PEOPLE, PLANET, AND PROFIT: ONLINE BUSINESS DAY DARING AT HIGHSCOPE INDONESIA

Instilling the Spirit of Sustainable Entrepreneurship During the Pandemic.

The COVID 19 pandemic that we are still experiencing today has significantly changed the way we live. Almost all business sectors, both in the product and service sectors, have experienced the impact of this pandemic. These calso felt by the education sector, where the education system is required to rapidly change by accommodating learning to be accessed from home and keep focusing on goal of education itself.

Since it was first established, Sekolah HighScope Indonesia (SHI) believes that the main purpose of learning in schools is to develop children's abilities to make decisions in the real world, based on the knowledge they build from the experiences they go through. We support students to have a variety of experiences that hone their skills to make decisions. Therefore, SHI students study subjects such as Mathematics, Science, Language, and others through projects that discuss natural and social phenomenons in this world. In HighScope, children are trained to solve problems using soft skills we named Learner Outcomes, which are included in the Curriculum for each subject. Learner Outcomes consist of:

• Communication Skills

• Expert Thinking Skills

• Collaboration Skills 

• Creativity and Innovation 

• Meta-level Reflection 

• Social Problem Solving 

• Ethical Leadership 

• Adaptability and Agility 

During this pandemic, we continued to innovate and adapt to better suit children's learning needs according to the main goal. SHI sees that online learning is a solution, but if the curriculum and learning methods are not well designed, the learning outcomes will not be effective. Therefore, SHI implements an interactive distance learning system, Home-Based Interactive Learning. 

Home-Based Interactive Learning is a learning system where students learn interactively with guidance from their teachers online, using the Google Meet and Google Classroom platforms. In this HBIL system, teachers work together with parents to provide guidance and learning support from home so that student learning continues to run effectively. During the last 3 months, HBIL has covered daily learning activities, school events, receiving report cards, graduation and class promotion events, and various other school activities.

One of the school events which is run through HBIL is BUSINESS DAY. This learning activity has been carried out by HighScope Indonesia Schools every year since 2001, and for the first time in 2020 the Business Day events will be held online, starting from the preparation, transactions and reviews.

The event is carried out by all Elementary and Middle School students. It aims to develop an entrepreneurial spirit to support a sustainable economy. Quintessentially preparing  students to gain business experience and foster an entrepreneurial spirit in a real context. This activity also serves as a platform for our students to hone the life skills mentioned above (HighScope Indonesia Learner Outcomes).

Students integrate and apply various skills; mathematics, social sciences, arts, and technology according to their interests and apply life skills to run a Business Day. When students analyze and solve problems, they use Learner Outcomes Expert Thinking, when they create creative and innovative work that is adapted to current phenomena, they hone Creativity & Innovation skills. When they collaborate with the team in one business or even with other teams of different businesses, they hone their Synergistic Collaboration skills. In the end, they train to become ethical leaders when they learn to lead a team according to their duties and responsibilities as CEO, marketing, finance, production and so on.

The theme for Business Day 2020 is "People, Planet, and Profit." In addition to being conducted online, for this year's Business Day students are required to make their products using environmentally friendly materials. According to Tri Dewanti, Training, Research & Development Specialist at HighScope Indonesia, "This Business Day activity also develops financial literacy skills and a real design thinking process, so that students can make economic decisions to solve problems in the surrounding community and gain social awareness of problems in the environment. "

Certainly there are adjustments and changes that must be made for BUSINESS DAY activities online and during this pandemic. For example, in previous years, for the elementary level, students transformed their respective classrooms into a place of business, according to their defined business concept.  Instead, this year, K-5 students prepared a business proposal based on the process of observation and data analysis on natural and social phenomena around it. Their proposal is presented to parents or other family members.

Fatima, parents of Nabila (Gr. 2-3) from TB HighScope School. Simatupang was very impressed with the business proposal presented by her daughter. "For this Business Proposal, she made a Mask Necklace, she himself designed it according to the current situation and situation. She saw me and some people often forget to bring and save masks so she had the idea of ​​making necklaces that can store masks so when we finish wearing masks we can keep them in the necklace. "

For the Middle School program, students in grades 6-7 must establish a company that sells products or services online (e-commerce business) according to their prior market analysis process, where they are asked to adjust the products or services they sell to the conditions of the pandemic. The students develop safe sales protocols for carrying out economic activities during a pandemic. Meanwhile, students in grades 8-9 play the role of government which regulates the interaction of 3 economic actors: government, businessmen, and households. As the government, the students are expected to be able to regulate and evaluate the economy that is being run to comply with the established regulations.

Gendis Ginanti from Sekolah HighScope Indonesia Bali sells frozen yogurt and produces it in accordance with the provisions set by the Food and Drug Administration, played by grades 8-9. Dewi Kadhita, the parent of Gendis, was very impressed with the effort her child put in. "She successfully completed and carried out tasks related to Business Day, such as proposals and even transfers of VAT. I am very happy that Business Day is doing well and the children are also making a profit. "

Tri Dewanti explained that the theme of Business Day 2020 is very much in line with global issues that are currently being studied by students. "Students are also invited to see real economic problems and understand the Triple Bottom Line Concept so that they not only learn how to carry out economic activities for profit, but also pay attention to social care and environmental preservation. For example; they must sell products in plastic-free or environmentally friendly packaging. In the end, students are expected to become world citizens who support the Sustainable Development Goals initiated by the United Nations. "

Students also use the social media platform Instagram a to promote their respective businesses. Take Ratu Nikola Andjani (Niki) and her friends from Sekolah HighScope Indonesia TB. Simatupang, who produced hand sanitizer with decorated contents, named the product "Angel Tears". Luly Koesoemawardhani, the parent of Niki, is very happy that the children can still work together to make products despite facing various challenges. "This can be a lesson for them about businesses that can adapt to the current situation. Correct product selection, fast marketing. It also teaches that in business you must keep trying with all the limitations that exist to keep it real. "

Business Day activities last for several days at all Indonesian HighScope Schools in early June 2020.