Reality check for school

Eighth-graders piled into the gym at Jackson Creek Middle School Thursday afternoon, anxious to start spending their paychecks at the Reality Store. Thanks to the Business and Professional Women of Indiana, middle school students throughout Monroe County have been given a chance to see how the decisions they make now can affect their lives in the future. \nThe BPW began the Reality Store in 1991, working with local organizations such as Monroe County's Franklin Initiative, the educational arm of the Chamber of Commerce. The goals of the program are to prepare students for financial and career decisions, to help them understand how those decisions affect their lives and to motivate them to stay in school. The Store sets up a series of stations at which students spend projected monthly incomes and acquire a taste of real-life decisions made everyday by adults. \n"A reality check is what it's all about, so kids can realize what it takes to survive from a financial perspective," said Dave Schlegel, assistant principal of Jackson Creek Middle School.\nSchlegel said one of the main goals of the program was to connect the students' grade point averages with career choices by setting limitations. Through private meetings with teachers, students found out what career choices they were limited to in the Reality Store. \n"I've learned that it's not as easy as you really think it is and you run out of money really fast," said eighth-grader Erin Baker after having spent her entire paycheck at the various booths. \nThe eye-opening experience was made possible by the sponsors and volunteers who worked behind the scenes to ensure a successful event. Volunteers worked at various booths representing healthcare, childcare centers, grocery stores, travel and entertainment, unexpected events, auto dealerships and housing. \n"We begin preparing for the event six to eight weeks beforehand so there's time to find volunteers, make table instructions and set up tables and signs," said Director of the Franklin Initiative Enid Richards, who collaborated with school administrators to stage the event. \nVolunteers at the booths worked interactively with the students, many of whom poured out questions before spending large portions of their paychecks. Several of the volunteers, such as Sheila VanBree, had returned from previous years to do the Reality Store. \n"This is my second year doing the Reality Store at Jackson Creek," said VanBree. "I got started because people in my office were doing it and they came back saying they really enjoyed working with middle school kids." \nPrior to the event, students were expected to fill out worksheets asking how they imagined their lives as 28-year-olds and read over the "rules of life" in the Reality Store. \nMany students like Erin Baker responded to a survey that the expenses of everyday life in the real world had come as a surprise to them and they could better relate to their parents after this experience. \n-- Contact staff writer Kye Lee at kyelee@indiana.edu.