Life lessons
Matthew Hundley / (matthew.hundley@averyjournal.com)
“I’m looking up car insurance,” Britney Hughes said as she
navigated the website of a major insurance company. At the same time, Ben Woodie, sitting just a few
feet away, compared car insurance from a competing company to ensure the best rate for their
family. After they received quotes from the different insurance companies, the two compared their
coverage and rates.
Normally, this scene would not be exceptional, but in this case, Hughes and Woodie are both seventh-graders, and rather than sitting around the dining room table, the two are sitting at their desks in Chantae Hoilman’s seventh-grade math classroom at Avery Middle School.
Leaders in business and education agree that financial literacy, the ability to manage personal finances, is crucial to young peoples’ success in both their personal and professional lives, yet it does not appear specifically in the standard course of study for students in North Carolina Schools.
By incorporating aspects of the standard course of study into the lessons on financial literacy, Hoilman has found a way to give her students a taste of the reality of day-to-day finances.
“They are working in groups, or ‘families,’” said Hoilman. “They chose a job that they drew out of a hat, which told them how much income they had to work with per year and per hour. They had jobs ranging from full-time doctors to cashiers working for 30 hours per week for minimum wage. From their salary, they have to pay for food, insurance for their house, electricity, clothes for their family and then they choose whether or not they can afford a car, a cell phone, satellite, cable and other entertainment.”
Budgeting is not the only aspect of the project, however, as Hoilman incorporates various aspects of the seventh grade math curriculum into the project.
“They have to use their interest formula they used in class to figure out how much their house and car payments will be. They use what they have learned about proportions to figure out how much gas it will take them to get to and from work,” said Hoilman.
On Friday, Feb. 3, Hoilman’s students, with their salaries selected, began the process of budgeting their hypothetical lives. For some students, the project is an eye-opener regarding the lifestyle that different careers provide.
“We have a very tight budget. It is a less fortunate job to have because you do not get paid as much, so our budget is very tight right now. We have to be careful with our money,” said Jonathan Andablo, who was working with his family to budget for each month based on the income of a cashier.
According to Hoilman, raising the students’ awareness of the challenges involved in managing a family’s finances is not only beneficial for students, but for parents as well.
“The parents are very appreciative of it. They are glad I am teaching it so that their kids will understand that it is not as simple as going out and saying ‘oh, I want this, so I am going to buy it.’ They have to actually work for it. They have to go to school and get an education,” said Hoilman. Last year, one parent called to tell Hoilman that her child came home and thanked her for what she provides after working through the project.
In a profession where end-of-grade test scores are used to judge performance, why would Hoilman take time from material that will appear on the test to teach students about financial literacy? According to Hoilman, tested or not, it is worth it. “It’s not there. It should be in there because these kids need to know life skills. They do not even know how to balance a checkbook. After they do this; after they figure out all the monthly payments, they are actually going to put it into a check and balance spreadsheet to make a budget,” said Hoilman.
The spreadsheets that make the project possible are available thanks to the ACS one-to-one initiative, ensuring that each student has a computer ready at hand.
More than simply giving the students access to spreadsheets, however, access to a computer has made the project more accessible for students in a variety of ways.
“The computers make a huge difference because I do not have to go around town and find all these little papers to bring to class,” said Hoilman, speaking of the various insurance quotes and utility rates the students investigate using the computer. “It is right there at their fingertips. They can find all the information they need to do the project. At the end of the project, they can compile it all into a presentation and present it to the class.”
Normally, this scene would not be exceptional, but in this case, Hughes and Woodie are both seventh-graders, and rather than sitting around the dining room table, the two are sitting at their desks in Chantae Hoilman’s seventh-grade math classroom at Avery Middle School.
Leaders in business and education agree that financial literacy, the ability to manage personal finances, is crucial to young peoples’ success in both their personal and professional lives, yet it does not appear specifically in the standard course of study for students in North Carolina Schools.
By incorporating aspects of the standard course of study into the lessons on financial literacy, Hoilman has found a way to give her students a taste of the reality of day-to-day finances.
“They are working in groups, or ‘families,’” said Hoilman. “They chose a job that they drew out of a hat, which told them how much income they had to work with per year and per hour. They had jobs ranging from full-time doctors to cashiers working for 30 hours per week for minimum wage. From their salary, they have to pay for food, insurance for their house, electricity, clothes for their family and then they choose whether or not they can afford a car, a cell phone, satellite, cable and other entertainment.”
Budgeting is not the only aspect of the project, however, as Hoilman incorporates various aspects of the seventh grade math curriculum into the project.
“They have to use their interest formula they used in class to figure out how much their house and car payments will be. They use what they have learned about proportions to figure out how much gas it will take them to get to and from work,” said Hoilman.
On Friday, Feb. 3, Hoilman’s students, with their salaries selected, began the process of budgeting their hypothetical lives. For some students, the project is an eye-opener regarding the lifestyle that different careers provide.
“We have a very tight budget. It is a less fortunate job to have because you do not get paid as much, so our budget is very tight right now. We have to be careful with our money,” said Jonathan Andablo, who was working with his family to budget for each month based on the income of a cashier.
According to Hoilman, raising the students’ awareness of the challenges involved in managing a family’s finances is not only beneficial for students, but for parents as well.
“The parents are very appreciative of it. They are glad I am teaching it so that their kids will understand that it is not as simple as going out and saying ‘oh, I want this, so I am going to buy it.’ They have to actually work for it. They have to go to school and get an education,” said Hoilman. Last year, one parent called to tell Hoilman that her child came home and thanked her for what she provides after working through the project.
In a profession where end-of-grade test scores are used to judge performance, why would Hoilman take time from material that will appear on the test to teach students about financial literacy? According to Hoilman, tested or not, it is worth it. “It’s not there. It should be in there because these kids need to know life skills. They do not even know how to balance a checkbook. After they do this; after they figure out all the monthly payments, they are actually going to put it into a check and balance spreadsheet to make a budget,” said Hoilman.
The spreadsheets that make the project possible are available thanks to the ACS one-to-one initiative, ensuring that each student has a computer ready at hand.
More than simply giving the students access to spreadsheets, however, access to a computer has made the project more accessible for students in a variety of ways.
“The computers make a huge difference because I do not have to go around town and find all these little papers to bring to class,” said Hoilman, speaking of the various insurance quotes and utility rates the students investigate using the computer. “It is right there at their fingertips. They can find all the information they need to do the project. At the end of the project, they can compile it all into a presentation and present it to the class.”