bobb1951- How many keyboards do you go through in a week's time?

bobb1951 wrote: "What I must Do concerns ME,NOT what others think."

Then why do you keep posting your sob story here?

bobb1951: I think you need to see someone about your anger before it consumes you. If you think that you're the only person in Janesville who has/is going through what you're going through, you're wrong. I've been there as well as others who have responded. You can't be responsible for what others say or think BUT you can try and manage your own emotions. Good luck!

Jim: college students don't need to learn how to balance a checkbook, with online banking and automatic bill pay and direct deposit, technology has replaced checks and checkbook registries. Not to mention, my prediction is that within 5 years, no one will accept checks anymore. They are expensive and too many people write bad checks.

PS. I have never balanced a checkbook, and only use checks to mail bills with. Everything else is a debit or automatic bill pay.

Critics like bobb1951 always see something wrong but never have anything better. I feel bad for anyone out of work that long, but for the rest of the world life does need to go on. This is just one of many "reality checks" that these youths will encounter. For some of them it will be no surprise at all, for others a wake-up call, and for a few just a big joke. We can't control that. But we can give them the opportunity to learn.
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What's most sad of all is that nearly everyone entering the work force during a recession faces a lifetime deficit of experience and income. It's possible to overcome this but for many they never will have the chance.

bobb- Just quit trying to read. It just makes you mad. Every one of your posts shows how frustrated you get over imaginary things. For your own good, stay off your computer. I am just trying to help.

JohnWicket: Did you bother to read "who" the responses were aimed at? They were not meant for Steve Knox, the author of the blog but at bobb1951 who seldom has a good word on anything. Scrooge is alive and well in bobb1951.

That sounds like an excellent learning experience for the students, and a great opportunity for community involvement. I commend you for your participation and the others who commented they were there. But I am in a quandary as to where the two comments come from that attack you for being "pessimistic" or a "troll." I think your coverage is explanatory and very objective. Good reporting...Ms. Wicket

Dont forget that the 20% of those that do have collage educations dont always have the highest paying jobs either. Social Workers and most involved in any type of Social service out side of Government work do not typicaly make a large salary. I have seen so many students go into the field of Social work wich alone is good but unless they are one of the handful of grads that get the County or state job they end up at a home for the devlopmentaly disabled or at some half way house as cooks and care takers. Not as the social worker they went to school to become. You see all the time on TV that your collage Degree will help you make 20,000 more a year well those that have to take these jobs mak 8 to 9 an hour Guess what I could make that working at Mc Donalds full time.

Steve - Kudos to you for participating in this. I think we take for granted how prepared students are for the "reality" beyond high school. My wife and I recently opened up checking accounts for our kids and showed them how to write checks, keep track of debit card transactions, and balance their accounts. With a daughter about to go to college, my wife has really been diligent about trying to prep our kids for things like this. The Reality Check exercise sounds like a great program.
Interesting how schools get criticized for not teaching kids about the real world, and then when they do, some boob criticizes them anyway. You can't win.

Very interesting. I hope to teach my son much about this kind of thing when he's older to prepare him.

Interesting concept. Rather than allowing children to "choose" their occupation perhaps it would have been valuable to extrapolate the actual Janesville demographics of 20% of the population with 4 year college degrees and ~65% without college degrees. Asign those people median incomes and then see how far their dollar take them.

This is not to say that one cannot make it in society without a 4 year college degree but the odds are much greater with one than without one.

I dont know if the acutal tax tables were used to illustrate the bite the state and federal govt takes out of wages. Perhaps to improve this activity a real accounting of Wages, minus taxes minus consumption will give a better picture of what occurs.

bobb1951-You are becoming a bitter troll.

Thanks for volunteering Steve! Two of my children have participated in this event and both of them gave very high remarks. It is an eye-opening experience. Even though it is a simulation, many kids will see that the lifestyle they have, paid for by their parents (for the most part), is much more costly than they thought. Great job to the Parker and Craig Business teachers!

bobb1951: Do you EVER post a blog that isn't pessimistic? You must lead a dismal life.

"they had to it within a budget"
"gain transportion"
"turn in their house in"
"There was an array occupations"
C'mon Steve! I read the article quickly and gleaned these errors. And you do this for a living!

Thanks for volunteering, Steve. I too volunteered for the morning and had a great time. It was an eye-opening experience to see the students' reactions when they realized all of the money they had to spend just to survive. Then when they didn't balance, the $30 NSF fees really hit home.

It was a great day, and proved extremely beneficial to both students and volunteers. I think the students and volunteers learned a great deal from each other. This is an experience many students can benefit from.

"There was an array occupations but accountants and attorney's dominated the room. There was one art therapist but no auto workers."

By this, Steve is talking about the "career" chosen by the students. Their budget was based on that career. It would be interesting to make this a full day course. In the morning, let them chose a higher paying career that requires education beyond high school. In the afternoon, make them chose a low paying job that doesn't require any further education.

well said kuz:)

I also volunteered at this event (at the gasoline station) and was amazed at the number of jaws that dropped -- not only when they figured out how much a month's worth of gas costs for one or two vehicles, but also when students realized how much math is involved in daily life.

People like bobb1951 may not see the value in this event, but he also wasn't there to see the reactions. I don't think anyone expects that one morning will make all these students perfect money-managers, but it sure did open a lot of eyes to "reality."