For Ms. Lattimore's third grade class, the rent for their desk and chair is charged at the beginning of every month. In the fall of 2022, Shelby Lattimore instituted what she calls a "classroom economy". She told TheStreet in an email that it was "a way to motivate students with classroom jobs to get them excited to come to school, build financial confidence, and better classroom behaviors."
No, the students don't pay real money to use their desks -- instead, Lattimore pays each student $10 to $20 of printed play money "every two weeks, depending on what job they have," she writes. "They all have to pay [$5 to] $7 rent at the beginning of every month." The first day she collected rent, Lattimore shared the experience on TikTok.
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Money left over after rent can be saved or spent on rewards like a lunch with the teacher or movie time with a friend. "I allow students to buy classroom rewards[...] once a month," she says. "The prices of the rewards ranges from $3-$30[...]" And because one kid asked, Lattimore makes it clear she doesn't take credit cards.
Opportunities to make "overtime pay" by helping with extra tasks are also available in Lattimore's class. But much like in the real world, she told TheStreet, mismanagement and misbehavior has a cost. "Students can also be fined $1 for late work, being disrespectful, or breaking something in the classroom."
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Every payday, Lattimore takes the opportunity to talk to her students about concepts like budgeting and savings. "A lot of my kids come from families that live check to check and are not in the best financial situation," she says in an early video. "So I don't think they're too young to ever learn how to handle money[...] Are there certain rules [they] have to follow? Yes, because there's certain rules we have to follow as adults."
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"This is my first time doing this as a behavior management strategy and I absolutely love it!" Lattimore wrote to TheStreet. "I have seen how students confidence level with handling money has skyrocketed. [They've] learned vital skills like checking to make sure the change they receive is correct, foreign exchange rates[...] Even lesson us adults take for granted, like not giving someone your wallet when you pay for things. Students are excited to be a part of our classroom economy!"
Lattimore isn't the only teacher to document a classroom economy on Teacher TikTok. Back in 2021, a teacher named Mr. Vuong made waves when he instituted a similar system in his 4th and 5th grade classes.
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