Junior Achievement


I recently finished a 6-week JA program in the local elementary school. I taught 3 3rd grade classes, 3 4th grade classes, and 2 5th grade classes, for a total of 180+ students. It was really challenging (see past posts about education in Panama), but very rewarding. For those of you unfamiliar with JA, it is a program that business people can sign up for (and I encourage you all to do so!), through your employer. You take a morning off each week and go teach elementary school students about basic business and economic concepts. It's really great because the students get exposed to material they probably would not study otherwise. And JA provides all of the materials and a facilitator's guide that has lesson plans. JA is present all over the world, but started in the States and has the most participants there. (Random, I actually found out my grandpa taught JA back in the day.) It's been a great experience and the kids had a lot of fun. Here's some pics from my classes:


Kids playing a business management board game.

Showing off artwork.