Corner students offered reality check

By Melanie Patterson

The North Jefferson News




Even though he’s only a high-school junior, Nicholas Harris knows how it feels to be broke.

Harris was one of dozens of teenagers who took part in the Reality Check program Wednesday at Corner High School.

Put on at high schools by the Jefferson County Extension Office, Reality Check puts students into real-life scenarios and requires them to make financial decisions.

Sue Ann McKnight, who teaches parenting, family dynamics and food dynamics classes at Corner High School, organizes Reality Check at the school.

“It’s a good experience for the kids because they get a taste of life,” said McKnight. It’s similar to what they will experience when they get out on their own.”

The idea is to come out with a balanced budget, but teens like Harris find out that it’s harder than it seems.

In Harris’ scenario, he was married with two jobs, two kids, and a spouse who brought in $1,000 a month.

“I’m in the hole,” he said at the end of the exercise: $561 in the hole, to be exact.

With their scenarios in hand, students made stops at booths where they had to make choices about insurance, automobiles, utilities, childcare, jobs, real estate and other real-life situations.

Volunteers manned the booths. On hand were members of McKnight’s advisory committee: Insurance agent Jim Geddings, real estate agent Becky Tucker, parents Tabby Parvin and Jennifer Tuggle and substitute teacher Virginia Bonham.

Also manning booths were Jefferson County Board of Education member Ronald Rhodes, Wanda Young with Superior Bank, Scott Agee with Dewey Barber Chevrolet, Billie Rhodes with Wal-Mart, extension office employees Ruth Brock, Tammy Belcher and Bridgette Helms, and others.

Tucker with the Realty South northern office in Gardendale filled in at the “Realville Realty” booth.

“Most of them stop here first,” said Tucker, where they choose from a list of housing options. She said the students were shocked at the cost of housing.

Tucker said most of them chose the most expensive house, only to come back later to downsize or even rent after visiting the other booths.

“They realized they couldn’t afford it on their budgets,” she said.

The exercise was an unpleasant eye-opener for many of the students.

“It’s not easy growing up,” said sophomore Maggie Forbes after she had to pay an unexpected $400 for roof repairs.

Junior Robert Lawson had a slightly better experience.

“It was kind of hard, but I was able to make it with one job,” he said. The biggest surprise to him was “how much groceries cost. I didn’t think they would cost that much.”

These lessons were the point of Reality Check, according to McKnight.

Even though Harris’ budget was in the red after the exercise, he did learn something.

“I learned to budget my money better,” he said. “And to stay in school and get a better education.