Fort Larned USD 495

I think most of us as adults have said at least once, “man, why didn’t they teach us this in school?!” Insert: RealityU. This was such an impactful way to teach meaningful life skills! Larned and surrounding schools, Pawnee Heights, Hoisington, Central Plains, and Ellinwood brought their 8th graders in to participate. They learned the ins and outs of job interviewing, senior STUCO members from LHS talked to them about the reality of high school, counselors from The Center talked to them about dealing with stress, a recent college graduate that works at our local hospital explained to them life after high school, and Barton and Pawnee County Juvenile services talked to them about the cost of delinquency. They then went on to the gym and each got a big lesson on personal finances. All of them had to imagine they were 26 years old, but each scenario was different.  Some were married, some were not; some had kids, some did not. Each student was given a monthly income, credit card debt, student loan information and then were given a checkbook. They then had to travel to 12 different booths to explore different services/products that are typically purchased by adults. Their checkbook could not fall below zero. If it did, they either needed to return an item or go look for a second job. “Married” couples had to work with their partner to decide on purchases, and I heard a lot of “hey, we’re spending too much money!” Now, that’s real life. The goal of this exercise is to help them understand that their performance in school today can really impact their future. A big thank you to the United Way for sponsoring this important event  for the 8th Graders and another big thank you to all of the volunteers that made this possible!