Students Learn Real World Benefits (and Profits) of Manufacturing
When debating ways to get young people interested in manufacturing the discussion usually centers on ways to bring the industry to the school (through tech class and presentations, etc.) or ways to bring the students to the industry (factory tours on Manufacturing Day), but this school in Washington State had a different plan. What if the students became part of the industry? The answer, as it turns out, is $500 in profits from a T-Shirt business run out of the classroom.
The new class is called AMPED, which stands for algebra, manufacturing, process, entrepreneurship and design.
Students used those skills throughout the year to run a T-shirt printing business. Young held up a gray T-shirt with a Cubs logo as an example.
“This business helps us show how math relates,” he said. “It was almost about $8,000 in revenue. That’s where you get the algebra. (It’s) in the invoices, business models and stuff like that. The manufacturing is the T-shirt printing press.”
