Lone Star City Hits the Road
HSU Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) took the portable village, Lone Star City, on the road visiting Sears Park and Pioneer Drive Baptist Church youth programs. “It went pretty well,� said SIFE president Blake Bradley, “but we’ll have to adjust the scenarios a little to keep the activity levels balanced.�
Among the businesses represented were an ice cream store, a doctor’s office, a uniform supply store, a fast food restaurant, a bank, a personnel agency, a WalMart, and a Home Depot. SIFE students gave the children instructions for the day and products and money to work with; then turned them loose to interact much like real businesses do in a community. The village is intended to give students an introduction to the importance of responsibility, economics, personal finance, and education in their future success.
The “workers� at the doctor’s office had to pick up money for the register, uniforms at the uniform store, and medical records for their “patients.� During the day, the receptionist and doctor gave “physicals� to applicants applying at WalMart, paid for lunch from Chick-fil-A, saw a few patients with aches and pains, and picked up their check from the bank at the end of the day.
The receptionist clearly hit his stride by giving animated instructions to “patients� coming for physicals, but the doctor was a little overwhelmed. The physicals were fairly straightforward, just a series of health questions, but when a “patient came in complaining of a hurt toenail, “Doctor April� was stumped, “I don’t know, I could give you a shot I guess. I guess I’m not a very good doctor.� One of the SIFE students was right there to encourage her and explain referrals for when a doctor isn’t sure about a medical condition, but she may have explained them too well; Doctor April referred her next 3 patients.
The children handled the workday pretty well, adjusting to business problems along the way. The ice cream storekeeper had to go to Home Depot to buy a part for the ice cream freezer. The WalMart store had a similar issue with its toilet (that’s when the children working at the WalMart had a discussion about who should be manager and who should be the sales associate).
After the business day ended the group talked about what they learned. Most of the children had played games as storekeepers before, but hadn’t had to rely on other businesses. One student summed up the exercise, and the lesson, by saying, “I didn’t know you had to do so many things just to sell ice cream!�
Lone Star City is expected to visit area schools this fall
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