Name of School: Cincinnati Christian Schools
Location of School: Fairfield, Ohio
Enrichment
Program Objective: to engage in interdisciplinary activities that incorporate mathematics, writing, and oral communications into a rich, economic educational environment
Summary of Program:
"It is 12:30. All students please report to their business for TradeTown." Students at Cincinnati Christian School, grades K–5, react to the announcement that has just been made over the intercom. The halls become filled with students scurrying to their businesses to put in "a day's work." Each business venture is contained in a classroom, but the complexion of the class is different from that found in the regular, graded self-contained setting. Students from all grades are intermingling, and the day's activities begin. Students are stopping by the bank to make deposits and withdrawals with TradeTown bucks, money used to pay salaries and taxes and to purchase goods and services. Students in the small business administration office are deciding what their business plans will look like. The church representatives visit the businesses and collect tithes. The kindergarten bakery is filled with chefs preparing the newest treat for the next marketplace, and the students in the dinner theater are planning their menu and drama production schedule. The first-grade workers in the craft and card shop are diligently engaging in their daily assignments. Students in the nature store, sports shop, flower shop, and newspaper office are projecting costs, paying salaries, and creating catchy advertising slogans. Terms such as supply and demand, goods and services, and scarcity are not memorized rhetoric for a test. Instead, students use these words as they exchange currency and realize that there is not an endless supply of materials for their use at all times.
In conjunction with the University of Cincinnati Center for Economic Education, this economic minisociety model was developed three years ago at Cincinnati Christian Schools for grades K–5. All parties have "bought into" economics in this setting. The parents, community, and students are all stockholders. What started as a fun way to spend some time each week has now evolved, and continues to evolve, into an innovative way to "do school." The students look forward to this time on Fridays from 12:30 P.M. to 1:15 P.M. They dialogue with their teachers and principal during the week about things that could make the system better. It is a student-driven program that integrates reading, writing, and mathematics into every 45-minute period instead of having them taught as separate subjects. Biblical principles, such as stewardship and accountability (Colossians 3:23), are evidenced through work ethics and career choices.
This model provides not only a learning experience for the students but also a time of growth for the staff. The teachers are learning to let go. Instead of creating the environment for the students, they are allowing the program to have the thumbprint of the students on it. Anytime all parties are stretched, there is growth, and there is success.
Much remains to be learned. This particular model has allowed a high degree of flexibility. There has not been a guide to use or a set of books to read. No specialist has come into the setting to see that a model has been implemented correctly. The most important component of the model is helping the students become active participants in the learning process. Instead of disconnected observers, they become active in discovering that learning is a lifelong process and not temporary memorization.
TradeTown USA 5.5