Psst. Do you want to buy some Pepsi?
Admittedly, the popular soda is an interesting choice when it comes to contraband, but for Keenan Shaw, a Grade 12 student at Winston Churchill High School, it was an interesting and lucrative choice.
That is because Pepsi, along with other soft drinks are prohibited in Lethbridge public schools due to the school division’s Healthy Nutritional Choices administrative policy because they contain sugar. In a peculiar loophole in the policy, diet versions of the sodas are allowed because they are made using an artificial sweetener and not sugar.
In fact, many of the division’s schools sell the diet versions of the sodas in their vending machines.
As a product of the Alberta’s Inspiring Education inspired school system, Shaw knew that many students at his school would crave the sugar version of the pop so he decided to go into business for himself, selling Pepsi out of his locker.
Inspiring Education is a document Alberta Education released in 2009 outlining its vision for students.
It states that to make sure Alberta students are able to compete on the global stage in the 21st Century, students must graduate from high school as engaged and ethical thinkers with an entrepreneurial spirit.
Alberta Education calls this the three Es of education.
Unfortunately for Shaw, while the Lethbridge school division may applaud his entrepreneurial spirit, they questioned his ethics and suspended him for two days.
However, Shaw realized that business is like real estate and it is all about location.
Only a few weeks after being suspended for ignoring the school’s warnings and selling Pepsi out of his locker, Shaw is back selling more Pepsi than ever, but this time from the sidewalk in front of the school.
Shaw credits the increase in business to the free advertising he received by being suspended. News of his suspension made international headlines and even got a mention on a U.S. late night talk show.
However, Shaw is not the only one who has went into business and ran a foul of school administration.
When I was in high school, I to took part in a business venture that school administration did not agree with.
For a reason I no longer remember, the principal would not allow us to distribute one issue of our school newspaper. Of course, all the editorial staff of the paper took this as an attack on journalism and our personal integrity, so we like Shaw came up with a plan to circumvent the rules.
We took our protest to the sidewalk, just off of school property and distributed our paper and we were quite successful and received a bit of notoriety. If memory serves we even made page 53 of our local paper.
Sometimes youth in their exuberance takes things to far and it is up to responsible adults to keep a check on our young people. It is a balancing act and one the Construction Work Site program at Barrhead Composite High School seems to have right. On page 16A in the Leader you will read how the school teaches, not only construction skills, but how students should conduct themselves in the real world of home renovation and construction.
