ATLANTA, GA--As high school students return to the classroom this fall, they will do more than the traditional equations, dissections and sentence diagrams. They will also learn about honesty and integrity in business.

With corporate fraud and dishonesty dominating the headlines, schools across the nation have adopted a new ethics simulation called CarTown, U.S.A., a classroom experience that simulates the buying and selling of used cars. Interest in this innovative lesson plan is encouraged by legal mandates for "character education" in more than 40 states.

CarTown, U.S.A. was created by The Southern Institute for Business and Professional Ethics, one of the nation's leading non-profit organizations dedicated to ethics education, as a tool for teaching the basics of business ethics to high school students.

Easy to facilitate within the confines of a class period, CarTown, U.S.A. is distinctively tailored toward grades nine through 12, where there are fewer educational resources dedicated to the topic of ethics. The game features curriculum connections to several areas of study, including economics, family and consumer science, language arts, social studies and several others.

By role-playing sales transactions based on classified ads they compose, students face decisions about honesty, fairness and responsibility in business and vocational life. As sales are completed, the teacher facilitates a discussion of students' experiences, posing questions such as "How do you know when you have crossed the line between being persuasive and being dishonest?" "Is it a lie to omit information?" and "What would happen to the free enterprise system if there were not a reasonable expectation of honesty in business?"

"The ethical crisis in corporate America over the last year demonstrates a clear and immediate need for business ethics instruction in the classroom," said John Knapp, president of The Southern Institute. "Students don't always pay attention to issues affecting corporations, but they have little trouble seeing that deceiving an investor about a company's financial condition is not too different from deceiving a buyer about the condition of a used car. The underlying lessons of CarTown, U.S.A. are as relevant in the classroom as they are in the boardroom."

One teacher, Theresa Jespersen of Holy Innocents Episcopal School in Atlanta, used the game to introduce her students to a discussion on ethics in government. "The students thoroughly enjoyed playing CarTown, U.S.A.," she said. "They enjoyed the social aspect of working together to learn about an otherwise complex issue, and they appreciated the larger applications of the ethical lessons they learned by buying and selling used cars."

The game can also be played outside of the classroom. Groups such as student government and business organizations, community groups, Sunday school classes and many others can benefit from playing CarTown, U.S.A.

"CarTown, U.S.A.'s teachings are both essential in business and universal in application," Knapp said. "We encourage business and community leaders across the country to purchase games for the schools and organizations in their areas as an expression of their commitment to instilling business and personal ethics in tomorrow's work force."

Robert J. Rutland, chairman of Allied Holdings Inc., recently purchased CarTown, U.S.A. games for the schools in Newton County, Ga. "CarTown raises students' awareness of the ease with which we move into unethical behavior," Rutland said, "and it does so in a fun, creative way." With $1 billion in annual revenue, Allied Holdings is the parent company of several subsidiaries engaged in providing distribution and transportation services of new and used vehicles to the automotive industry.

The game was developed with contributed in-kind and financial support from Assurant Group, a Fortis company.

CarTown, U.S.A. is available to schools for $55 and to non-profit groups for $45. To purchase a game, call 404-687-4552, or download an order form from The Southern Institute's Web site at www.southerninstitute.org.

About The Southern Institute for Business and Professional Ethics
The Southern Institute, founded in Atlanta in 1993, is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, non-sectarian organization supported by leading businesses and individuals in the Southeastern United States. Its mission is to raise awareness and understanding of ethics in business and professional life, to stimulate a productive community dialogue about ethical issues and responsibilities, and in doing so, to contribute to the betterment of business and society by providing a variety of educational programs and services to businesses and other organizations. For more information on a variety of educational programs and services for businesses and other organizations, visit www.southerninstitute.org.

Southern Institute for Business and Professional Ethics

Southern Institute for Business and Professional Ethics

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