The last day of paid employment for 2019 – and what a day for me! Since the advance of credit card payments rather than cash in our lives, children do not understand how money works, what “tax” means, nor do they know how to count money. It’s really quite astounding every time I run into this. And it can be amusing.
One young man came in this morning to give me the “tax” he thought he owed me for a book he couldn’t even purchase yesterday. It took me awhile to sort out his thinking and explain it to him. I’d like to say he was in first grade, but he was fourth. We eventually made a successful sale, but it took divine intervention.
I’ve gotten used to the student dumping a bunch of change out and trying to help them either learn or remember how to count money. Teaching 8% tax on every dollar is another multiplication hurdle which follows the “rounding up” lesson. Sometimes I think I do not sell books, but rather teach economics via math tutoring.
Where is this going? We charge everything. We order online. Kids do not see money exchanged. It’s becoming obsolete, save for the Scholastic Book Fairs! And so we continue on our mission of helping kids read while teaching them the value of a dollar.