Fourteen students from Baruch College volunteered on Friday to teach 6th grade students in the Bronx about entrepreneurship.
The volunteers, most of whom were members of Baruch’s Sigma Alpha Delta Honor Society, took the train early that morning excited and nervous about the experience ahead of them.
“I had initially feared that my young age would discourage the 6th graders from staying attentive, which proved not to be the case,” said Jahn Golden, Web/IT Chairperson for Sigma Alpha Delta.
While clutching Dunkin Donuts coffee and taking in the scenery, the volunteers made their way into Kingsbridge Heights’ P.S. 86. Their goal was to administer Junior Achievement‘s JA It’s My Business program, teaching 6th grade students about entrepreneurship through various interactive activities and games provided by the non-profit organization.
The 6th graders were enthusiastic as they warmed up by playing for points in an entrepreneurial quiz game. The game was set up in a similar fashion to Jeopardy. Volunteers read clues off of colorful paper squares placed on a blackboard. The 6th graders were tasked with guessing which entrepreneur or business was being hinted at by the volunteer. eBay and Thomas Edison came easy to the 6th graders, while Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream and Paul Newman failed to spring to their minds.
In order to learn how to recognize and fill the needs of a target market, the 6th graders sketched ideas for a teen club room. According to some the 6th graders, giant robot toys, couches, pets, bathrooms, and trips to Hawaii rank amongst the most important items for a club room aimed at teens.
The 6th graders’ remaining group activities included: designing commercials to demonstrate knowledge of a product and one’s target consumers, bidding on good business ideas in order to test the recognition of creativity and innovation, and examining the profiles of entrepreneurs in an effort to recognize the characteristics of successful individuals within themselves.
“The most remarkable thing about the students I taught was their willingness to learn. They all wanted to see what their next activity would be. The students really saw us as role models and listened to what we had to say,” said Baishaki Naha, Human Resources Manager for Sigma Alpha Delta.
The volunteers too, came away enriched by the experience.
“Through Junior Achievement, I was able to see the class from a different perspective by taking the role of the teacher. I learned that to encourage students to learn, I must always empathize with them. I would reply in such a way as to encourage them to keep trying until they understood the material and got the answer right,” said Jahn Golden.
The members of Sigma Alpha Delta look to continue their participation in Junior Achievement in the future.
“Sigma’s relationship with Junior Achievement is very close. We’ve been partnering with them for a couple of semesters now and our members enjoy it each time. They enjoy interacting with, and teaching the young adults, becoming their mentor for a day,” said Jenny Tan, Volunteering Chairperson for Sigma Alpha Delta.