Brief overview

This situation consists of making students aware of the relevance and usefulness of assessing their monetary needs to ensure they are financially secure.

Subject area(s)

Ethics and Religious Culture
• Competency 1: Reflect on ethical questions
Analysis of the situation, critical reflection, propose actions, critical evaluation, critique the possibilities
Mathematics
• Competency 1: Solve a situational problem
Identifying the elements of the mathematical situation and the task to be resolved, using concepts necessary to resolve it, description of the result based on the situational data

Explanation of the teaching goal

– Idea of expenses verses income
– Importance of making purchases within your means
– Necessity of establishing an operational budget

Expected outcomes

Ensure that the students understand that their expenses must match their income, and that they should plan their savings well. They should come to the conclusion that establishing a budget allows them to have better financial security.

Role-playing

Role-playing can be done by having the teacher ask a series of questions.
– Why is it important to have a job?
– At what age can you legally begin to work?
– Should we be concerned only about our salary?

Achievement

Students should fill out the file (in the attached appendix, making various monetary decisions. According to the decisions they make, they will be able to give an overview of their expenses based on a fictitious monthly salary. Afterwards, they will be aware of the usefulness of making a budget to ensure a financial balance.

Reinvestment

The teacher goes back over the lesson to make sure the students understand their situation at the end of the month. A discussion follows about themes such as expenses surpassing income (debt), budgets, and savings, and the students are encouraged to share their own conclusions.

Afterwards, the teacher leads a discussion on the importance of balancing work and school. To foster discussion, the teacher can share the following pertinent facts*:
– Holding a job while still in school can cause problems with academic success and staying in school.
– Working in the summer as a student is, for many young people, a crucially important means of pursuing postsecondary education.
– Starting in the 1990s, the employment rate for female students surpassed the rate for males. This gap widened during the 2000s.
– Balancing work and school is a challenge for numerous young people who are more and more likely to enter the job market. Around 42% of full-time students ages 15-24 work while they are still in school.
– Students represent almost 7% of all workers in Quebec.

* For more information, see: Gauthier, M.-A. and Labrie, M.-P. (2013). Le travail rémunéré chez les étudiants québécois : portrait de 30 années d’évolution. Coup d’oeil sociodémographique. Institut de la statistique du Québec.

Provision

No special provisions are required.

Required material

– Appendix: Student file
– Pencils

Evaluation tracks

Mathematics: evaluation of the ability to understand a situation, to use the appropriate knowledge, to follow steps to arrive at a solution (C. 1)

*The teacher is free to adapt each section based on the group and as the situation unfolds