More than 180 students had an opportunity to see what it’s like to be an adult at the “Welcome to The Real World” event at Lutcher High School on April 18.

Robin Hart, an LSU AgCenter 4-H agent in St. James Parish, said the program gives the students a chance to see how adults budget the money they have to support their families.

During the one-day event, students play out scenarios that show them what their parents and other adults experience in attempting establish and maintain a budget while they earn a living, pay bills, buy food and take care of the other expenses involved in life.

Hart said it’s a real-world scenario in which the students actually go through the process of opening a bank account, using checks to pay expenses and tracking their balances.

“Some of the students are not doing very well with their finances. Some have had to make several trips back to the bank already,” Hart said during the exercise. “But overall, they’re learning while having fun.”

Denard Shorty, an eighth-grader at the school, said the program will help him with his future.

“I want to be an architect, and what I’ve learned here is that life is not about just buying expensive things. It’s more about enjoying life and taking care of your family,” Shorty said.

Dr. Lonnie Luce, St. James Parish superintendent of schools, said the program will be incorporated into all of the eighth-grade curriculums next school year.

“I’m excited about the kids learning some real skills that they will need every day in life,” Luce said. “We’ve been pushing rigor, relevance and relationship, and this is relevant learning. So now they understand why they have to learn how to do some math when they have to balance their checkbooks.”

Luce said this is the first time the event has been held in St. James Parish schools, but it fits in with the Education for Careers curriculum that will be implemented in the eighth-grade program next school year.

“The state requires schools to do a five-year career plan, and we want our students to have some real experience in why they are choosing a career path,” Luce said.

Hart said starting next year, the Welcome to the Real World program will be offered in both of the parish’s high schools after the students have gone through the classroom curriculum of career options, decision-making and financial management.

She said the program depends heavily on the wide range of volunteers who help put it on.

“It takes time to coordinate because we bring in personnel from local banks, industries, retired teachers, retired cooperative extension service personnel, people from local churches and parents,” she said.

The LSU AgCenter’s Hart said the eighth-graders are chosen because of the state Department of Education’s mandate that students have a general idea of a career goal by the time they reach the ninth grade.

The program also will be held this year at the St. James Parish High School on May 13.

For further information about the Welcome to the Real World program or other 4-H programs offered by the LSU AgCenter, visit the Web site at www.lsuagcenter.com.

###

Contact: Robin Hart at (225) 562-2320 or rwhart@agcenter.lsu.edu  

Writer: Johnny Morgan at (225) 578-8484 or jmorgan@agcenter.lsu.edu