What is My Classroom Economy?
My Classroom Economy is a program that teaches children financial responsibility through fun, experiential learning. It's a simple classroom economic system based on the idea that students need to earn school "dollars" so that they can rent their own desks. By bringing real-world scenarios into the classroom, students see the impact of their decisions to save, spend, and budget.
Our class will implement a classroom economy system during this school year. It’s an excellent tool for
teaching financial responsibility and many other things, and I think the students will enjoy it. I want to let you
know how it works.
Using classroom “currency,” students earn money for jobs and pay rent for their desks. They can earn bonus
cash by participating in extracurricular activities, helping others, and earning excellent grades. On the other
hand, students who don’t meet classroom or school expectations will be fined some of their classroom dollars. That could
happen, for example, if they don’t complete assignments or don’t listen when other students are speaking.
The classroom economy helps students learn valuable life skills such as organization, the value of saving,
and delayed gratification. Rather than being told about the importance of these skills, they actually experience
them. In addition, the system fits in well with of our curriculum.
We’ll also have a little fun with it. After paying rent, students can save money to spend at monthly auctions
where they get to bid on popular items made by fellow classmates. The students will certainly enjoy themselves, and I know you will
appreciate the skills and knowledge they learn along the way.
Our system is based on the “My Classroom Economy” program developed as a volunteer project by employees
of Vanguard, one of the world’s largest investment management companies, in partnership with Rafe Esquith, an
award-winning fifth-grade teacher who is the author of "There Are No Shortcuts" and "Teach Like Your Hair’s On Fire."
Jobs
Check out all the different jobs that will help our Economy run smoothly!
Bonuses & Fines
Students will have the opportunity to earn bonuses in class for all their hard work. The bonuses cover assignments, tests, homework, class citizenship, and participation in clubs and activities at school. A list of the potential bonuses can be found HERE. On the other hand, students can also receive fines if they do not make good choices. I will be using the class economy as a way to help enforce good habits going forward. A list of potential fines can be found HERE.
