Enterprising 3rd graders shine on Entrepreneurship Day

As part of their unit on economics under the transdisciplinary theme of ‘How we organize ourselves,’ students of grade 3 hosted the annual Junior School Entrepreneurship Day on 26th April. Every year students use this occasion to learn about economics and what it takes to start up and run a business by taking charge of kiosks, selling wares, keeping accounts and, of course, bargaining.

This year our young entrepreneurs set up stalls in the Junior School Library selling lemonade, stickers and handicrafts. Business ideas came from surveys conducted by students that gauged what people would like to see on Entrepreneurship Day. As part of the unit, students learned about economic sectors, supply and demand, and ethical business practices. This year, grade 3s got to deploy their new skills in persuasive language by making advertisements for their businesses.

Grade 3 form tutor, Ridhi Banerjee, was part of the team organising the event. She believes Entrepreneurship Day is significant in how it explains complicated ideas of ethics in business to young students in an understandable way. “It’s a great unit which integrates so well with our AK Strands ‘Ethics’ and ‘Economics for Development’,” she said. “Students learn to respect local products.”

Entrepreneurship Day 2018 was attended by parents, students and teachers, all of whom admired the professionalism on display and bought a few products to encourage the children. At the end of the day, our PYP students netted almost ₹10,000. In past years, profits from Entrepreneurship Day have gone toward improving the facilities at Junior School.

For students, the day was an opportunity to test out the things they had learned in a real world environment. “I loved how we helped each other throughout this unit,” said grade 3 student Caitlin Zara. “I remember new words I learnt in this unit. It was super fun! I am going to remember this unit forever!”

Contributor: Ridhi Banerjee