Calabasas : Kernel of Learning Is Behind Popcorn Sales

The recess popcorn rush was on, and second-grader Taylor Richards looked flustered as she hustled to keep up.

“She wants one, Sam,” Taylor said, pointing at a girl who was holding up a quarter, enough to get her one bag of the popcorn that Taylor, Sam Strull and other classmates were selling to fellow students one recent morning at Chaparral Elementary School in Calabasas.

The next customer, unable to determine how many bags of popcorn she could buy with the change she held, stood mute, staring at her palm.

Taylor and Sam, assisted by their teacher, Margie Clebanoff, determined that the girl had 50 cents, enough for two bags.

“We’re running out of popcorn,” announced a classmate, Michael Maffe, who was helping with the sale. Soon, the popcorn was gone.

The sale, held every two weeks, is designed to teach math to second graders. Clebanoff said it also gives them a taste of what it’s like to run a business.

It’s part of a growing trend in education, Clebanoff said, that focuses on helping children to learn by doing. “The whole idea these days is to try to make it ‘real world,’ ” she said.

With help from Clebanoff, the students learned how to look for the best prices in popcorn, comparing brand names and weights and unit prices. They eventually learned to be more realistic, she said, about the amount of profit they would realize.

“At first some students said we should charge $5 for a bag of popcorn. . .they thought we could make a thousand dollars, a million dollars,” Clebanoff said.

The class eventually set a modest goal of $100, the teacher said.

Some of the children said they learned another important lesson: The customer is always right.

“You have to be nice to your customers,” said Ellen Schopler. “If you’re not, they won’t buy.”

The students will give whatever money they raise to a charitable foundation, the teacher said.