Junior Achievement’s BizTown helps students learn finances, civics

It’s an exercise that sounds like fun at any age: What would you do if you ran your own business? How would you run the city if you were mayor? For local fourth, fifth and sixth grade students, the real lesson in this simulation is learning the value of a dollar.

Welcome to BizTown

What they're saying:

Zaina Meqbil is a fifth-grade student at Hamlin Garland School in Milwaukee. She campaigned, was elected and took office as "mayor" – all before lunch.

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"I was going around to see how many employees are in the shops," the MPS student said from the BizTown mayor’s desk. She even tackled questions from pesky reporters.

Lemoine: "What are you learning today?"
Meqbil: "How the adults life live."

Junior Achievement's BizTown

BizTown is as close as the students will get to "adulting" for many years.

"Every job matters in BizTown, and I think they get to see they have an interdependency – if someone isn’t doing their job, it makes their job more difficult," explained Junior Achievement of Wisconsin President Julie Granger.

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Granger said the BizTown simulator is one of the organization's most effective tools to help kids learn the value of a dollar.

"They have to figure out, what do I want? What do I need?" she explained. "I know I have to pay my taxes, but I’d also really like to buy some of those headphones over there. It’s a balancing act."

Junior Achievement's BizTown

How it works

The backstory:

Each student works at or runs a business. Many are modeled after local places – like Koss, Harley-Davidson and even FOX6 News. Students come to BizTown after they complete 15 classroom-based lessons in their respective schools.

"They are most excited when they find out they will get paid twice in one day," said Dan Knopp, who has helped guide kids through BizTown for the last six years as an educational coordinator. "What’s super exciting is when you get a child that’s maybe a little bit shy, and once they are presented with that challenge – public speaking – they actually step up and gain confidence."

Junior Achievement's BizTown

"If I go over my limit – which is like $20 – then I have to start saving more and disciplining myself," said fifth-grader Chase Murray, who plays the role of BizTown's chief financial officer. "Learning what my mom and other adults go through – now I know how hard they work and stuff."

No one sees that more than Garland teacher Samantha Beacham.

"Usually, by the end of the day, the kids are telling me how tired they are, their feet hurt, and it’s like, yes – it’s a lot. You have a lot of responsibilities as an adult," she said.

It’s all part of a simulation that will soon become these kids’ daily reality.

"The lessons they learn here," Granger said, "they are really going to carry with them their whole lives."

What you can do:

If you’d like to volunteer at Junior Achievement of Wisconsin, visit the organization's website.

The Source: Information in this report is from FOX6 News interviews and Junior Achievement of Wisconsin.

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