 |
||||||||
 |
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
Pretend that pays off
By JULIANNE WU © St. Petersburg Times, published May 2, 2001 LARGO -- When 13-year-old Na-Hashi Jerger picked up his "life situation" card at Finance Park, he learned his annual gross salary from Home Depot was $62,672. He was also 25 and married and had a 2-year-old child. Na-Hashi, of St. Petersburg, was one of 104 Osceola Middle School seventh- and eighth-grade students with learning or physical disabilities who spent Friday at Finance Park, a Pinellas County Schools program that teaches personal finance. Finance Park, mainly for eighth-graders, and a related program called Enterprise Village, for fifth-graders, focus on teaching real-life skills such as shopping and budgeting. Although everything is make-believe, the children have to apply reasoning and math skills in the programs. Both programs at the Gus A. Stavros Institute in Largo are operated by the Pinellas County Education Foundation. At Finance Park, students have to estimate their net monthly income (after taxes) and then figure out how to pay for everything with that amount including housing, utilities, food, clothing, investing and entertainment. "It's pretty much the same as we learned in school," said Na-Hashi, a seventh-grader. "But it's harder. You have to fill out your own things without people helping you." After collecting "option sheets" from the various businesses, the students had to recalculate their expenses. One of the more rewarding tasks for the students was to select a car from AutoNation, one of 20 businesses in Finance Park. "Remember, if your life situation card says you have a family, you have to think about what type of car to purchase," said Callie Pinder, a Finance Park resource teacher. "You can't necessarily buy a sports car." Na-Hashi chose a 1994 black Mercedes-Benz for $19,590, with monthly payments of $412. "I think I can afford that," he said. Kim Mardis, a special education teacher at Osceola Middle, said the skills will be crucial to her students. "They may need a little more assistance, but our kids are going to be getting out of high school someday, and they will need these skills, too," she said. Enterprise Village, which began in 1989, functions as a small town, complete with retail businesses, non-profit organizations, a village art center and a mayor. Last month, fifth-graders from Walsingham School in Largo became entrepreneurs and consumers in one of the 20 businesses in the 18,000-square-foot room. Parents and some grandparents helped the students but were assigned to businesses other than those where their children were. Before spending the day at the village, students learned about checking and banking, resumes and applying for jobs, and profit and loss. The youngsters got paychecks, which they had to deposit in the bank. Then, to purchase something, they had to pay by check or with make-believe dollars and quarters. The only thing kids could buy with cash were snacks at McDonald's. The students got three breaks and three paychecks during the day. Depending on the job responsibility, the children received between $15 and $18 in play money. Every retail business except Eckerd Drugs had a prepriced inventory. Before the Eckerd "employees" could open the store, they and two adult volunteers, Margaret Hill and Joe Fleming, both of Largo, had to price 45 items, ranging from hair clips to coloring books and stuffed animals. "We have to make at least $200 so we will have a minimum of $50 profit," Mrs. Hill told the children. At the end of the day, their profit was $93. "I applied for this job because I really like math," said Thao Tran, 11, of Largo, who served as Eckerd's bookkeeper. "It's real easy," said Ian Newlove, 11, of Largo, who served as a cashier. "And I'm good with computers." Jan Moak of Largo was there with her youngest child, Shari, who was editor for the day of the Enterprise Village Times. It was the same job Shari's older sister, Mandy, had when she was a Walsingham fifth-grader. Now Mandy is a University of South Florida freshman. "This program is fun for all children," said Mrs. Moak, who teaches physically disabled students at Walsingham. "They learn the concept of money and they learn responsibility: If you mess up, you have to take the consequences." MORE ABOUT THE GUS A. STAVROS INSTITUTE: The institute also houses the Daniel M. Doyle Ethics Center, which promotes the study and development of ethical attitudes, and the Aegon Communications Center, which will begin a pilot career counseling program for high school students in the fall.
 © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111 
|
From the Times South Pinellas desks |
