In the Spotlight: Junior Achievement
Tuck MBA Students Teach in Local Classrooms
During
the spring of 2010, MBA students from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth
volunteered their time and expertise to Upper Valley elementary and middle
school students through the Junior Achievement (JA) program. Both first
and second year Tuck students led five or six lessons each at local schools,
teaching classes about community, finance, economics and entrepreneurship.
JA
is an international organization that creates a financial literacy curriculum
for K-12 students to be taught by local business volunteers. The skills
and knowledge JA offers, from the function of money in kindergarten to
writing a personal budget in seventh grade, are fundamental, yet routinely
missing from basic school curriculum. By offering JA classes to nearly
1,000 students in 14 Upper Valley schools and matching them with community
volunteers, the Upper Valley Business and Education Partnership (UVBEP)
is doing its part to help prepare students for the real world by supplementing
everyday classroom studies.
The lessons are engaging, suitable for each grade level, and students
of all ages are enthusiastic about the classes. According to a volunteer
from a fifth grade classroom, “[the JA program] presents complex
ideas in an unintimidating fashion so that the students feel confident
to learn more about the concepts in the future.” Having an MBA student
from a top business school teaching the classes and sharing their knowledge
with the next generation of business leaders is an added bonus. Students
are thrilled to learn from them – especially because the subject
matter is so “real life” and Tuck students make it even more
so. With diverse backgrounds, travels and business experiences, Tuck volunteers
supplement the lessons with their own stories and knowledge – bringing
the sessions to life.
Teachers agree that Tuck volunteers bring something fresh to their weekly
routine, presenting relevant and exciting new material. “My students
gained more understanding of different businesses, careers and also what
it takes to apply to a job. In addition to this they had fun with the
games that were created this year,” one teacher said of the JA program.
Thanks to funding from The Claremont Savings Bank Foundation, The Hypertherm
HOPE Foundation, The Little Family Foundation and Mascoma Savings Bank,
and in cooperation with Junior Achievement of Northern New England, UVBEP
facilitated Junior Achievement curriculum for Upper Valley students in
grades K-7 during spring 2010.
To find out how you can volunteer to lead a JA class near you, please
contact us.
