I’ve previously written about the outstanding work AIS West teachers are doing to provide real-world applications to their lesson plans – and, I’m going to write about it again because the depth and richness of these projects are exemplary lessons in today’s “teaching to the test” reality in education.

The latest instance of this tangible approach to learning culminated in early May in the AIS West 2015 Entrepreneurial Fair. As with so many of these exceptional learning experiences, the Fair was just an end-point of weeks of student work, each step building upon the last, until the students get the opportunity to shine by displaying for peers and parents the results of their plans and preparations.

This year’s Entrepreneurial Fair was our family’s first, but I could see why it generated such excitement among the students. The work leading up to the fair, itself, would result in a great sense of pride and accomplishment. Students were tasked with developing a valid business model – a service or product that could be marketed and sold to customers – and clear all the hurdles and challenges any start-up operation would face.

My son and 2 classmates settled on building a couple of carnival-style games where contestants would buy tickets for $0.50 each and then choose to do one or both activities: toss a ping-pong ball into a series of varying-sized jars to win a prize of candy, or guess at the number of pieces of candy in a large jar. They had to draw up a plan as to how the games would work, procure investments – either loans or “gifts” – with which to purchase any required materials, or find household materials that would fit their needs. All profits (yes, they had to recoup any initial investments or loaned dollars and repay them to the lenders before they could go into the black) would be donated to charitable causes of the kids’ choosing.

The Fair had 2 phases – one event held on a school night to which family and friends were invited to participate; and, a second event held during the kids’ lunch times the following day. I was impressed at the variety of ideas represented in the school cafeteria that evening. There were some easier-to-execute set-ups where kids simply bought items at the grocery and resold them at marked-up prices. But, other wares and services showcased showed high degrees of effort – from home-made foods, to hand-crafted jewelry, to books of fantasy poetry and accompanying bookmarks. It was a sight to see these children proudly displaying their wares, engaging in the consummation of the business cycle, and getting a feel for life as a proprietor. To top it all off, the monies raised were going to some great causes!

Major congratulations to the students of AIS West for a successful business venture, and to the teachers who facilitated this tremendous experience!