dollar$ and $ense

Students in Darlene Norfleet's fourth grade class at Flynn Park Elementary School learned a lot about money this last school year. 

Ten-year-old Jacob Cann admitted he knew about spending money but not how to save it. Now, when he gets money every week from his grandmother, he saves it all. 

Nichole Young, also 10, has become a saver too. And she knows just what she's going to do with her money. 

"When I grow up, I want to live on a farm, train horses and ride in the rodeo. I don't have a horse yet; that's what I'm saving for," she said.

The students got a visit from a banker every month during the 1999-2000 school year. 

Jessica Schoemehl of Truman Bank was taking part in an Dollar$ and $ense program sponsored by Missouri State Treasurer Bob Holden. The goal was to give youngsters a better understanding of money. 

Many students said the idea of the "how" and "why" of saving money was the most important lesson for them. Several of them started savings accounts during the school year. 

Ten-year-old Alayna Sibert had one of the more unusual accounts. She said her savings were invested in an account at her church. She said it earned interest, just like at a bank. 

She didn't get an allowance but regularly got money for birthdays and holidays. She also earned money by "doing chores around the house and walking my dog." 

Alayna said her savings plan also involved "putting the money left over from her mall shopping into the savings account."

For students with savings accounts at Truman bank, Schoemehl brought reports on how much money they had in the bank, including interest paid to them by the bank.

The Dollar$ and $ense program is one of several across the country that teaches kids to be more knowledgeable about money. 

One of the reasons for such programs is that young people often have quite a bit of money of their own. A national report indicated that American children receive up to $1 billion each year just in allowances from parents. 

Norfleet said one of her students already had over $600 in his savings account. 

Ten-year-old Jay Pletier is one of those who gets an allowance for doing chores, including mowing the lawn at his dad's house. He also gets money as gifts at birthdays. 

He's saving the money in order to buy games. But, he hasn't decided yet what sort of games he wants. 

Before the Dollar$ and $ense program came into Norfleet's class, the teacher had to complete a special teacher education class. The summer program was taught at the Federal Reserve Bank in downtown St. Louis. 

The Federal Reserve System is a part of the federal government that regulates banks. 

When the classroom work began last fall, the first lesson was how people did business before there was any money. Schoemehl helped them learn about "bartering." In the old days, a farmer might give some meat and eggs to a city dweller in exchange for a new shirt or a pair of shoes. 

Schoemehl said the kids got to be pretty good at negotiating barter agreements. 

Another thing they did was design their own money. Most of the designs included large denominations, including one bill for a million dollars. The student-designed money samples were displayed at Truman Bank during the year. 

There was one class when an officer of the bank came to answer questions. 

Schoemehl said many questions were very serious. She said one student asked about car loans. She wanted to know what happened if a person couldn't pay off the whole loan. If that happened, the bank repossessed the car, or took it back. 

The student wanted to know if the person got back any of the money she had paid. The officer said no. The reason: the car was no longer a new one and therefore was worth less money. And the buyer also had had use of the car for some time. 

When asked the best thing she learned in the class, Nichole Young said, "I learned that if everyone spent all their money and nobody saved any, the world would go broke." 

Teacher Norfleet said she plans to use the Dollar$ and $ense program next year. She said the discussions about money "tied in with social science, math and even writing."