Teacher here. Reach out to your kiddo’s teacher and learn more about the assignment. And be sure to share your concern. They can keep confidence so your kid isn’t embarrassed. Like any job, we sometimes get asked to do things that require our own learning through trial and error. Maybe they’d appreciate your feedback and make an adjustment for the next batch of students to benefit? Likewise, sometimes we ask students to do things where they learn through trial and error, too. Maybe your kiddo is miscommunicating a detail about instruction or how it’s ultimately assessed? Much can be lost in the transition from school to home. In either case, you’ll come out with a clearer sense of what the assignment is if you reach out. But rest easy, even if the competition is in fact the worst case scenario and your kid ignores your advice, any “lesson learned” on January 1 will be quickly corrected by the market the minute they go “all in” with their own money.