Future Profits Course
Topic: Money in your neighborhood
Introduction
What does it mean to have power? What role does money play in having power?
These ideas will be examined through an activity called “The Bean Game” The
purpose of the lesson is to understand the idea of power. The game talks about
servants to help prove a point.
The Relationship Between Resources and Power
Resources: are the supply of money, education, connections with people,
transportation, health care, or personal skills and capabilities that can be drawn
on in order to function effectively.
Power: is when an individual has the ability to make choices about his or her
own destiny.
The purpose of this lesson is to communicate how resources and power are
deeply related.
Activity: Bean Game
The purpose of the Bean Game is to help students understand the importance of
the amount of resources they have when they enter the workforce. The beans
signify resources in real life. There are certain factors outside of their control that
influence the amount of resources they have (i.e, the elementary school district in
which they grew up, the safety of the neighborhood in which they live, coming
from single parent household, having a mental disability, or the education of
their parents). It is the intention of this lesson to ultimately help you to
understand the importance of the choices you make. Your personal ethical
choices, educational and career paths, and the influence of the relationships
around you (good or bad) will impact the amount of beans (or resources) you
have when you enter the workforce. This will in turn, impact your amount of
opportunities in life, i.e., your power.
1. Give each student a Dixie cup with a predetermined amount of beans
(between 3 and 5 beans). Pass out the cups of beans to each student, with
the beans being disproportionately distributed. This reflects the uneven
distribution of resources in society. Pass out beans, randomly in different
amounts. Students who receive smaller amounts should not feel
intentionally singled out.
2. Instruct the students that the goal is to increase their pile of beans by
taking beans from their classmates; playing Rock, Paper, and Scissors
obtain Beans. (Rock beats Scissors, Scissors beats Paper, and Paper beats
3.
4.
5.
6.
Rock.) The winning player takes a bean from the losing player. However,
there is a catch.
If students have equal bean wealth, the winner takes a bean from the
loser. If students have unequal bean wealth, the student with more beans
only has to win once before he or she can take bean from the loser. The
student with fewer beans has to win two times consecutively before he or
she can take bean from the loser.
When the losing player does not have a bean to give the winning player,
he/she becomes the winning player’s “servant.” The player with no
remaining beans must place a hand on the right shoulder of the person
with beans and follow them around the classroom for the rest of the game.
If a player with servants and beans loses, he or she must give up the
servant before giving up a bean. A servant is equal to one bean for trading
purposes.
The game should go on for at least 15-20 minutes, ideally allowing enough
time for all of the beans and servants to become concentrated among only
a couple players.
Debrief Game
The goal of this discussion is to help you process your experiences in the game,
particularly any negative emotions brought up by the power dynamics you have
just experienced. This discussion should also help you to examine how this game
is similar to or different from systemic power dynamics in our society. The
emphasis should be on other resources. Take time as well to discuss the
relationship between having access to resources and having power.
 Do you think the game was fair?
 How did it feel to start off with an advantage over others?
 How did it feel to start off with a disadvantage?
 How did it feel to be someone else’s servant or servants?
 Did anyone start off with a lot of beans and lose everything? How did that
feel?
 Did anyone start off with very few beans and work your way up to having
servants? How did that feel?
 Do you think this game is similar to or different from the way things work
in our society? What is similar or different?
 What could the beans represent in our society? (What do people start out
with different amounts of that gives them an advantage?)
 Do you think it is possible to change your position in society? Do you feel
sympathetic toward any particular groups of people?
 Did anyone develop a specific strategy for getting more beans? Do you
think that is similar to or different from how people try to get resources
and power in real life?

What might have happened if several people who started out with five
beans decided to combine their resources and work together in the game?
What are ways to do this in real life?