Career Concepts--From Barbie and the Cabbage Patch Kids

Students at Kenneth Moffett Elementary School in Lennox have learned all about how Barbie gets a new hairstyle, where Cabbage Patch Kids get their clothes and that toy maker Mattel Inc. is trying to figure out how to make Ken cool.

Volunteers from the El Segundo manufacturer visited the school Thursday as part of a national program that encourages businesses to become more involved in local schools. Hand in Hand: Parents-Schools-Communities United for Kids kicked off its second year this week, and businesses across the nation have sent volunteers into the schools to expand and enrich students’ education.

“It’s great program because it shows the students that the same rules that apply in school apply in the work place,” said Gloria De Necochea, a Mattel volunteer. “It’s important for the kids to learn that.”

As part of the visit, Mattel volunteers stressed how reading, writing and math helped to shape their careers. Tianlu Chen explained how math and science helped him prepare for a job designing the fabrics used to make the clothes worn Cabbage Patch Kids.

Amid the “oohs” and “aahs” of third-graders, who got a chance to hold a doll as it was passed around the room, Chen pulled out several swatches of sample fabrics that he designed on a computer; his co-worker Amy Myers Church discussed how the doll is made.

The kids got even more excited when Audrey Church showed them what Barbie looks like without any hair and then demonstrated how she styles each Barbie hairdo.

De Necochea said Mattel volunteers plan to come back to the elementary school at least two more times before the school year is over. The national program, sponsored by Mattel and coordinated by the Institute for Educational Leadership, was launched in 1995 to increase the involvement of families and communities in local schools.