The room is abuzz as 15 aspiring entrepreneurs click frantically on their laptops. In groups of four, they research their potential demographic, consult graphs, and spend weeks devising their business plan. After creating their own ad campaign for their project, they present it… to their teacher and fellow students.
This final project, one of many that Mr. Yossi Kastan, the Director of Student Life at Shalhevet High School, assigned his fall term Entrepreneurship class last semester, allowed them to experience the business world without the responsibility of adulthood.
“Instead of giving tests and quizzes where students will just spit back information at me, and not retain it, I give hands on projects,” Mr. Kastan said. “It’s a higher level of learning, and a higher level of retention.”
He practices what he preaches. In contrast to any other class at the school, the mix of junior and senior students were graded entirely based on projects and participation.
One day, Mr. Kastan printed a press release from Costco that announced a new store they opened in New York City. The class split into groups, one side arguing that Costco had just opened itself to a huge market, while the other — noting that New Yorkers use mostly public transportation — decried the impracticality of carrying 20 rolls of toilet paper on the bus.
“It was all about analyzing and seeing, rather than being taught,” said senior Tannis Presser.
The class drew an array of students, from those who’ve always known they’d be businessmen to others who had a free period to fill with something interesting. Junior Danielle Ofengart, in the latter group, is glad she made the choice.
“I really wanted to take another class, and it looked really fun,” said Danielle. “I actually enjoyed that class a lot, and now I really want to pursue a business career.”
“It was really a powerful learning experience to see how hard it is to get something done on a deadline in a competitive environment,” said senior Trevor Brandt-Sarif. “That’s what business is like in the real world.”
The class was new this year, but is UC accredited. It was exclusively for juniors and seniors, and geared for that age group with an emphasis on mock job interviews and resume writing.
“I’m really proud of what we did with the resume writing and the interview skills,” said Mr. Kastan, asked what the most successful project of the year had been. In that exercise, the students learned how to get an interview by writing a proper resume, complete with what paper to print it on. They also learned how to research a company, in preparation for telling their interviewer how their skills would relate to the company’s culture.
He also invited a variety of guest speakers to teach the students different angles of business. Jeff Rohatiner, who started Jeff’s Gourmet at the age of 30, taught the students tricks of the trade for starting niche businesses. Louis Bershid, a Hollywood talent agent, taught the students how to be successful in the business world while still upholding Jewish values.
On a field trip to Ralph Lauren, personal shoppers taught the students how to dress for success.
“It was really awesome — not that I needed tips,” joked senior Avital Shoomer.
Mr. Kastan said he hopes to expand the class in the future by offering it both semesters, to allow more students to participate. He also plans to add various new projects to the curriculum.
