A third-grade teacher from North Carolina, Shelby Lattimore, has sparked quite a conversation after she revealed that she charges her students rent as a method of teaching them valuable lessons about money management.
Shelby Lattimore has captured the attention of her social media followers with the distinctive approach she employs in her classroom, leaving millions of people amazed and intrigued.
To impart crucial lessons about financial literacy and to simulate the 'hard life lessons in 3rd grade', Lattimore has implemented a system where she requires her students to pay rent for their classroom resources.
In a TikTok video that has quickly gone viral, amassing over 9 million views, Lattimore demonstrates the rent collection system she uses in her classroom.
In this particular clip, she is seen informing her students about the rent day and requesting the expected $5 from each of them.
Now, before anyone jumps to conclusions, it's important to note that the currency involved is not real money, but rather a form of fake currency used exclusively within her classroom.
The students are expected to use this currency to pay for essential classroom items, such as their desks and pencils.
Lattimore, who regularly posts educational content on her TikTok page, has clarified that her students earn this classroom money by performing various jobs.
These jobs include roles like being a teacher's assistant, line leader, door holder, recess basket handler, lunch basket handler, and even being part of a cleanup crew.
In an interesting twist that brings this exercise a bit closer to real-life scenarios, Lattimore points out that not all jobs offer the same pay.
"The jobs that are every day, like line leader and teacher assistant, like those jobs that you have to do something constantly, get paid more than jobs that are like every now and then or once in a while," she explained in an interview with NBC News.
Lattimore also mentioned that when the children earn money, they have various options on how to spend it.
They can choose rewards such as candy or a homework pass, or they can opt to save their earnings for later use or for more expensive prizes.
One of the most coveted rewards in Lattimore's classroom is the opportunity to be 'teacher for a day', which costs $30.
"They do have to budget for that one, but they love the responsibility of taking attendance, telling them when to get in line, when to get up, things of that sort," she further elaborated.
The reaction to this teaching method on social media has been mixed.
While some users expressed reservations about the approach, others have lauded the TikToker for her innovative way of teaching children the significance of managing finances.
"I think it's so cute when teachers teach kids how to spend responsibly," one user commented appreciatively.
"This is sooo good teaching kids how to budget, should be mandatory in all schools fr," another user enthusiastically added, supporting the idea of incorporating such financial literacy exercises in educational curricula.
"Man I wish I had a teacher like this bc no one ever taught me anything I learned most of this myself not even family," a third user wrote, reflecting on their personal experience.
Another simply stated, "I hope you're appreciated as you should be. This is awesome and so are you," expressing admiration for Lattimore's teaching methods.
However, the approach has its critics, with some voicing concerns over the potential burden of money worries on such young students.
"That's cute and important and absolutely needs to be taught in school, I just think 3rd grade it's a little too early 4 kids to start worrying about money," one comment read, questioning the appropriateness of the subject matter for third graders.
Another suggestion put forward was to use an alternative to money, such as numbered stickers, to maintain a more innocent approach to the teaching method.
"Maybe use something equivalent to money like numbered stickers or something so it's more innocent," the user proposed.
