THIS IS AMERICA - March 25, 2002: Junior Achievement
By Jerilyn Watson
VOICE ONE:
Millions of students in the United States are members of Junior Achievement. Many other students around the
world are members of its international group. These organizations teach young people business skills and
economics. I’m Sarah Long.
VOICE TWO:
And I’m Steve Ember. Junior Achievement is our report today on the VOA
Special English program, THIS IS AMERICA.
((THEME))
VOICE ONE:
In Nineteen-Ninety-Eight, a young man named Constancio Larguia (Cone-STAN sea-oh Lahr-GHEE-ah) and a
friend opened an Internet stock-trading company in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The company was called Patagon
(PAH-tag-own) dot com International Limited. Two years ago, Mister Larguia and his investors sold Patagon dot
com for five-hundred-twenty-eight-million dollars. Mister Larguia says skills he learned earlier in Junior
Achievement enabled him to start the successful company.
VOICE TWO:
Junior Achievement has almost two-million members in one-hundred-twelve countries. Programs are offered in
thirty-six languages. In the United States, the organization has more than four-million members. All these young
people develop and operate their own businesses.
Junior Achievement began in Nineteen-Nineteen in Springfield, Massachusetts. Horace Moses, a businessman,
developed the idea. He wanted to help young people gain skills they needed to succeed in business after they left
school.
The group’s first program was for American high school students after school hours. It taught the young people
how businesses are organized and operated. The students learned by forming their own companies. Local
business people advised them.
VOICE ONE:
First, the students developed a product. Then they sold shares in their company. They used this money to buy the
materials needed to make the product. They produced the product and sold it. They returned the profits to the
people who bought shares in the company.
For more than fifty years, these Junior Achievement company programs met after school. Then, in Nineteen-
Seventy-Four, Junior Achievement began developing programs for use during normal school hours.
((MUSIC BRIDGE))
VOICE TWO:
Many more young people joined Junior Achievement after the organization began teaching business skills as part
of the school day. People from the community teach about businesses
–
how they are organized, how products
are made and sold. They also teach about the American and world economies – the systems of money, industry
and trade. Students learn how the economy affects their families and their communities.Children from five to
eleven years old can join Junior Achievement school programs in the United States. One of the goals is to show
children they are part of a larger world community. They learn about rules and laws. They learn the meaning of
being good citizens.
VOICE ONE:
Students from twelve to fourteen years old attend middle school Junior Achievement classes. They study subjects
including trade, world economy, stocks and investment banking. The students learn about supply and demand,
property rights and saving money. Each week, a member of the local business community leads discussions and
activities.
Students in this program learn some of the skills they will need to control their own money when they are adults.
They learn about budgets and personal and family financial management. They learn about the use – and misuse
– of using credit to buy things.
Another Junior Achievement program for middle school students is called the Economics of Staying in School. It
is for students who may be thinking of leaving school before completing high school. Students learn the
importance of staying in school. They learn that workers with more education get better jobs and earn more
money.
VOICE TWO:
Junior Achievement high school programs are for students fifteen to eighteen years old. These students learn how
to form their own companies. They also study many business-related subjects including economics.
In recent months, high school Junior Achievers have studied the economic effects of the terrorist attacks on the
United States. They identified some of the businesses that were in the World Trade Center in New York City
when it was destroyed in the attack.
For example, MorganStanley is a major American stock-trading company. It had offices in the World Trade
Center. Several of its employees were killed in the attack. Company officials asked the students to consider how
damage to a business like MorganStanley could hurt the worldwide economy. They also asked them to think
about how such a company could help improve living conditions for poor people.
((MUSIC BRIDGE))
VOICE ONE:
In Nineteen-Fifty-Five, Junior Achievement established its first program outside the United States. It was in
Canada. Soon other countries joined, including Britain, Mexico and the Philippines. By Nineteen-Eighty-Nine,
fifteen countries were teaching young people how to develop their business skills.
In Nineteen-Ninety-One, after the Soviet Union ended, Junior Achievement spread very quickly. Many former
Soviet countries launched programs using Junior Achievement International material. Interest in business
development also increased in Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa, and Asia.
VOICE TWO:
To meet this increased need, Junior Achievement International was established in Nineteen-Ninety-Four. The
organization has several goals. They include helping young people understand the importance of market
economies and the world economy. Another goal is to teach young people that businesses should support
environmental and social issues and should operate honestly. Another goal is to help young people understand the
importance of education and economics in their lives.
VOICE ONE:
Some Junior Achievement International programs are nontraditional. For example, last year the organization
began a new project in the Caribbean nation of Trinidad and Tobago. Business people are leading a group at the
Youth Training Center in Trinidad. They are teaching business skills to young people jailed for crimes. The goal
is to help them gain knowledge to improve their lives.
Some members of Junior Achievement International also work for better social conditions. For example, students
from Argentina created a program to improve the environment.
((MUSIC BRIDGE))
VOICE TWO:
About eighty major businesses support Junior Achievement International. Supporters include companies like
Coca-Cola, American Express, Reynolds Aluminum and FedEx.Individuals and other groups also help. For
example, the Citigroup Foundation has provided almost two-million dollars to Junior Achievement International
since Nineteen-Ninety-Six.
An organization led by international investor Sir John Templeton recently gave more than three-hundred-eightythousand dollars for a special project. The Exxon Mobil Corporation gave an equal amount of money. Junior
Achievement International is establishing a Global Business Ethics Program with this money.
This program will teach students about moral values in the business world. The program will be offered on the
Internet World Wide Web later this year or early next year.
VOICE ONE:
Junior Achievement International has helped improve the lives of young people around the world. One of these is
a sixteen-year-old boy from Zimbabwe whose parents died of AIDS. He must provide for his three young
brothers and sisters. He says at first he thought it was difficult to start his own business. But he was able to do so
after taking classes from Junior Achievement International. He says the program is very important for young
people who are unemployed and have a family to support.
VOICE TWO:
You can find more information about Junior Achievement International at its Internet Web site, w-w-w-dot-j-a-In-t-l-dot-o-r-g. Or you can write to Junior Achievement International, four-six-zero Abernathy Road, Northeast;
Atlanta, Georgia, three-zero-three-two-eight, U-S-A.
((THEME))
VOICE ONE:
This VOA Special English program was written by Jerilyn Watson. It was produced by Caty Weaver. I’m Sarah
Long.
VOICE TWO:
And I’m Steve Ember. Join us again next week for another report about life in the United States on the VOA
Special English program, THIS IS AMERICA.
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