A Fair calculation
If you’ve been around Step for a while, you will know that one of our flagship lessons has been the Fairtrade game, where groups of students compete as trading countries to create and sell trainers and finish with the highest possible bank balance.
The game simulates world stock markets and replicates many of the inequalities experienced by developing countries, leading to a reflective discussion about the problems and a few ideas about what we can do about them, particularly reflecting on what motivates a Christian to become involved.
The game is resource heavy and usually requires 3 team members to run, due to the relentless role needed to account for the trainers produced by the 6 different countries. If you have ever been a banker for this lesson, the amount of mental arithmetic could well have caused you a pounding headache by the end!
Not just during, but also for 5 – 10 minutes after the students have finished producing, the bankers are still frantically counting trainers and adding up totals in order to be able to announce the final scores before the end of the lesson. Often both bankers have valuable ideas to contribute to the discussion, but they are so tied up finishing their additions that they don’t get to say very much.
Having taken on the role of banker a few weeks ago, I decided enough was enough, volunteer time is precious, and even more precious are their attention to interact with students and contribute to formative class discussions at the end.
I have written a new Excel spreadsheet which follows a similar style to the original bankers sheets. I hope to trial and roll this out soon for future Fairtrade bankers. It will enable quantities of trainers and their current price to be quickly entered and uses formulas to give instant totals without major hassle. It will also mean that the moment the game stops, the bankers can also take a breather. The scores will be instantly displayed. If you’ve ever had the experience of banking and plan to do this again – it’s time to get excited!
Please pray for us with upcoming Fairtrade workshops during our Step Days with St George’s and Beaumont, that God’s heart for people trapped in poverty cycles will be conveyed through these sessions.
Jeremy Bottrill
The game simulates world stock markets and replicates many of the inequalities experienced by developing countries, leading to a reflective discussion about the problems and a few ideas about what we can do about them, particularly reflecting on what motivates a Christian to become involved.
The game is resource heavy and usually requires 3 team members to run, due to the relentless role needed to account for the trainers produced by the 6 different countries. If you have ever been a banker for this lesson, the amount of mental arithmetic could well have caused you a pounding headache by the end!
Not just during, but also for 5 – 10 minutes after the students have finished producing, the bankers are still frantically counting trainers and adding up totals in order to be able to announce the final scores before the end of the lesson. Often both bankers have valuable ideas to contribute to the discussion, but they are so tied up finishing their additions that they don’t get to say very much.
Having taken on the role of banker a few weeks ago, I decided enough was enough, volunteer time is precious, and even more precious are their attention to interact with students and contribute to formative class discussions at the end.
I have written a new Excel spreadsheet which follows a similar style to the original bankers sheets. I hope to trial and roll this out soon for future Fairtrade bankers. It will enable quantities of trainers and their current price to be quickly entered and uses formulas to give instant totals without major hassle. It will also mean that the moment the game stops, the bankers can also take a breather. The scores will be instantly displayed. If you’ve ever had the experience of banking and plan to do this again – it’s time to get excited!
Please pray for us with upcoming Fairtrade workshops during our Step Days with St George’s and Beaumont, that God’s heart for people trapped in poverty cycles will be conveyed through these sessions.
Jeremy Bottrill
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