World of Wall Street
Students at St. Martin High rush into their personal finance
class most days, eager to see how their stocks are doing.
Throughout the room, groans and cheers are heard as they
check the status of their investments and try to make more
money.
Some invest in fashion and technology; others in grocery
store chains and flower shops. But no matter what they invest
in, the students are learning how the stock market works
and how to manage their personal finances.
These students in Monique Farrington's class are participating
in the Mississippi Stock Market Game, a competition designed
to teach students about finance and investing through the
simulation of a real stock market.
The game has been going on for four years and is sponsored
by the Mississippi Council on Economic Education. Teams
in high schools across the state participate in the 10-week
competition by investing a hypothetical $100,000 and trying
to make the most money. An overall winner will be chosen
in May.
More than 900 teams are participating in the state, up
from 600 last year.
"They have to do the research and pick their own stocks,"
Farrington said. "They buy the things they're interested
in, but I tell them to diversify their portfolios."
There are three students per team and about five teams
per class. The cost is $17.50 per team, but this year Wachovia
Bank is footing the bill for the Coast teams because of
Hurricane Katrina.
Stephanie Wooley, Jasmine Harvis and Tabatha McCasland
have invested in a variety of companies, but they said the
computer stocks have made them the most money.
"We've invested in things like Winn-Dixie and Target,
and we bought into a steel corporation," Wooley said.
"We also invested in Wal-Mart, flowers.com and Hershey
because of Valentine's Day."
The students said they like learning how to invest money
and they think it's something they will do for real once
they get out of school.
"We've learned how to invest our money in different
products," Harvis said. "You have to pay attention
to how everything is doing."
Jordan Sizor, Cameron Bialy and Patrick Gray are investing
their money in energy and electronics but said they weren't
getting much of a return. Still, they said they enjoyed
the game and were learning about finance, which they didn't
know anything about before now.
"I've always liked investments and stuff, so when
she asked us about playing the stock market game, I jumped
on it," Gray said.
Pam Smith, president of the Mississippi Council on Economic
Education, said the game allows students to learn problem-solving
skills and basic economics.
"It provides them with the opportunity to learn about
the real world of business, and it allows them to learn
skills they will need in a business-related career,"
she said. "It's considered the best tool for jump-starting
these skills."
Monique Farrington, St. Martin High School teacher
