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Learning dollars and sense about saving
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| Poe pupils inside safe deposit vault with Comerica's Brook Borovsky. |
By STEVE MARK
Prospective customers filed into the Comerica Bank branch at Greenway Plaza wondering out loud about the housing market. What has the average cost of a home in Houston plummeted to in these times?
“One-Thousand, Six-Hundred,” said one.
“Around Five-Hundred Dollars,” guessed another.
“Six-Thousand,” offered one more.
Intriguing guesses for a bunch of 7-year olds. They have time, obviously, to learn about reality, but the mere discussion prompted some stimulation about money management. Second-graders at Poe Elementary toured Comerica Bank last week to learn the basics of banking.
“One of the things we’re trying to do with financial literacy is to give these students a basic understanding to know how to handle their money in the future,” said Ronnie Moore, branch director at the Greenway Plaza branch. “Especially with the way the economy is, it’s really important to teach this to these kids.”
Students learned the principles of deposits and withdrawals, how an ATM machine works and the properties of safe deposit boxes.
Most of all, the kids were reinforced with the core message of the day.
“A bank is very important,” said student Tyree Bryant. “It’s a great place to save your money.”
Of all the field trips available to a second-grader, teacher Patricia Riley found immediate and lasting value for her students. “They got the message,” said Riley. “Save your money.”
Reassuringly, about two-thirds of the second-graders said they already had savings accounts and contributed to them regularly. That didn’t mean, of course, that some of the kids resisted splurging.
“Fifty dollars,” revealed one student. “I wanted to go to a Rockets’ game.”
Talk about a financial reality check…
“One-Thousand, Six-Hundred,” said one.
“Around Five-Hundred Dollars,” guessed another.
“Six-Thousand,” offered one more.
Intriguing guesses for a bunch of 7-year olds. They have time, obviously, to learn about reality, but the mere discussion prompted some stimulation about money management. Second-graders at Poe Elementary toured Comerica Bank last week to learn the basics of banking.
“One of the things we’re trying to do with financial literacy is to give these students a basic understanding to know how to handle their money in the future,” said Ronnie Moore, branch director at the Greenway Plaza branch. “Especially with the way the economy is, it’s really important to teach this to these kids.”
Students learned the principles of deposits and withdrawals, how an ATM machine works and the properties of safe deposit boxes.
Most of all, the kids were reinforced with the core message of the day.
“A bank is very important,” said student Tyree Bryant. “It’s a great place to save your money.”
Of all the field trips available to a second-grader, teacher Patricia Riley found immediate and lasting value for her students. “They got the message,” said Riley. “Save your money.”
Reassuringly, about two-thirds of the second-graders said they already had savings accounts and contributed to them regularly. That didn’t mean, of course, that some of the kids resisted splurging.
“Fifty dollars,” revealed one student. “I wanted to go to a Rockets’ game.”
Talk about a financial reality check…
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