Eighth-grade students at Waconia Middle School are learning how to build a company, one cut at a time. The Industrial Technology entrepreneurship course teaches students how to work together as a team to take a product from concept to creation. The end product is actually marketed and sold in the community.
“I get to have over 300 students throughout the year, and all kids can participate. The majority of students are trying something in my class that they’ve never done before,” John Kelzer, Middle School industrial technology instructor, said.
Students work together, just as employees of a company would, to make a product that the customer ordered. If the class company performs well, there’s an opportunity for commissions to be paid out. “Paying bills and getting paid is a real-life experience,” Kelzer added.
For one of the products this year, students cut the name “Waconia” into a board that had been cut in the shape of an arrow. Previous classes have made trivets in the shape of the state of Minnesota, coasters, family names cut into various patterns, and more.
“Not only do students create and mass produce products for sale, they learn about the challenges of starting and running a business,” Kelzer concluded. "This course mirrors the core values of our school: kindness, respect, integrity, responsibility. I believe that students leave the middle school a better person because of these skills.”