Achievement offers programs worldwide that focus on practical economic learning, supplementing standard social studies curricula and developing business and communication skills essential to students’ future professional success. “JA’s unique approach integrates program materials, training, and support. JA is the successful bridge between education and business,” explains Junior Achievement’s Web site.
Junior Achievement Honduras was founded in 2002 with the objective of developing the entrepreneurial spirit in children and youth of Honduras. Currently its work has benefited more than 5,000 children in public and private schools, with the cooperation of more than 35 businesses and more than 200 volunteers. The organization has implemented programs in 12 of Honduras’ 18 departments.