Here in the Great Land, we do a lot of things differently. Some of that, sure, is due to the distance from the other states and the... unusual climate and conditions in which most Alaskans live. But much of that is due to Alaskans (at least, those of us outside of the Anchorage Bowl) being tough-minded, practical, independent people. We have to be, or we couldn't live here.
That difference involves our schools, too. The Mat-Su city of Wasilla may be best known for a certain former vice-presidential candidate, but the Wasilla High School has found an interesting new way to teach algebra — by making the kids use it in the running of a business.
The students are participating in Wasilla’s AMPED on Algebra curriculum rolled out this year in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District. About 20 freshmen and sophomores have made and sold 632 custom shirts and sweatshirts — about $13,000 worth — to school groups and local businesses since starting class in mid-August, all while solving the age-old quandary of what algebra has to do with anything.
Using math and business skills taught through a double class block four days a week, the students use freshly learned concepts to calculate needed supplies, cash flow, overhead and income. They’ll earn both algebra and career and technical education credits while also developing a series of business plans and operating the apparel shop out of the classroom.
“Instead of us giving them a word problem, they see this is what algebra is for,” said Leslie Varys, one of two teachers who oversees the class and its shirt business. “They actually get something tangible, because not only have you done the math, but we’ve talked about, ‘Oh, we’re down some money on this,’ or ‘What’s the cost if you make a mistake here? Does that affect the numbers directly?’”
This, folks, is how it should be done. These Alaskan youths aren't just getting a math lesson. They are getting a lesson in small business — maintaining inventory, filling orders, dealing with rush jobs and custom jobs, reacting to customers, and most of all, making sure the enterprise makes a profit. That's a fine lesson, especially out here in the Mat-Su, where there are few major employers; we're all about small businesses here, lots of them little family-owned enterprises. Our local deli/takeout pizza joint, for example, is owned and operated by one woman — no employees — and she has to know to the penny where her revenues go and whether she is making a profit or not. She's been doing this for years, so apparently, she has those skills.
When I was a kid back in northeast Iowa, the small-town high school I went to was big on vocational training like this. The school had a complete auto shop, and a student could graduate as a certified mechanic. The industrial arts department taught carpentry, pipe-fitting, welding, and all sorts of practical skills.
It's not enough for the schools to just instill theory. The purpose of education, as I keep saying, is to produce young adults with marketable skills. Those industrial arts programs did that. So does this Wasilla High School program.
What's encouraging here is that we're starting to see parents more involved in how their kids' schools are run. That's manifestly a good thing, and it doesn't just apply to curricula.
See Related: Illinois Law Mandating Sexually Inappropriate Material in Libraries Is Now in Effect
These Wasilla kids are learning a lot, and it's not just math. This is a lesson that educators should take to heart — and that parents should demand.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member