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“We give children a real-life experience for how it will be as an adult,” Goins said. “They get jobs and pay based on their GPA. They get their gross pay, but the next thing is what you see is that’s not what you get. You have to pay and taxes and health insurance.”
Students who once thought being an adult would be easy quickly learned that it’s not as fun as they might perceive, Goins said.
“I was surprised how much it went down after taxes,” eighth-grader Macy Timmons said. “You learn how to stay under budget without going over and going bankrupt and how to make sure I pay taxes but I can still feed my family.”
The experiment also allows teachers to talk about how important education is, Goins said.
“The biggest part is when they get their jobs,” she said. “It gives us an opportunity to talk about their education. When they do run out of their money. Starting next year as a freshman this could be your life if you don’t get serious about your education.”
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U.S. Congressman Warren Davidson attended the event to find out more about how students are learning about real-world challenges.
“The things the eighth-graders are learning are life skills that everyone has to figure out,” he said.
He said local schools should determine what is taught inside their classrooms, but he encourages other school districts to explore bringing it to their district.
“Financial literacy is an important topic and I think it is something that can be emphasized every year,” he said.
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