Card, Card, Card Connection has low, low, low prices.... Come and buy your cards today!
Drop by a number of New York City elementary schools, and you will hear similar advertising jingles written by children about greeting cards that they design, produce, advertise, and sell. You will see children adding and subtracting fractions to calculate their sales commissions. You will see children writing advertising slogans and making sales pitches. Kids who are motivated and excited—learn!
The Card Connection: Business for Children project gives children an understanding of economics in the early grades. For a long time, it was thought that elementary school children were not capable of learning economic concepts. The evaluative studies of economic education in the primary grades, however, show that children can learn some basic economic concepts and have fun while they learn.
From ages 6 through 8, children think that purchasing an item in a store is a simple ritual. They do not understand that the shopkeeper pays for the item that is sold. Children at this age are not aware of the concept of profit. At the next level, children understand that the goods must be paid for, but they think that the price paid is the same as the selling price. At about 10, children begin to understand the relationship between the purchase price and the sale price.
Teaching youngsters about economics is good news for businesses, which are increasingly having trouble finding entry-level job candidates with basic skills like reading, writing, and mathematics. Many teenagers and young adults have trouble even filling out an employment application form.
Starting a Business
I started Card Connection in my computer/mathematics classroom in Public School 146 in East Harlem. The student body (646 students) is 50 percent African American and 46 percent Latino. Forty percent of our households are classified as living below the poverty line. This greeting card business for children teaches math and communication skills, interview techniques, basic economic concepts (profit, supply and demand, market research, opportunity cost), salesmanship, and more. The project has been replicated in classrooms in the South Bronx, East Harlem, and, most recently, in the Lower East Side of Manhattan.
It's easy to get started. All you need is a minimum initial investment (for paper, envelopes, inks, and a printer), an enthusiastic teacher, a part-time parent volunteer, and the support of community businesses. Students design the greeting cards, which are easily produced in school. For example, you can purchase the Riso Print Gocco Instant Color Printer, an inexpensive silk-screen printer (about $90), at major art-supply stores. Simple enough for a child to operate, the printer uses nontoxic ink and produces professional results.
I introduced my 5th graders to the concept by asking, “How many of you have seen relatives applying for a job?” Many children shared experiences. “Suppose you saw a `Help Wanted' sign outside your favorite store. How would you apply for the job?” Words such as employment application and interview emerged. Some of the children even had firsthand experience at a family business or a supermarket.
When I asked the children if they would like to work for Card Connection, many hands went up. One child asked, “Are we going to get paid?” Although we cannot legally give children money, we paid them in scrip, which they could exchange for greeting cards. Eventually, local businesses provided gift certificates for the children to compensate them for their work.
The class designed an application form geared to their age level and our business, and we discussed how to complete the form. When we came to a question about experience, one student asked, “How can we have experience if we never had a job? We're just kids!”
“Very simple,” I replied, “If you are good at something— that's experience! For example, in order to print cards you should be neat, careful, and able to measure and line up the card with the edge of the machine. What qualities do you need to be in sales? What experience would qualify you to be an accountant?” The children soon found out that they had more experience than they realized.
Next, I invited the children to apply to one of three departments: production, sales, or accounting. The production department prints, folds, and stamps the cards with our company logo, places them in envelopes, and packages and prices them. Other tasks include designing new cards, creating advertising signs posted throughout the school, and maintaining a running inventory to determine which cards to print each week.
The sales department conducts market research; is responsible for advertising (writing jingles and performing them on the public address system, displaying posters, and distributing flyers); sells the cards; writes receipts; counts money; and makes change.
The young accountants check the receipts against the monies collected, maintain books, calculate payroll, write checks for “rent” and other expenses, and set prices that maintain an acceptable profit —.
A volunteer from the business community interviews students and selects children for each department based on their willingness to work and learn all aspects of the business. All students who apply are hired as long as they are willing to learn their job. Employees are trained in all three departments, so that they can fill in wherever they are needed—just like a real business!
May I Take Your Order?
Card Connection is open two days a week from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Typically, the children sell cards during lunch (12–1). The accountants work from 1–2 p.m. A typical day at Card Connection begins with the sales meeting (11 a.m. to noon). The salespeople (supervised by a parent or volunteer business executive) count the money in the cash box (about $25) and make sure that they have enough change. Next, comes an inventory to see what cards need to be ordered from the production department. The children arrange the cards in boxes on a rolling cart.
Each salesperson keeps a supply of business cards (low-cost name stamps can be ordered at stationery stores) and wears a name tag (a personalized business card in a clear plastic holder). The sales staff also sign in and out of work on time cards (5×8 index cards). Every day, the business consultant who supervises the program assigns three salespeople to take orders. Each carries a receipt book and a catalog (actually a photo album with clear, plastic pages for changing cards easily when the seasons change). One student is assigned to the cash box to collect money and make change. Another student, the supervisor, checks the math on the receipts and ensures that customers are treated courteously and receive proper change. An adult supervisor oversees the entire process. Here's a brief scenario.
Wiltaya, a salesperson for Card Connection, knocks on a classroom door and is greeted by a teacher. “Excuse me,” she says, “Would you like to buy some cards?” She is invited in. “This is our catalog. We have birthday, thank you, get well soon, holiday, sympathy, and note cards. Our cards are $.65 each, 2 for $1.25, and 3 for $1.75.”
The teacher asks for two birthday cards and one thank you. Wiltaya writes the receipt. “That will be $1.75, please.” The teacher gives her a $5 bill. Wiltaya thanks the teacher, and gives the receipt and the bill to Charles, who is in charge of the cash box outside in the hall. He gives her the change due, and Jackie gets the cards from the rolling storage cart. Wiltaya returns with the change and carefully counts it out into the customer's hand: “A quarter makes $2, and one is $3, $4, and $5. Here is your receipt. Thank you very much, and have a nice day.”
The children learn that sincerity and politeness go a long way in the business world. Beatrice Badillo, executive assistant of Community School Board #4, said of the Card Connection staff: I was quite impressed with their professionalism when they entered my office. Their business approach was remarkable; they even presented a display of their product to me, and after completing our transaction, gave me their personal business cards.
Creating Community Connections
In 1993, the Card Connection project won third place in the National Council on Economic Education's competition for exemplary projects in economics in the classroom. As a result of this award, Peter Bell, executive director of the New York State Council on Economic Education, invited a group of children to present the project to the Board of Directors. At the meeting, Michelle was busy selling cards to members of the board, which included college professors and corporate executives. When asked to introduce herself to the group, she said, “Just as soon as I finish this sale. After all, business is business!”
At a school district meeting, officials watched in amazement as 10-year-old Chavis made a sales pitch to former New York City Mayor David Dinkins. The Mayor bought 14 cards and was photographed with the young tycoon.
The most exciting results of this project are the connections that the children make to their community. Corporate Printing Corporation, for example, became a valuable community partner. Because of the high cost of paper, our profit margin was very low. Most businesses buy raw materials wholesale, but we were paying retail prices. On the back of one of many invitations we received to attend various award ceremonies, I saw the line, “Printed courtesy of Corporate Printing Corporation.” I decided to call the company. When the secretary asked what company I was from, I answered, “Card Connection.”
Joel Glick, executive vice president, picked up the phone. After I explained our situation, he invited me to his office. The next day, I found myself in a conference room at his company, showing samples of the children's work. Before I finished speaking, he said, “I'm going to send you so many cards and envelopes that you are going to beg me to stop!” Glick explained that his taking print shop at a New York City high school had made him decide to become a printer.
Shortly thereafter, I taught the Card Connection kids how to write a business letter. Our first letter went to Joel Glick. I told the children that Mr. Glick had donated the cards and envelopes because he wanted to help others to graduate and to become successful, too. The kids wrote charming letters, one of which said, “Someday I would like us to be in business together.”
Glick was so impressed by the children's letters that he came to the school to meet the Card Connection “kidpreneurs.” During his visit, he advised the children to get a good education. The children knew that his advice came from the heart. They beamed from ear to ear as they listened to him speak.
Another exciting experience for us was the local ABC affiliate's segment on “Children and Entrepreneurship” for Eyewitness News. Parents signed releases so that the 5th graders could appear on television. The day of filming almost every adult in the school lined up to buy cards. A few days later, the news “teaser” throughout the day said, “See how little tykes become big tycoons on Eyewitness News at 6.”
Business Education Pays Off
It is my sincere belief that the business community is eager to join hands with educators to give students an understanding of economics and the business world. Our job as educators is to communicate to businesspeople exactly how they can help us. Clearly, children learn much from exposure to the business world, but all their learning isn't about market research and supply and demand. For example, the kids who put in the most hours working for Card Connection became the Board of Directors. When the time came to decide how to spend the profits, they voted to donate the money to Ronald McDonald House, Food for Survival, the Aids Dance-A-Thon, and the East Harlem Tutorial Program. So, not only do students learn valuable skills for the world of work, but they also learn the importance of giving something back to their community.
