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[MSE Lawrence]

This is the discussion to link on the back of Martin's 'Teen Cash Class: what you didn't see' blog. Please read the blog first, as the discussion follows it.

Read Martin's 'Teen Cash Class: what you didn't see' Blog

[farley95]

I am a learning support assistant at a secondary school. Although we mainly support the low literacy & numeracy ability students, we are also around the gifted & talented too.
I think a six week course on bank accounts, money, credit/store cards and general life skills would be a great idea in year 10/11 before they leave. We have commented many times in our lunch hour that it's scary that some of the teenagers have no concept of money or the real world!

Some students we give a project - Give them an argos book, glue, scissors and tell them they have £2000 to spend on their 1 bed flat. Once they have put the £999 widescreen TV in they get a shock!!!
Quite a reality check for some of them.

Some of the problems are that Pocket money is given nowadays to get kids out of the house, into the parks to get drunk/do drugs with their mates and contract phones for 14/15yrs is a common thing (?).

[sandy may]

Does anyone know if the programme is going to be repeated? I came back from holiday to find Id missed it which was a real disappointment.

I think the whole concept is a fantastic idea; all children should be taught how to manage their money before they leave secondary school. We were a bit disappointed that my daughter's secondary school weren't interested in taking up the challenge. We don't have a huge income and with 4 children I am constantly chanting 'we can't afford it'. Then I realised that I sounded like my parents (we grew up hearing the same chant).
So I showed the children our accounts, what money comes in, what we HAVE to pay for, what we'd like to pay for & they were pretty shocked to learn that what sounded like an huge wage didn't actually go very far. I've taught them all my frugal tricks, cost cutting, bargain hunting & they are getting the idea. But to see the amount of money some of their friends get through is unbelievable.

I firmly believe that Financial management should form part of the National Curriculum.

[margaretclare]

I watched the programme and enjoyed it very much. I liked the way the young people learned that not all adults are particularly 'savvy', like when Martin talked about 'apathy' and drove home his point by getting them to find a cheaper car insurance for the history teacher!

More, please - Martin is a natural teacher, he held their attention and got his points over very successfully. Just talking is not enough - you have to give them practical problems to solve, this reinforces the talking - and it's surprising how they come up with the answers.

I liked the project with the Argos catalogue quoted above. Recently my eldest GD successfully obtained tenancy of a council flat. I was a bit afraid that she might be one of the kind of young people who have to have everything new and the plasma screen is the starting-point. Not a bit of it. Most of the stuff she has is second-hand, she got a bed, mattress and duvet via Freecycle, I bought her a bedding set, curtains, towels and bathroom mats, was glad to do so because I was so impressed by the way she tackled it.

Margaret