Lincoln Public Schools

In 1916, the Eastern States Agricultural and Industrial Exposition was held in Springfield, Massachusetts.  The conference of 300 agricultural and business leaders focused on “the general advancement of activities for boys and girls.”

That was the beginning of Junior Achievement (JA), co-founded by Horace Moses, president of Strathmore Paper Company, and Theodore Vail, president of American Telephone & Telegraph (AT&T).  “The future of our country depends upon making every individual fully realize the obligations and responsibilities belonging to citizenship.  Habits are formed in youth,” wrote Vail.

Today, according to JA Worldwide, it is “the world’s largest organization dedicated to educating students about workforce readiness, entrepreneurship and financial literacy through experiential, hands-on programs.”  The program relies on volunteers (over 330,000) to teach nearly 380,000 classes to nearly 10 million students a year.

One of those volunteers is Danelle Ottemann, whose son Aiden is in first grade at Kooser Elementary School.  Ottemann works with Sandhills Publishing, an information processing company that supports the JA concept.  When Ottemann volunteered, JA sent a trainer to her office to review the materials and provide the training.

For five Fridays, Ottemann will visit Aiden’s first grade class and present “Our Families.”  Elizabeth Bowen, Aiden’s teacher, welcomed Ottemann’s interest.  The JA program “compliments the first grade objectives in our social studies curriculum,” Bowen explained.

The first session, held the last day of school before Winter Break, was based on the booklet “Our Families.”  The booklet matched a large colorful map of a neighborhood.  As students met the neighbors in the neighborhood – including Gus who drives the bus and Ann who collects every bottle and can – they began to increase their knowledge of …
•    How jobs provide for a family’s needs and wants.
•    Types of jobs family members hold.
•    How each family member contributes to the well being of the family.
•    Working to pay for needs and wants.
•    Why education is important.

Understanding needs and wants is key to the first half of the curriculum.  Each student was given two cards: NEED – WANT.  What is a need?  What is a want?  What are examples of a need; a want?  There are three basic needs: food, shelter, clothing.

Holding up big flashcards of colored drawings, Ottemann asked students to respond with one card or the other.  Everyone got the basics, but there was debate about whether a cat was a NEED or a WANT.

When asked about a Nintendo, students were quick to respond both NEED and WANT.  Or … as one girl from the back of the room summed it up … a WEED.  (The “W” from WANT and the “EED” from NEED.  The clever association made Bowen laugh.)

The final flashcard wasn’t as concrete or easily recognized.  It was a high school diploma.  As Ottemann described a high school diploma, one boy said, “I need one of those!”  There was no debate about that.

Asked about her decision to volunteer, Ottemann replied, “I never enjoyed public speaking.  I was really nervous the first time,” she said.  “Imagine being scared about talking to first graders.”  But she plans to continue and was glad to start with her son’s class.

For more information about Junior Achievement: www.ja.org.  Locally, JA of Lincoln, Inc. – 467-1010 – www.jalincoln.org.