“In Technology 8, we talk about engineering and potential jobs in the technology field, so it seemed like an appropriate setting for School Counselor Amanda Zimmermann to join us for a couple of classes to talk about career planning,” said Teacher William Wedgwood.

In the first session, students completed a “money pie graph” to indicate where they get their money and sources of income for adults. Then each student wrote down an item they would like to buy, how much it costs, how they would earn the money to buy it, and how long they would have to work to earn enough money. “As eighth graders, the students are of an age where they will be getting their first job,” said Zimmermann. “The students came up with some really creative ways to earn money and many realized that once they earned the money, they would probably want to save some of it rather than spend it because it would have more value that way.”

In a second session, classes worked with the web site www.showmethefuture.org to create a whole new identity including occupation, income, married or single, children or not, and more. Students had a virtual checking account with a register, which contained the money they earned as their new identity. Then they were able to make choices, like the kind of house they’ll live in and what they’re going to eat, based on their identity. Every choice costs money, which was deducted from the money in their checking account. The trick to the game is to see if they can make ends meet and still have some cash at the end.

“Many students shared that they were not aware that people paid so much money in income tax,” said Zimmermann. One class talked a lot about health insurance and the choices they might need to make in order to have it. “In the end, many students felt encouraged to go to college because it would help them earn a higher salary and be able to pay bills more easily, which led to conversations about starting to look at colleges in ninth grade.”