As I stood before a classroom of seniors teaching basic
budgeting, I began with “tell me what your goals and dreams are after
graduation”. Of course many said, “I
plan to go to college”. But then what proceeded
over the next 45 minutes was an eye
opener.
Where would you like to attend college I asked? With no
surprise “Georgia” was shouted by a few. Then as I began to lead them through a
basic budgeting exercise, several looked at me like a deer in the headlights. My
questions concerning how they would pay for simple things like rent and
utilities took them by surprise. After
more conversation, many had no idea how much it cost to rent a place to live,
hadn’t even thought about budgeting for things like gas, insurance, food,
clothes or even “eating out”. It then
occurred to me that many of these students had probably never even thought
about how their college education would be funded. Most have never had a job, or even had the
conversation about how much a loaf of bread cost. However, one student shared
that she had indeed already had a credit issue due to not paying a cell phone
bill…but that “no one told her it would affect her credit”.
I have wrestled with this over and over in my mind. What have we created? This generation knows
no limits when it comes to technology. They are tech-savvy individuals,
especially when it comes to social networking. They are a generation of “multi-taskers” that
can effectively listen to music while taking a calculus test and chew gum at
the same time.
But do they know the cost of a loaf of bread and does it
matter? As I am writing this blog, one student walks in the bank and I say,
“How much does a loaf of bread cost?” To
which he replies, $1 something right…I really don’t know!
OK, can’t let this one go….let’s ask every young person we
know, “Do you know how much a loaf of bread cost?” I’ll let you know my results, if you let me
know yours!
