This Teacher Decides To Teach Kids About Finance Using A Classroom Economy System But Not Everyone Likes It
A teacher’s job is a very responsible one as they are the ones that shape a student, give them knowledge and impact their view on certain things. Often people choose this profession knowing that they really want to do it, as it is not easy dealing with kids, let alone making them learn when all they want to do is play.
And because they are so passionate about their work, they try to make the learning experience both educational and fun. One of those teachers is Mr. Vuong, who implements a token economy system into his lessons to teach the students about how finances in the real world work.
More info: TikTok
This teacher went viral for sharing how he teaches his students about rent
Image credits: teamvuong
People often joke around that they never use the math formulas they learnt at school in real life and they wish they’d been educated on how to pay taxes. So Mr. Vuong is doing just that and shared his methods on TikTok. One of the videos went quite viral and got 3.6 million news, but it seems that people had varying opinions on this.
His method includes rewarding his students with made-up money, Brain Bucks, and making them pay monthly desk rent
Image credits: teamvuong
Mr. Vuong is a fourth and fifth-grade teacher who “prioritizes social-emotional learning and equity.” He shares some of his experience as a teacher on his TikTok account. In the viral video, he explains that because it’s the last Friday of the month, it means that his students will have to pay rent for their desk. The rent is 15 Brain Bucks, which the children earn during the school day for being responsible, participating in class discussions and other things.
If the students have any Brain Bucks left, they can spend them on a treasure chest that the teacher has in his class or they can save up the money to wait until they have enough of it to spend on a treasure trove where the more expensive things are. Another option is to save up all the extra money and pay 75 Brain Bucks to ‘purchase’ the desk and in that case, the students wouldn’t have to pay rent every month.
If the students have extra money left, they can spend it on various goodies
Image credits: teamvuong
After hearing about this token economy system, some people were impressed and others thought that this kind of exercise is too traumatizing for the children and creates unnecessary stress at a young age. After hearing all the concerns, the teacher made a follow-up video explaining his method in a little bit more detail. So first of all, if a student doesn’t have money to pay their rent, Mr. Vuong won’t take away their desk and will not shame the kids for not being able to pay.
If the student doesn’t have money to pay rent, they don’t get their desk taken away, because the teacher understands that what he does is not real
Image credits: teamvuong
Mr. Vuong said he tries to find out why the student doesn’t have enough money and if it is because of reasons they can control, for example, they spent too much on the treasure chest, the teacher will talk with the student and see this as an opportunity to learn about budgeting. Also, he always gives opportunities to earn extra money with a small late fee, so it is really about learning financing and not experiencing the stress of an adult.
If the student doesn’t have money left for rent because of other reasons, like not being in school because of health or their parents couldn’t bring them to school, then Mr. Vuong deprioritizes the rent as real-life things are more important than participating in a made-up economy. He fully recognizes that it is fake and just a teaching tool.
Mr. Vuong explains that this is only an educational game to prepare the students for what is coming when they grow up
Image credits: teamvuong
There are various things for which students can get Brain Bucks so they have plenty of opportunities to earn and the teacher keeps track of it in an app
Image credits: teamvuong
People were also curious to know whether the teacher takes away money as punishment, and the truth is that the system is for positive reinforcement and not punishment. After hearing some feedback from viewers, Mr. Vuong decided to add sick days and personal time off because you get those in real life too and because work, or in this case, school, shouldn’t be more important than personal well-being. He also is considering adding insurance just to make the game even more realistic.
Another thing to point out is that the teacher doesn’t give Brain Bucks to children if they are doing things just to receive them. It is always when they least expect it and he believes that this way, the children feel even more rewarded. The money should be just like a cherry on top. He explains that when you eat an ice cream sundae, it is still good without the cherry, but it makes the ice cream just a little better.
Here you can see the viral video for yourself
@teamvuong#Capitalism but… #teachersoftiktok #teachersfollowteachers #teachertip #realworldproblems #tokeneconomy #payrent #elementary #reallifeskills♬ original sound – Mr. Vương
Video credits: teamvuong
What do you think about Mr. Vuong’s method of teaching children financial literacy? Do you agree with the people who say that children should learn these things and know what to expect when they grow up and inevitably will be made to pay rent, taxes, know how days off work, etc. Or do you side with people who say that children should be protected from such serious topics at a young age, so that they can just be happy and worry-free? We are curious to know what your take is!
People had mixed reactions to the token economy system and these are some of their reactions
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I love how people are always saying "why don't they teach kids actual life skills in school like how to pay their taxes!" but when a teacher actually teaches something like budgeting and the consequences of finite resources it's all "I don't like this! Why teach capitalism in a classroom??".
My favorite comment: "What happens if they can't make rent?" Try to imagine such a bizarre world where someone has to sacrifice their education just to pay bills, or where they can completely lose their livelihood due to irresponsible spending, poor planning or even circumstances beyond their control. "What happens if they can't make rent" is not an argument against this experiment, it's the whole reason for it.
Load More Replies...
I think this is a great idea. What harm is done. And for those who disagree with the attendance part....if you dont attend work, you dont get paid. It's a good way to teach life skills. It being into perspective how life really works. It's not like they end up without a desk to sit in if they don't make thier rent. He plainly states that. Many states here in the US no longer teach any kind of home economics. It's just sad that people are down on this teacher for bringing reality to life for students before they enter adulthood and are slapped in the face by reality
Exactly! This is a fun and informative way to teach life skills.
Load More Replies...
Oh man...those comments are complaining that this system is unfair because some of the kids can't control their attendance circumstances and the system heavily favors one particular behavior (attendance) over more potentially useful skills.... These people are so, so close to understanding the whole point of the exercise.
We had a similar thing at intermediate (age 12 approx), I thought this was a normal school thing! For one week a year we did "Prep": we had a currency system, and an equal amount of currency to start off with. You could apply to work at the bank or several 'established businesses in the Prep for a wage, or be an entrepreneur, or not work. Then on the last day: you could spend the Prep money on food and toys from the established businesses, and also at the entrepreneurs shops (We would entrepreneur in pairs so one could sell stock while the other spent money throughout the day.) I guess the thing it was missing was living costs(although there was a daily payment you had deducted for costs it's just occurring to me now that was living costs), it was focused on how businesses work i guess. Awesome fun though, and lateness was not an issue in that you could go entrepreneur, or not work at all (but that left you with not much currency on sales day, which didn't seem nice. We kinda shared our dollars though)
Load More Replies...
Those who appose this teaching in school must have had good parents because I didn’t learn any of these things growing up and it was a total shock entering the real world. I think this is great and needed in SCHOOL. Something being taught in the place for LEARNING that will actually be used in life. Yet people are upset?
Well said. I was taught budgeting at home, but they left teaching it at school until the final year of high school: by then many students had quit school, and I remember being surprised watching a great many of my classmates be shocked that the money to budget with was mostly gone after bill payments. I took my parents for granted, to say the least
Load More Replies...
We should teach kids that real life is like happy fun play time; and that anything that causes stress or anxiety is unfair because their life should ultimately be nothing but comfort and ease...(sarcasm)
We first need to lull you into a false sense of security and safety before hitting you hard with the message that the good guys seldom win and that working hard and being a loyal employee never makes you rich. It's more effective this way.
Load More Replies...
When I was in 5th grade , all of us students went to this place called "Enterprise Village". We worked jobs (I was on the Village paper that we put out that day) , received a paycheck, had to deposit that into the bank where we opened an account, were given a lunch hour where we used checks/fake cash from our accounts to "shop" at stores in the Village (sold things like art supplies, books, jewelry, etc} and generally learned about economics and the value of hard work first hand. It was a pretty amazing experience and every single person I know today (I am 43) that grew up where I did had the same one. I have to say it really did help me learn the value of hard work and the value of a dollar. It was a great experience and I just Googled and the place is still open today. Many of my elementary school teachers did what this teacher did ...gave us "bucks" to spend or rewards or save up on treats. These are important lessons. Let teachers TEACH and stop being offended by every single thing
From the comments included in the article, I can see that many of them didn’t read it all the way through. The teacher explains what happens when the students find they can’t make rent (he doesn’t “evict” them from their desk, he just teaches them about budgeting), or if they have legitimate reasons for spotty attendance (real life issues and responsibilities which he considers way more important than a classroom experiment). In those ways, he’s easing the anxiety adults feel in real life. I hope he’s also teaching them all how to budget, plus how to balance their checkbooks, and check their accounts for bank errors or purchases they did not make (both of which are real life—-though, happily, still relatively rare—-issues that would need to be addressed). Then again, maybe keep it simple first, so the kids get a good understanding of the basics, then throw all that extra stuff in for the kids in the second—-you heard me right, second—-year of his program.
3 classes which need to be added to all children's school curriculum: 1. 'Adulting' class, learn finances, how to rent/buy a property, how to get your driving license/car, a job, pay taxes, deal with medical bills etc. 2. 'Social psychology' class, learn about gaslighting, bullying, manipulation and abuse so young people don't dive into abusive relationships because they don't know how to recognize them. 3. Sign language. it's 2021 and I still don't know why we aren't teaching this to every child, if we could mesh worldwide sign language with American sign language, we'd all have an international language to speak to each other even if you don't know French, Mandarin, Norse etc.
If you want to really rile American parents you could suggest that since the system is blatantly abelist they could all chip in to help. Or heaven forbid, the teacher could arbitrarily give one kid a massive stash.
Any teaching which any person can learn from being good or bad is good because a person learns from it. Simple facts are : If the teaching works, use it. If it does not work, make changes to it, and then see whether it works.
This is actually a good way to ease children into being fiscally responsible adults. Also, just like in life, you don't always get a fair deal and you don't always get to reap what you sow. One can argue kids should not be exposed to this so early, but I think this helps kids "deal" with this aspect of life with minimal actual consequence.
It's kinda hilarious that literally every single comment about why this system is bad is something THAT WORKS EXACTLY THE SAME WAY IN REAL-WORLD CAPITALISM. Is it me or does it seem like a lot of people would have benefitted from this kind of teaching at an early age?
It's all made up. You can't budget money you don't have. As in not making enough to even live a basic life.
Hard times create strong people, strong people create easy times, easy times create weak people, weak people create hard times.. So hold on tight, because we have created the weakest generation in the history of this country, the hard times coming will be extreme.
I had a sociology teacher in HS who used a slightly different method. Entirely based on how students behaved in the classroom, we earned the location of our desk in the classroom. Those who misbehaved were seated up front, the quiet ones who didn't cause trouble or actively participate were in the middle, and those who exhibited model behavior and participated in discussions were in the coveted back of the room seats. There were no additional perks, like a treasure chest (but to be fair, this was high school), but having your seat location assigned based on your behavior was quite effective (in the late 80s/early 90s, which was a Very Different Time and the over all school experience was vastly different from what we see in classrooms today)
i think its a great idea. as someone who is on disability and knows if it wasnt for my disability check id struggle with buying food, with rent, with bills etc knowing how to spend money wisely is a very good thing to kno how to do. i didnt kno how wen i was a kid i just got wat i wanted but now i make sure everything is paid before spending on anything and even then me and my husband only get wat we need. we will treat ourselves to a video game or watever every now and then. but we still spend wisely no one taught us that in school. my husband does the same as me he makes sure he has the money for rent bills taxes etc before treating himself to something. id have alot more money if someone taught me this earlier in life
I love how people are always saying "why don't they teach kids actual life skills in school like how to pay their taxes!" but when a teacher actually teaches something like budgeting and the consequences of finite resources it's all "I don't like this! Why teach capitalism in a classroom??".
My favorite comment: "What happens if they can't make rent?" Try to imagine such a bizarre world where someone has to sacrifice their education just to pay bills, or where they can completely lose their livelihood due to irresponsible spending, poor planning or even circumstances beyond their control. "What happens if they can't make rent" is not an argument against this experiment, it's the whole reason for it.
Load More Replies... I think this is a great idea. What harm is done. And for those who disagree with the attendance part....if you dont attend work, you dont get paid. It's a good way to teach life skills. It being into perspective how life really works. It's not like they end up without a desk to sit in if they don't make thier rent. He plainly states that. Many states here in the US no longer teach any kind of home economics. It's just sad that people are down on this teacher for bringing reality to life for students before they enter adulthood and are slapped in the face by reality
Exactly! This is a fun and informative way to teach life skills.
Load More Replies... Oh man...those comments are complaining that this system is unfair because some of the kids can't control their attendance circumstances and the system heavily favors one particular behavior (attendance) over more potentially useful skills.... These people are so, so close to understanding the whole point of the exercise.
We had a similar thing at intermediate (age 12 approx), I thought this was a normal school thing! For one week a year we did "Prep": we had a currency system, and an equal amount of currency to start off with. You could apply to work at the bank or several 'established businesses in the Prep for a wage, or be an entrepreneur, or not work. Then on the last day: you could spend the Prep money on food and toys from the established businesses, and also at the entrepreneurs shops (We would entrepreneur in pairs so one could sell stock while the other spent money throughout the day.) I guess the thing it was missing was living costs(although there was a daily payment you had deducted for costs it's just occurring to me now that was living costs), it was focused on how businesses work i guess. Awesome fun though, and lateness was not an issue in that you could go entrepreneur, or not work at all (but that left you with not much currency on sales day, which didn't seem nice. We kinda shared our dollars though)
Load More Replies... Those who appose this teaching in school must have had good parents because I didn’t learn any of these things growing up and it was a total shock entering the real world. I think this is great and needed in SCHOOL. Something being taught in the place for LEARNING that will actually be used in life. Yet people are upset?
Well said. I was taught budgeting at home, but they left teaching it at school until the final year of high school: by then many students had quit school, and I remember being surprised watching a great many of my classmates be shocked that the money to budget with was mostly gone after bill payments. I took my parents for granted, to say the least
Load More Replies... We should teach kids that real life is like happy fun play time; and that anything that causes stress or anxiety is unfair because their life should ultimately be nothing but comfort and ease...(sarcasm)
We first need to lull you into a false sense of security and safety before hitting you hard with the message that the good guys seldom win and that working hard and being a loyal employee never makes you rich. It's more effective this way.
Load More Replies... When I was in 5th grade , all of us students went to this place called "Enterprise Village". We worked jobs (I was on the Village paper that we put out that day) , received a paycheck, had to deposit that into the bank where we opened an account, were given a lunch hour where we used checks/fake cash from our accounts to "shop" at stores in the Village (sold things like art supplies, books, jewelry, etc} and generally learned about economics and the value of hard work first hand. It was a pretty amazing experience and every single person I know today (I am 43) that grew up where I did had the same one. I have to say it really did help me learn the value of hard work and the value of a dollar. It was a great experience and I just Googled and the place is still open today. Many of my elementary school teachers did what this teacher did ...gave us "bucks" to spend or rewards or save up on treats. These are important lessons. Let teachers TEACH and stop being offended by every single thing
From the comments included in the article, I can see that many of them didn’t read it all the way through. The teacher explains what happens when the students find they can’t make rent (he doesn’t “evict” them from their desk, he just teaches them about budgeting), or if they have legitimate reasons for spotty attendance (real life issues and responsibilities which he considers way more important than a classroom experiment). In those ways, he’s easing the anxiety adults feel in real life. I hope he’s also teaching them all how to budget, plus how to balance their checkbooks, and check their accounts for bank errors or purchases they did not make (both of which are real life—-though, happily, still relatively rare—-issues that would need to be addressed). Then again, maybe keep it simple first, so the kids get a good understanding of the basics, then throw all that extra stuff in for the kids in the second—-you heard me right, second—-year of his program.
3 classes which need to be added to all children's school curriculum: 1. 'Adulting' class, learn finances, how to rent/buy a property, how to get your driving license/car, a job, pay taxes, deal with medical bills etc. 2. 'Social psychology' class, learn about gaslighting, bullying, manipulation and abuse so young people don't dive into abusive relationships because they don't know how to recognize them. 3. Sign language. it's 2021 and I still don't know why we aren't teaching this to every child, if we could mesh worldwide sign language with American sign language, we'd all have an international language to speak to each other even if you don't know French, Mandarin, Norse etc.
If you want to really rile American parents you could suggest that since the system is blatantly abelist they could all chip in to help. Or heaven forbid, the teacher could arbitrarily give one kid a massive stash.
Any teaching which any person can learn from being good or bad is good because a person learns from it. Simple facts are : If the teaching works, use it. If it does not work, make changes to it, and then see whether it works.
This is actually a good way to ease children into being fiscally responsible adults. Also, just like in life, you don't always get a fair deal and you don't always get to reap what you sow. One can argue kids should not be exposed to this so early, but I think this helps kids "deal" with this aspect of life with minimal actual consequence.
It's kinda hilarious that literally every single comment about why this system is bad is something THAT WORKS EXACTLY THE SAME WAY IN REAL-WORLD CAPITALISM. Is it me or does it seem like a lot of people would have benefitted from this kind of teaching at an early age?
It's all made up. You can't budget money you don't have. As in not making enough to even live a basic life.
Hard times create strong people, strong people create easy times, easy times create weak people, weak people create hard times.. So hold on tight, because we have created the weakest generation in the history of this country, the hard times coming will be extreme.
I had a sociology teacher in HS who used a slightly different method. Entirely based on how students behaved in the classroom, we earned the location of our desk in the classroom. Those who misbehaved were seated up front, the quiet ones who didn't cause trouble or actively participate were in the middle, and those who exhibited model behavior and participated in discussions were in the coveted back of the room seats. There were no additional perks, like a treasure chest (but to be fair, this was high school), but having your seat location assigned based on your behavior was quite effective (in the late 80s/early 90s, which was a Very Different Time and the over all school experience was vastly different from what we see in classrooms today)
i think its a great idea. as someone who is on disability and knows if it wasnt for my disability check id struggle with buying food, with rent, with bills etc knowing how to spend money wisely is a very good thing to kno how to do. i didnt kno how wen i was a kid i just got wat i wanted but now i make sure everything is paid before spending on anything and even then me and my husband only get wat we need. we will treat ourselves to a video game or watever every now and then. but we still spend wisely no one taught us that in school. my husband does the same as me he makes sure he has the money for rent bills taxes etc before treating himself to something. id have alot more money if someone taught me this earlier in life
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