Maple River Students Participate in Budget City project
There’s a popular meme floating around social media that lists all the important life skills that schools never taught yet still forced kids to learn the Pythagorean Theorem. That same meme will contrast the inanity of knowing that mitochondria is the “powerhouse of the cell” and pit it against basic adulting skills like managing money, filing taxes, or investing in stocks. Ah, the good old days. While many meme makers might’ve been the ones sleeping in class, today’s educators make it a point to integrate these adulting skills into the modern curriculum.
During the final week of Trimester Two, students in Jackie Doering’s Personal Finance class got a healthy dose of adulting with their participation in SouthPoint Financial Credit Union’s “Budget City.” The budgeting simulation gives students a career and income and then requires that they budget their money for typical expenses such as childcare, housing, groceries, vehicles, credit cards, entertainment, and many others.
To help facilitate this undertaking, guidance counselor Ann Langworthy involved local community members. “I tried to find people within our Maple River community that have a knack for numbers and finances so they could help teach the students from their own experiences, even in this simulation,” Langworthy explained. “I appreciated all the volunteers because they really gave our students a great experience knowing the cost of housing, transportation, child care, and home goods to name a few.” Familiar faces such as Joel Larson, Evan Masters, Robert Harris, and Karen Lloyd helped run the simulation. Following the simulation, Langworthy added, “The community members were impressed with the level of thoughtfulness our students used when thinking through their budget. Having this simulation happen at the end of the trimester was a great way for students to apply what they were taught in Mrs. Doering's Personal Finance class.”
For Doering, the project helped bring the trimester to a close. For twelve weeks, students learned how to create a budget, save money, file taxes, build a credit score, inquire about loans (student loans, mortgages, car loans, etc.), pay back loans, invest, and get insurance. Following the “Budget City” activity, Doering evaluated the benefits of the time. “Students said their eyes were opened to the real prices of a lot of different things. One of the most shocking items was how much daycare and formula costs for infants. I asked students if they thought it was valuable and if I should do it again next year, and almost all of them said yes. In fact, a few even said ‘It was a lot more fun than I thought it would be!’” Bringing community members together with soon-to-be graduates demonstrated to Doering how far her pupils had come. “ I was impressed with the way our students applied what they learned all trimester to make decisions throughout the simulations.”
Personal Finance has been a required course for Maple River seniors since the 2019-20 school year, but prior to that, it had been a popular elective for students in grades 10-12. Even before the current memes called out the old system for being too focused on college bound students, Maple River already began setting up new programs like this. As Langworthy explained, “The school board was unanimously in favor of this additional requirement, and from that point on, we've required it for all seniors. It is timely and relevant because they are on the cusp of graduating and needing to know how to manage their own finances. It has been a beautiful fit because these topics become very real to them.” Beginning in the 2024-25 school year, all students in Minnesota must take a Personal Finance course, but at Maple River, Personal Finance is just one of several new “adulting” classes offered.
Principal Ted Simon credits a redesigned schedule for being able to offer courses other than the traditional 3 R’s of reading, writing, and arithmetic (another meme-maker must’ve counted the Rs). Simon explained that “in the fall of 2017, we overhauled our master schedule and turned to Trimesters with a 6 period day. Not only did it improve the quality of our class periods by moving to 60 minute classes, it also allowed us to offer a larger selection of elective courses. Allowing students to explore and try different courses can help students determine what they may or may not want to pursue as an older high school student, in college, or for a career.” Simon believes the newer courses allow students to explore topics and concepts they may be unfamiliar with, but curious about. He added, “As students leave the safety of high school, our goal is to provide them with skills and experiences so they can make educated decisions. Venturing into the workforce or college with no previous experience or knowledge of a topic can be wasteful and challenging.” As a result, Maple River now offers many “adulting” type classes beyond the traditionally required courses. New offerings include Cooking, Baking, Field Ecology, Mechanics, Introduction to Sports Medicine, Street Law, Health Sciences, Psychology, Sociology, Welding, Social Media Marketing, and Mechatronics.
For Langworthy, who helps prepare students for post-secondary futures as well as direct entry into the workforce, these new courses serve a great purpose. The AgriScience Department's Science of Cooking and Science of Baking teach students “how to cook and bake for both an economical and practical purpose.There is also a construction class where Mike Sheely teaches real-world skills that the kids might use in their own home for repairs as well as welding class that Lea (Zueurn) teaches. I think even Melanie Urban's class of Street Law is a great class because it is about the laws that protect consumers.” So while future engineers learn the importance of the Pythagorean theorem in relation to construction, those planning to live inside of the constructed house are learning equally important skills to function in the adult world.
Joel Larson meets with Kylyn Morrison and Evan Jones.
Matthew Orduna, Dylan Swalve, Braden Kramer, and Caden Bollmann seek guidance during the “Budget City” simulation project.
Senior AJ Allen meets with Mrs. Doering about the next step in the budget simulation program “Budget City.”
(Originally Published with the Maple River Messenger)
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