By Emily Player
Imagine you were tasked with turning $5 into as much money as possible over three weeks. What would you do?
Mr. Max Morgan, our Business Teacher, asked the entire Middle School that same question.
This project was inspired by Stanford students who were able to change $5 into $650 in less than two hours by making reservations at local popular restaurants and then selling the reservation times to people who wanted to skip the wait. However, our version of this challenge gave us more time to deeply plan and orchestrate how we could generate more profit.
Each year group in Middle School was split into teams, and everyone quickly got to thinking about how they could complete the challenge. Ideas included babysitting, taking surveys, selling ice pops, selling brownies, and even holding a car wash.
Year 8 students doing a car wash to make money in the project
This project demanded coordination with other members, driving them to utilize critical thinking, decision-making, and creativity. The students grew from the experience overall.
“I have seen some students growing the freedom and the confidence to explore different ways of creating value, providing in-demand products and services to people’s lives while also making a financial return” Mr. Morgan said.
The money earned in this project is being donated to the Greater Boston Food Bank. Therefore, not only did this project test our business skills, but it also challenged our social skills - increasing our confidence to ask people we’ve never met before whether they wanted to donate to the cause we were advocating.
For Mr. Morgan, the students exceeded his expectations.
“I was expecting $100 or so per group, I wasn’t expecting some people to go to the lengths they did, some students went above and beyond… I’m very impressed,” Mr. Morgan said.
Our ‘$5 Challenge’ was a project that highlighted the dedication and devotion that our students give to both their education and to noble causes. By initiating their ventures in this way, they were able to uncover the realities of the real world.
“They all enjoyed interacting with people, and seeing what it is like make money through starting a business even if it’s a small side hustle,” Mr. Morgan said.
Income Generated in Total and in Each Class
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