On Thursday, students at Chaminade were given 15 beans at the start of class to learn financial literacy and the importance of budgeting.
On a worksheet, they had to use beans wisely to provide for all their “needs” and chosen “wants.” As soon as the students used all 15 beans, they found out that they had all been fired from their jobs. Once the shock disappeared, the students had to rearrange their beans to fit their new budget.
However, their spirits were lifted when it was announced that they would be rehired and gain a total of 20 beans.
If this lesson sounds a bit elementary, it’s because it was. These aren’t your typical Chaminade students; these students were fifth graders from eight Catholic schools who flooded Chaminade’s campus to take college “courses” and get inspired to start thinking about attending college and their future careers. Schools were split into groups and given class schedules to attend to learn about the various departments on campus. There were 24 30-minute class sessions on topics ranging from a laughter-yoga exercise to learning about the French culture, food, and language, which were all taught by Chaminade’s faculty and staff.
“Sometimes when we ask the kids, ‘What do you want to be? or ‘What do you want to do in the future?’ and they give us an answer not because they can envision themselves doing it but based on the perception of their imagination,” said Guanlin Gao, Chaminade’s Director of Economic Education Center for Excellence and Economics professor. “With Thursday’s visit, we’re enlarging their imaginations and creating a broader horizon for their futures.”
One session, in particular, used the help of dry beans to give fifth graders (about 10 and 11 years old) a better understanding of “needs” and “wants.” The “20 Bean Salary” class was run by Gao, a faculty volunteer. As an Economics professor, she wanted to plant a seed early in the students’ minds that money is a very limited resource and that they have to use it more smartly.
Gao’s session was led by two of her EC201 students, who she hand-picked, to better help them prepare for their learning service requirement for the class, which involves her students going to Palolo Elementary and Jarrett Middle School.
First-year students Chopper Correia and Jacob Villacorge are Business majors who were happy to assist Gao in teaching a lesson to a handful of fifth graders.
“It went well,” said Villacorge, who plays on Chaminade’s baseball team with Correia.“It was actually really fun to see fifth graders come out and learn about how life really is. I’m just glad I’m able to help these kids and build their knowledge about what we talked about.”
By having her students lead the class, Gao saw it as putting them under the spotlight where they are the role models that the students look up to. She said that when they know they’re role models, they behave like role models and hopefully that mindset will continue throughout their entire college journey.
The idea of the visit was to expose children between the ages of 9-12 to higher education and their futures. One fifth grader in particular, Ollie Bennett, was happy to have been able to explore Chaminade. She attended sessions taught by Vice Provost of Academic Affairs Janet Davidson (about rules and ethics), visited the campus garden and learned about composting, and budgeted with beans.
“I had a lot of fun,” said Bennett, who attends Sacred Hearts. “I learned a lot today, and I can’t wait to tell my parents about it when I get home. I think maybe I would want to come to Chaminade in the future. It seems like a very fun school.”
Raquel Kealalōkahi Aki, a chaperone from Sacred Hearts, thought that the visit went amazing as there was a mixture of academic professors and student teachers to educate fifth graders about college.
“I think it’s extremely beneficial, especially at such a young age that the girls are already in a college-prep mindset,” Aki said. “I really appreciate the fact that Chaminade, a higher Catholic institution, is partnering with lower-level schools on the island to kind of give these kids the experience of college life. It’s not just a visit to the campus and a tour. These kids get to experience real-life class settings, which is really enriching. The girls are able to see the plethora of classes offered and the different educational pathways, which open up their minds beyond the traditional pathways such as nursing.”