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Latest post on Examiner.com – featuring Whole Planet Foundation, run by Whole Foods, which gives microloans to entrepreneurs in the developing world.
For full article, please visit: http://www.examiner.com/x-2901-NY-Business-Strategies-Examiner~y2009m3d4-The-Whole-Planet-Foundation
I boarded the subway an hour earlier than usual this morning for some early more meetings. I needed something to cheer about. Over the subway loud speaker, I heard “Let’s get Wednesday.” In New York, we’ll occasionally get a humorous subway conductor. They are few and far between and when I get one, I always appreciate their ability to fun up the a job that I am sure is not that much fun during rush hour on a Wednesday.
After entering my building, I hopped onto the elevator. We have these tiny TVs in our elevators that run a circuit of news and advertisements. As you can imagine, the news is not that uplifting these days, and certainly not something I need to be reminded of as I head to my desk. Today there was an ad on the screen with the simple statement “Go humans go.” It’s part of a new ad campaign by Quaker. I am beginning to notice a pattern here.
On Wednesday afternoons I teach a high school Junior Achievement class about Business Ethics for an hour. As I was crossing the street back to my office, the traffic cop asked us to wait for the light to change. “Let’s to live another day, folks. Your families need you at home tonight. They’ll be waiting for you and you don’t want to disappoint them by getting run over.”
Combined, these three signs today were signs of life for me. We are living in dark times, though even when it’s darkest, we have to do our best to find that little speck of light and do what we can to turn it into a bonfire. I stood a little taller today, walked a little quicker, and worked a little harder. It might sound silly to say that the subway conductor this morning set the tone for my day by making one simple, 3 word statement. And it’s truthful. Sometimes a little cheering is all it takes to keep our chin up. Coming up above ground and saying to myself, “Yes, let’s get Wednesday,” really did help me do just that.
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I was considerably less nervous for my second week teaching Business Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility at the High School for Finance and Economics. Maybe it’s because I knew the students (at least a little). Maybe it’s because I knew where the building was and which classroom was mine. Whatever the reason, I was able to manage my time better and improvise a bit more with a greater deal of success.
What I found most interesting is that the students are thinking about ethics all the time, they just don’t have the term for it. Some students who did not speak up at all and were disruptive to the class in the first session were more engaged in the discussion this second time. One in particular is showing a lot of promise. Last time he had no interest in ethics and this time he was leading the classroom in some very profound statements about the situations we were discussing.
In an effort to get students to see that the subject of ethics is all around them, I have asked each of them to bring an article that deals with an ethical dilemma to our next class. The article can be from any section of the paper, any magazine, or any website. We’ll talk through the articles and see how the students reason through ethical decision making. I’ll let you know how it goes!
Christa Avampato 
