Budgeting to pay for a home, pay off student loans, buy groceries, pay utilities, pay the phone bill, pay for childcare services, and pay taxes may sound like financial responsibilities only reserved for adults. But in Midland, 8th graders have to grapple with these financial realities too.
An educational career choice program in Midland called The Reality Store requires 8th graders to learn how to budget and make financial decisions based on the salary associated with their career choice. The five-year-old program is a joint effort between the
Midland Area Chamber of Commerce,
MITECH Plus, and area business leaders.
As part of the program, 8th graders in Midland are asked to select a career through an online educational tool. Children then learn about their career choice, including the salary associated with it, says Diane Middleton, director of community programs at the Midland Area Chamber of Commerce. After the students make their career selections, they participate in an interactive game that is similar to the game of Life.
Students then are given a checkbook register, which includes the amount of pretend money they have available based on their career choice, she says. Each student is then assigned a pretend life situation -- for example, two kids, a house, and a car payment -- that carries financial decisions along with it.
Stations representing each bill or financial decision are set up in the school gymnasium, Middleton says. At each stop, students must make decisions that impact their checkbook balance.
"The whole point of The Reality Store program is for kids to look at their career prospect from an entirely different angle," she says.
Educators and parents spend a lot of time encouraging kids to choose a career path based on what they want to do, Middleton says. But kids have to make the connection between career choices and financial realities.
"It helps them to understand 'If I make X amount of dollars, can I realistically expect to pay my bills as a young adult?'"
Some students run out of money during the game, so they learn the consequences of poor financial planning and career choices that may not provide them with enough money for the kind of lifestyle they want to lead, she says.
The popular program will be in full swing again this fall as children return to school, she says.
"It's just another offering toward workforce development."
Writer: Jenny Cromie
Source: Midland Area Chamber of Commerce
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