MicroSociety teaches students real-life skills
Burst for Prosperity Stories - Hunter Eider
Seventh grader Hunter Eider is the president of MicroSociety at the Renton/Skyway Boys and Girls Club (also known as the Town of Renway). He was elected president in MicroSociety's first election in November 2008 and is currently serving a second one-year term. (There is a two-term limit.) He governs MicroSociety with pride and enthusiasm and has big dreams for his future. Here's what Hunter has to say about MicroSociety:
"The other students are learning leadership and responsibility, and just the experience of doing a job so they have better understanding of how to do it in real life."
It's like this place where you can just go and hang out and also a place where you can go and practice for a job so you can have experience for a job. I've gained some leadership skills from being the president, and some of my fellow workers have given me some advice, too. As president I have to make sure everybody's paying their taxes, every business is paying their rent, everybody's doing their job, and everybody's paying their workers. Basically, I control MicroSociety, but not as a dictator.
Each business is set up at a table. Every single month we collect taxes from each business and individual person. We get paid every Wednesday. We have town meetings on Mondays, court on Wednesdays, and usually we have Marketplace on Thursdays.
I think the other students in MicroSociety are getting the same experiences as me. They're learning leadership and responsibility, and just the experience of doing a job so they have better understanding of how to do it in real life.
At school there are a couple of programs I've been in, such as the Leadership Pride Team Program. In the future, I was thinking I wanted to be president, but first I have to step up to mayor, then governor, then senator, and then president. If that fails I want to be an actor or an archaeologist or video game maker. First, I definitely want to go to college and then maybe earn my masters degree. I can't run for president until I'm 35 anyway.
Hunter Eider hopes to be President someday. The real-life skills he received in the MicroSociety program will help him get there.
