Parent Confirms JA Lessons' Impact

Author: Cassie Benzinger
Work Readiness
Published: Tuesday, 26 Aug 2014

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Image caption: JA Ourselves Curriculum Cover Art

Volunteers interact with students every day, and many times never know h[JA Ourselves]ow the lessons they teach resonate with the students. Holly Perry, a program manager for Junior Achievement of Northern Indiana, shared the story of how one JA volunteer positively influenced a kindergartner in his class.Mike Mishler of SMS Benefit Advisors LLC, volunteers for Junior Achievement of Northern Indiana <http://www.jani.org/la-porte-county> with the same two kindergarten teachers every year. This past year, when he was waiting in the hall to finish teaching his second class, one of the teachers tapped his shoulder and told him that there was a parent who had requested to speak with him.Mike remembered wondering what he had done wrong that would cause a problem with a parent. But he was surprised and happy to hear what this mom had to say. "The mother told me how appreciative she was of my time and efforts teaching her daughter," Mike said. "She said her daughter had come home the other day and asked if she could start doing chores around the house to earn money."The five-year-old told her mom that she had learned about earning and saving money through a story Mr. Mishler had read. The mom was thrilled that her daughter was willing to take on chores around the house and responsibility for her financial future. Her daughter was excited to make decisions about how to spend her hard-earned money."I was excited to receive that feedback and know that the kids were internalizing and applying what they were learning, even in kindergarten," Mike concluded.