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by Kathleen Cochran, Ed.M.
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The Wide Angle episode "Pickles, Inc." chronicles the struggles of a group of Israeli Arab women who defy cultural and gender expectations to start a business making and selling pickled vegetables. As hard as they work to make their business succeed, the barriers to success prove daunting. At the program's end, Fatma, the leader of the venture, is working alone, from her own kitchen.
Through this lesson, students explore the limitations and restrictions placed on Israeli Arab women as well as the many barriers to succeeding in an entrepreneurial business venture. They identify and discuss the issues raised in the film, and learn more about women's cooperative businesses around the world. They also conduct a service-learning project in which they raise money to support a cooperative. As a culminating activity, they come up with their own ideas for small business ventures and write business plans.
Subjects: social studies, economics, global studies
Grade Level: 7-12
Time Allotment: Four to eight 45-minute class periods
Students Will
Identify and share their prior knowledge about entrepreneurship
Identify factors that are helpful to the widows as they try to start their pickle business as well as factors that work against them
Consider the effects on the women and their business of the cultural expectations regarding women in general and widows in particular.
Learn about four organizations that support women's cooperatives around the world
Identify the goals of and possibly carry out a service-learning project to raise money to support a cooperative
Develop ideas and write business plans for their own real or hypothetical small business ventures.
MCREL BEHAVIORAL STUDIES STANDARD 1, Level 3, Benchmark 1, 2, 5 and Level 4, 1 and 7
http://www.mcrel.org/compendium/standardDetails.asp?subjectID=20&standardID=1
Benchmark 1 - Understands that each culture has distinctive patterns of behavior that are usually practiced by most of the people who grow up in it
Benchmark 2 - Understands that usually within any society there is broad general agreement on what behavior is "unacceptable," but that the standards used to judge behavior vary for different settings and different subgroups and may change with time and in response to different political and economic conditions
Benchmark 5 - Understands that various factors (e.g., wants and needs, talents, interests, influence of family and peers and media) affect decisions that individuals make
Benchmark 1 - Understands that cultural beliefs strongly influence the values and behavior of the people who grow up in the culture, often without their being fully aware of it, and that people have different responses to these influences
Benchmark 7 - Understands that family, gender, ethnicity, nationality, institutional affiliations, socioeconomic status, and other group and cultural influences contribute to the shaping of a person's identity
MCREL BEHAVIORAL STUDIES STANDARD 4, Level 4, Benchmark 1
http://www.mcrel.org/compendium/standardDetails.asp?subjectID=20&standardID=4
Understands conflict, cooperation, and interdependence among individuals, groups, and institutions
Benchmark 1 - Understands that conflict between people or groups may arise from competition over ideas, resources, power, and/or status
MCREL ECONOMICS STANDARD 3, Level 4, Benchmark 3
http://www.mcrel.org/compendium/standardDetails.asp?subjectID=15&standardID=3
Understands the concept of prices and the interaction of supply and demand in a market economy
Benchmark 3 - Understands that changes in supply or demand cause relative prices to change; in turn, buyers and sellers adjust their purchase and sales decisions.
McREL ECONOMICS STANDARD 4, Level 4, Benchmark 3 and 4
http://www.mcrel.org/compendium/standardDetails.asp?subjectID=15&standardID=4
Understands basic features of market structures and exchanges
Benchmark 3 - Understands that in the long run the level of competition in an industry is determined largely by how difficult and expensive it is for new firms to enter the market and by consumers' information about the availability, price, and quantity of substitute goods and services
Benchmark 4 - Understands that the introduction of new products and production methods by entrepreneurs is an important form of competition and source of technological progress and economic growth
MCREL SELF-REGULATION STANDARD 1, Level 4, Benchmark 2
http://www.mcrel.org/compendium/standardDetails.asp?subjectID=23&standardID=1
Sets and manages goals
Benchmark 2 - Creates an action plan to achieve long-term goals that includes strategic, practical steps and that accounts for the resources needed to achieve these goals.
McREL WORKING WITH OTHERS STANDARD 1, Level 4, Benchmark 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
http://www.mcrel.org/compendium/standardDetails.asp?subjectID=22&standardID=1
Contributes to the overall effort of a group
Benchmark 1 - Knows the behaviors and skills that contribute to team effectiveness
Benchmark 2 - Works cooperatively within a group to complete tasks, achieve goals, and solve problems
Benchmark 4 - Demonstrates respect for others' rights, feelings, and points of view in a group
Benchmark 5 - Identifies and uses the individual strengths and interests of others to accomplish team goals
Benchmark 6 - Identifies causes of conflict in a group and works cooperatively with others to deal with conflict though negotiation, compromise, and consensus
Benchmark 7 - Helps the group establish goals, taking personal responsibility for accomplishing such goals
Benchmark 8 - Evaluates the overall progress of a group toward a goal
Benchmark 9 - Contributes to the development of a supportive climate in groups
Benchmark 10 - Actively listens to the ideas of others and asks clarifying questions
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