Midland Students Stick to Business

Midland fifth graders became mini-moguls March 14, when they showcased their original business ideas as a final project following their reading of "The Toothpaste Millionaire".

The novel tells the story of a young student who creates his own brand of toothpaste and becomes a millionaire. Selling everything from hotel rooms to night vision baseball caps, Midland students developed their own products and even if they didn't make a cent, they had a lot of fun.

"I can't believe how creative these kids are," said their teacher Cathy Landy. "I wanted to end our work on 'The Toothpaste Millionaire' on a fun note, especially after the stress of the state math exam."

Students had just a week and a half, during school time, to create a business with an original product or service. They had to write a description of the business, set it up and actually create the product or be able to explain it.

During the business fair, a crowd gathered around Jonah Shainberg, who demonstrated his multi-purpose "Husky Headband" sweatband that transforms, among other things, into a rain hood. He said he got the idea from "watching my mom come back from a run soaking wet or freezing and I wanted to help."

Mrs. Landy pointed out that each student's business idea was original, because they had learned all about patenting a product from a student's mother, who is a patent attorney.

Many students chose business ideas involving the field they plan to work in. Jack Bradley hopes to own hotels some day and said his "Bradley Suites Hotel" is unique because buyers get to design the room they stay in. "I have stayed in a lot of really boring hotels with my family," said Jack. "So I wanted to make a hotel that was fun and fits everyone's personality."

Though they "retired" by the end of the day, the students learned a lot about developing and marketing a product. And thanks to "The Toothpaste Millionaire", maybe someday the "Husky Headband" will be available in stores.