[OT] A real education - in 4th grade

I just heard about a cool idea a local 4th grade teacher is using to teach kids a lesson most folks don't learn until after college.

Here are the rules:
Each week, you get a salary of funny money (I think it can vary depending on grades and behavior, but the details aren't important). There are cheap, flashy toys you can buy with your funny money.

Catch number one: You must pay rent on your desk. The rent turns out to be a significant amount of the funny money.

Catch number two: You can save up and buy your desk. This takes several weeks of saving. After you've bought your desk, you no longer pay rent, so you've got more money each week.

Catch number three (my favorite): After you've bought your desk, you can buy another student's desk. They must pay you rent (unless they save up and buy the desk).

What's funny is that the same thing happens every year - the boys blow all their money on the flashy toys, while the girls all save up and buy their desks. Then the girls buy the boys' desks. Then the girls buy all the best goodies. The boys get outraged at having to pay rent to a girl, and that the girls have all the money.

6 Comments

  • SOunds a lot like adult life. Except that women tend to make the men feel better about spending their money on them. :-)

  • And then the girls get on the boys backs. "When are you going intall that new desk liner i've been asking you about? Get your ass to Desk Depot today!"

  • Studies have also found that women investors do better over time. They are more likely to go for stability and less likely to be affected by hype. Go figure.

  • Now a group of students just needs to incorporate, and pool their money to buy desks up earlier.

  • They left out the part about the girls using the boy's money to buy the desks while the boys were out setting up lemonade stands, trying in vain to afford their girlfriend's barbie doll habit

  • bitter much, guys?

Comments have been disabled for this content.