Junior Achievment

  

Junior Achievement Overview



Junior Achievement of Chicago



Junior Achievement Marks 90 Years of Business Education



Junior Achievement was founded in 1919 by Horace A. Moses, from Strathmore Paper Co., and Theodore Vail, president of AT&T, and Senator Winthrop Crane.  It was founded to teach young people basic business principles.  It's first program, the JA Company program, was offered to high school students on an after-school basis, and allowed teens the ability to start and run a real business under the mentorship of a volunteer from the local business community.  Junior Achievement gives high school students a taste of what it means to run a business.  One of the most apalling things I find in today's society is the level of ignorance by the average American on how a business should operate.  America was built on capitalism, or the free enterprise system.  Because of the free enterprise system, America has enjoyed unprecedented prosperity throughout the history of this country. 

When I was in high school from the grades 10-12, I was involved in Junior Achievement in our local chapter.  It was an exhilarating experience.  I learned the basics of business and how a business should operate.  Through the help of local business volunteers, we were able to establish a corporation, sell stock, and produce a product.  We learned that in order for a business to be prosperous, it requires diligent labor and sales.  There must be a healthy balance of supply and demand.  Without supply and demand, business can't make a profit.  I'm thankful for Junior Achievement and the influence it has in teaching young people the basics of starting and operating a business.

Within the last couple of months, I've been contemplating starting a series of posts on the mechanics of a business.  I'm going to be writing posts about business and how it operates in a free enterprise system.  I will be discussing the differences between a sole proprietorship, a partnership, and a corporation.  I also will be discussing the concepts of capitalism, socialism, and communism, and the differences between the three.  It's imperative that young people in our high schools understand how a business operates.  What hope does America have economically if we raise a generation of ignorant youth who don't have any understanding on how to start and operate a business.  The level of ignorance concerning economics among the average American is astounding.  Many people possess this misconception that job growth stems from the federal government.  Job growth stems from the private sector.  The private sector grows jobs--not the federal government.  It's time we start with the basic principles of Economics 101 and learn about the mechanics of business.