Black market tuck shop kid
Discussion
Two of my school mates used to improve on tuck shop offerings. One lad's family owned a cornershop so we'd get Bali-Hi and Lilt at a discount when they were first on the scene. He'd bring in crates. The other one's aunt worked in confectionery so Wispa bars were sold by the truck load.
Another's dad was a stationery supplies wholesaler, so he supplied pens, rulers etc
All about enterprise. None of them went on to become drug dealers. The ones who supplied the dope for the school didn't either as far as I know!
We used to buy vinyl sticky number and lettering sets from the lad whose family owned Spandex the sign people. Now that's a successful family...
Another's dad was a stationery supplies wholesaler, so he supplied pens, rulers etc
All about enterprise. None of them went on to become drug dealers. The ones who supplied the dope for the school didn't either as far as I know!
We used to buy vinyl sticky number and lettering sets from the lad whose family owned Spandex the sign people. Now that's a successful family...
Edited by Six Fiend on Monday 10th October 20:39
blueg33 said:
Parsnip said:
Not even slightly, I dislike the fatties as much as the next normal sized person does, but people should be able to eat what they like. I have a crappy diet and eat all sorts of s
t (the Mr.Whippy ice cream machine on this rig hasn't worked well for me ) but do enough exercise that I get by - telling people what they can and cannot eat is nonsense.
Quite. Its about balance. Do enough exercise and you can eat what you like. Do less exercise and be more careful with what you eat. But let people use their own brains to work it it out, the nanny state stuff is pathetic.t (the Mr.Whippy ice cream machine on this rig hasn't worked well for me ) but do enough exercise that I get by - telling people what they can and cannot eat is nonsense.I think adults can eat whatever they like. When parents send their children to a school, that school acts in loco parentis. As such, I think most normal thinking parents (I exclude the stupid ones who take no interest in their children's education, extra curricular activities, diet, ethics and morals, etc) would prefer if the kids ate what is perceived by experts to be 'healthy' and leave the coke, chocolate and sugary treats for home, where they can be controlled sensibly.
Irrespective of all this, the main issue is 'what are the rules?'. If there is a uniform policy, would you expect the kids to ignore that too?
What about attendance? Ignore that too?
A mate of mine set up a tuck shop as part of their "Entrepreneur" lunchtime club. Rapidly turned it into a business with about £2k a month turnover. Then the head told him that the "lunchtime club" had stopped and he could stop his project, but he got wind that the head was simply going to hand over the business to the dinner ladies as a nice little earner... So he refused and then forced the head to buy it off him as a going concern for £5k.
Not that's business smarts for a 14 year old.
Not that's business smarts for a 14 year old.
I used to do this at school with sweets too.. Some kid used to go to the shop at the top of the road on his way to school, buy some and sell them.
So I got my Dad to take me to the cash and carry and bought it much cheaper than he could, and more stuff.. He stopped selling stuff.
I only done it for a month or so until it got boring having to take it all to school and stuff.
So I got my Dad to take me to the cash and carry and bought it much cheaper than he could, and more stuff.. He stopped selling stuff.
I only done it for a month or so until it got boring having to take it all to school and stuff.
Oakey said:
Parents whine it's too harsh.
I heard his dad on the radio and he came across well saying that schools are for learning not selling but felt the punishment was a tad harsh. I tend to agree.This is in contrast with the usual 'its my boys human right to smoke crack in his lunch hour and the school can f-off' attitude of most parents featured in this kind of article.
Ben
Parsnip said:
Not even slightly, I dislike the fatties as much as the next normal sized person does, but people should be able to eat what they like. I have a crappy diet and eat all sorts of st (the Mr.Whippy ice cream machine on this rig hasn't worked well for me ) but do enough exercise that I get by - telling people what they can and cannot eat is nonsense.
As an adult you can make those informed decisions for yourself. t (the Mr.Whippy ice cream machine on this rig hasn't worked well for me ) but do enough exercise that I get by - telling people what they can and cannot eat is nonsense.Kids need guidance, discipline and education in these matters.
If I left my little ones to their own devices, I'm sure they'd love to stuff their faces with sweets and chocolates.
This kid, if he won't obey the rules set out by the school, needs to be expelled.
My response was more to the comment that I quoted than a general observation that kids should be allowed to do what they like.
Where do you draw the line though - is a healthy lunch followed by a mars bar going to send the kid into a stabbing frenzy?
To a certain extent, I agree with the nanny state - some people are too thick (or young and don't know any better) to make informed decisions for themselves, but its got to start somewhere - when I was at secondary school, we had a swipe card system rather than cash which tracked what you bought - I could eat a diet of mars bars if I wanted, but my mum would have given me a slap round the head and stopped giving me money - easy - I learned not to take the piss and she could keep an eye on what I was eating.
I applaud the kid for coming up with the idea at his school, but once he got his fingers burned, I agree he should have stopped.
I'm all for healthy eating, but the problem is that people immediately look at some things and discount it as unhealthy. I would argue that there isn't really such thing as a healthy food - its all about context. Is a chocolate bar unhealthy if an obese person is eating it while sitting on the couch? Yes. Is it unhealthy if someone eats it during a bicycle race? No.
I have went off on a bit of a tangent here, but it is something I feel strongly about - I eat crap and sail through medicals with no trouble - Michael Phelps has one of the worst diets in the world - is he unhealthy?
Where do you draw the line though - is a healthy lunch followed by a mars bar going to send the kid into a stabbing frenzy?
To a certain extent, I agree with the nanny state - some people are too thick (or young and don't know any better) to make informed decisions for themselves, but its got to start somewhere - when I was at secondary school, we had a swipe card system rather than cash which tracked what you bought - I could eat a diet of mars bars if I wanted, but my mum would have given me a slap round the head and stopped giving me money - easy - I learned not to take the piss and she could keep an eye on what I was eating.
I applaud the kid for coming up with the idea at his school, but once he got his fingers burned, I agree he should have stopped.
I'm all for healthy eating, but the problem is that people immediately look at some things and discount it as unhealthy. I would argue that there isn't really such thing as a healthy food - its all about context. Is a chocolate bar unhealthy if an obese person is eating it while sitting on the couch? Yes. Is it unhealthy if someone eats it during a bicycle race? No.
I have went off on a bit of a tangent here, but it is something I feel strongly about - I eat crap and sail through medicals with no trouble - Michael Phelps has one of the worst diets in the world - is he unhealthy?
Johnnytheboy said:
I did this at school. School banned canned drinks so I took 20 cans of Coke, Pepsi and Tango in (then added Diet Coke at my customers's request) and sold them at about a 12p mark up each (late 80s prices).
My teachers were so thick that they actually caught me carrying a bag full of canned drinks TWICE and still didn't cotton on.
I know his dad - who never managed to gain any commission to balance the threat of disclosure to 'the authorities'. My teachers were so thick that they actually caught me carrying a bag full of canned drinks TWICE and still didn't cotton on.
Good on the kid I say, if he can make a few £ because his class mates didn't figure it out first then why shouldn't he.
Surely our government want enterprise to flourish not be stifled by an education system that refuses to embrace talent and ingenuity. The kid should be told though that if he acts dim enough eventually the school will sideline him into some special program where he will be taught to be enterprising.
On the issue of kids eating ste, why don't schools simply teach them properly about the difference between good and bad foods, have a decent selection of both and allow kids to make a choice once armed with all of the information. Schools should be creating young adults who can go into the world and be a part of it, not constantly churning out semi-illiterate young sheeple who only know how to do what they are told, when told to do it within a tight framework.
Surely our government want enterprise to flourish not be stifled by an education system that refuses to embrace talent and ingenuity. The kid should be told though that if he acts dim enough eventually the school will sideline him into some special program where he will be taught to be enterprising.
On the issue of kids eating s
te, why don't schools simply teach them properly about the difference between good and bad foods, have a decent selection of both and allow kids to make a choice once armed with all of the information. Schools should be creating young adults who can go into the world and be a part of it, not constantly churning out semi-illiterate young sheeple who only know how to do what they are told, when told to do it within a tight framework. Parsnip said:
My response was more to the comment that I quoted than a general observation that kids should be allowed to do what they like.
Where do you draw the line though - is a healthy lunch followed by a mars bar going to send the kid into a stabbing frenzy?
To a certain extent, I agree with the nanny state - some people are too thick (or young and don't know any better) to make informed decisions for themselves, but its got to start somewhere - when I was at secondary school, we had a swipe card system rather than cash which tracked what you bought - I could eat a diet of mars bars if I wanted, but my mum would have given me a slap round the head and stopped giving me money - easy - I learned not to take the piss and she could keep an eye on what I was eating.
I applaud the kid for coming up with the idea at his school, but once he got his fingers burned, I agree he should have stopped.
I'm all for healthy eating, but the problem is that people immediately look at some things and discount it as unhealthy. I would argue that there isn't really such thing as a healthy food - its all about context. Is a chocolate bar unhealthy if an obese person is eating it while sitting on the couch? Yes. Is it unhealthy if someone eats it during a bicycle race? No.
I have went off on a bit of a tangent here, but it is something I feel strongly about - I eat crap and sail through medicals with no trouble - Michael Phelps has one of the worst diets in the world - is he unhealthy?
To quote modern parlance: 'your mother' Where do you draw the line though - is a healthy lunch followed by a mars bar going to send the kid into a stabbing frenzy?
To a certain extent, I agree with the nanny state - some people are too thick (or young and don't know any better) to make informed decisions for themselves, but its got to start somewhere - when I was at secondary school, we had a swipe card system rather than cash which tracked what you bought - I could eat a diet of mars bars if I wanted, but my mum would have given me a slap round the head and stopped giving me money - easy - I learned not to take the piss and she could keep an eye on what I was eating.
I applaud the kid for coming up with the idea at his school, but once he got his fingers burned, I agree he should have stopped.
I'm all for healthy eating, but the problem is that people immediately look at some things and discount it as unhealthy. I would argue that there isn't really such thing as a healthy food - its all about context. Is a chocolate bar unhealthy if an obese person is eating it while sitting on the couch? Yes. Is it unhealthy if someone eats it during a bicycle race? No.
I have went off on a bit of a tangent here, but it is something I feel strongly about - I eat crap and sail through medicals with no trouble - Michael Phelps has one of the worst diets in the world - is he unhealthy?
This, to be honest, is the key to seemingly a lot of youth issues. We are certainly given the impression that too many parents are failing to take responsibility for their offspring as well as failing to accept that education starts and is finished in the home, with the school taking care of various middle bits, not the entire responsibility.
With parents pushing so much of their job onto the school system the system has responding instead of pushing back strongly but by giving in and trying to take on this responsibility.
To be honest, it is nice to see a school in the media actually enforcing its rules. However silly some rules are within the school environment they all serve to form a broad framework and guidance within which to operate as well as showing children that rules, especially silly rules, will exist when they leave and become taxpayers. And children can learn at an early age how to opererate within or circumnavigate rules.
The parents should be very proud of their child's spirit but at the same time should ultimately concede to the rules and wishes of the school. Or, even better, sit down with the school and work out a smart solution, such as legitimising the 'shop', regulating what it can sell, skimming a fee and letting kids earn an income from fitting in work around school. That would probably be immensely educational and inspiring for the kids.
DonkeyApple said:
To quote modern parlance: 'your mother'
This, to be honest, is the key to seemingly a lot of youth issues. We are certainly given the impression that too many parents are failing to take responsibility for their offspring as well as failing to accept that education starts and is finished in the home, with the school taking care of various middle bits, not the entire responsibility.
With parents pushing so much of their job onto the school system the system has responding instead of pushing back strongly but by giving in and trying to take on this responsibility.
To be honest, it is nice to see a school in the media actually enforcing its rules. However silly some rules are within the school environment they all serve to form a broad framework and guidance within which to operate as well as showing children that rules, especially silly rules, will exist when they leave and become taxpayers. And children can learn at an early age how to opererate within or circumnavigate rules.
The parents should be very proud of their child's spirit but at the same time should ultimately concede to the rules and wishes of the school. Or, even better, sit down with the school and work out a smart solution, such as legitimising the 'shop', regulating what it can sell, skimming a fee and letting kids earn an income from fitting in work around school. That would probably be immensely educational and inspiring for the kids.
But he's only achieved this because the school has a healthy eating policy. If they didn't have that policy the school would simply be the ones selling sThis, to be honest, is the key to seemingly a lot of youth issues. We are certainly given the impression that too many parents are failing to take responsibility for their offspring as well as failing to accept that education starts and is finished in the home, with the school taking care of various middle bits, not the entire responsibility.
With parents pushing so much of their job onto the school system the system has responding instead of pushing back strongly but by giving in and trying to take on this responsibility.
To be honest, it is nice to see a school in the media actually enforcing its rules. However silly some rules are within the school environment they all serve to form a broad framework and guidance within which to operate as well as showing children that rules, especially silly rules, will exist when they leave and become taxpayers. And children can learn at an early age how to opererate within or circumnavigate rules.
The parents should be very proud of their child's spirit but at the same time should ultimately concede to the rules and wishes of the school. Or, even better, sit down with the school and work out a smart solution, such as legitimising the 'shop', regulating what it can sell, skimming a fee and letting kids earn an income from fitting in work around school. That would probably be immensely educational and inspiring for the kids.
te to kids as was the case when I was at school. What he's done is nothing new, as has been stated on here, when I was at school there was also a black market in cigarettes and porn mags.
Here's another enterprising young lad who maximised his profits by robbing Burtons biscuits;
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/8231530/Boy...
I don't think 'letting kids earn an income' fitting in work around school is a particularly good idea as who decides who gets to work in the tuck shop earning and who doesn't? You can imagine the outcry if some kids weren't allowed that opportunity but others were. Besides which, as I said, if the school was going to drop it's healthy eating policy they'd simply monopolise the tuck shop for themselves.
Oakey said:
DonkeyApple said:
To quote modern parlance: 'your mother'
This, to be honest, is the key to seemingly a lot of youth issues. We are certainly given the impression that too many parents are failing to take responsibility for their offspring as well as failing to accept that education starts and is finished in the home, with the school taking care of various middle bits, not the entire responsibility.
With parents pushing so much of their job onto the school system the system has responding instead of pushing back strongly but by giving in and trying to take on this responsibility.
To be honest, it is nice to see a school in the media actually enforcing its rules. However silly some rules are within the school environment they all serve to form a broad framework and guidance within which to operate as well as showing children that rules, especially silly rules, will exist when they leave and become taxpayers. And children can learn at an early age how to opererate within or circumnavigate rules.
The parents should be very proud of their child's spirit but at the same time should ultimately concede to the rules and wishes of the school. Or, even better, sit down with the school and work out a smart solution, such as legitimising the 'shop', regulating what it can sell, skimming a fee and letting kids earn an income from fitting in work around school. That would probably be immensely educational and inspiring for the kids.
But he's only achieved this because the school has a healthy eating policy. If they didn't have that policy the school would simply be the ones selling sThis, to be honest, is the key to seemingly a lot of youth issues. We are certainly given the impression that too many parents are failing to take responsibility for their offspring as well as failing to accept that education starts and is finished in the home, with the school taking care of various middle bits, not the entire responsibility.
With parents pushing so much of their job onto the school system the system has responding instead of pushing back strongly but by giving in and trying to take on this responsibility.
To be honest, it is nice to see a school in the media actually enforcing its rules. However silly some rules are within the school environment they all serve to form a broad framework and guidance within which to operate as well as showing children that rules, especially silly rules, will exist when they leave and become taxpayers. And children can learn at an early age how to opererate within or circumnavigate rules.
The parents should be very proud of their child's spirit but at the same time should ultimately concede to the rules and wishes of the school. Or, even better, sit down with the school and work out a smart solution, such as legitimising the 'shop', regulating what it can sell, skimming a fee and letting kids earn an income from fitting in work around school. That would probably be immensely educational and inspiring for the kids.
te to kids as was the case when I was at school. What he's done is nothing new, as has been stated on here, when I was at school there was also a black market in cigarettes and porn mags.
Here's another enterprising young lad who maximised his profits by robbing Burtons biscuits;
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/8231530/Boy...
I don't think 'letting kids earn an income' fitting in work around school is a particularly good idea as who decides who gets to work in the tuck shop earning and who doesn't? You can imagine the outcry if some kids weren't allowed that opportunity but others were. Besides which, as I said, if the school was going to drop it's healthy eating policy they'd simply monopolise the tuck shop for themselves.
The kids who could grow a beard ran the beer business and the Indian kids who's dads ran corner shops ran the ciggie business. The Greek kids ran the porn but it tended to either be hairy women or blokes so they had low turnover.
But, the key was to not get caught with some of those enterprises.
As for some kids not allowed the opportunity, well that in its own right is an important lesson
Oakey said:
I'm somewhat surprised that some of the 'enterprising' older kids didn't set up a protection racket and extort the tuck shop kid. That'd have taught him an important lesson too 
Back to the real world, he needs to figure out how much of a backhander he has to give the the head and other teachers in order to continue operating.Gassing Station | News, Politics & Economics | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff