USM Students Take Free Enterprise to Middle-Schoolers
March 25, 2004
Take note: Some of Maine's brightest, up-and-coming entrepreneurs
may be coming from King Middle School in Portland. Nearly
30 middle-school students who participate in Gear-Up, an after-school
program there, have been part of a unique program in free
market economics developed by students at the University of
Southern Maine.
They will receive certificates of completion at a ceremony
at the school from 2:45- to 4 p.m., Wednesday, March 31.
The program, which was developed by the USM Students in Free
Enterprise (SIFE) team, brought concepts of personal financial
success, economic markets, entrepreneurship, and business
ethics to middle-school students -- many of them part of Maine's
new immigrant community. The students played board games about
managing money wisely, explored the economics of staying in
school, examined business ethics through a discussion of music-downloads
on the Internet, and wrote mini-business plans for their own
small music companies.
"These kids are a lot more creative and resourceful than
people think," said John Voyer, a USM School of Business professor.
"Some of them may not have had the opportunities other kids
have, but they all are very computer savvy. Next year we're
thinking about running a simulation on their laptops that
allows students to run little 'companies.' "
SIFE is a national non-profit organization that works in
partnership with business and higher education to give students
the opportunity to make a difference, develop leadership,
teamwork, and communication skills by learning and teaching
the principles of free enterprise. It is completely volunteer
and doesn't count toward course credits. Nine students from
USM's School of Business have participated in this year's
team.
USM's SIFE team will test its educational outreach projects
against the projects of many other SIFE teams at the 2004
SIFE Regional Competition and Career Opportunity Fair, April
8, 2004, in Boston. In addition to the program at King, Maine's
SIFE team used simulations designed by the Finance Authority
of Maine to teach children about the financial implications
of real-life decisions and applications.
For more information, contact SIFE team officer Andrew Sparda,
ph. 332-1648, email: andrew.sparda@maine.edu
or USM Business Professor John Voyer, ph. 780-4597, email:
voyer@usm.maine.edu.
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