Area teachers learn ins, outs of stock market

A dozen area teachers recently went back to the classroom at Augusta State University for a workshop on the Stock Market Game.

The game, conducted twice each year, has students investing a hypothetical $100,000 in common stock on the three stock market exchanges, said Dr. Glen Blankenship, associate director of the Georgia Council on Economic Education in Atlanta. At the end of 10 weeks, the person with the most amount of money in their account wins. The next game session begins Feb. 11.

Blankenship and Joseph Greene, Cree-Walker Professor of Business Administration instructed area teachers how to run the game.

“The workshop is designed to teach students about the New York Stock Exchange and how the market affects the economy,” said Greene.

“The students get very enthused and very competitive about the game,” said Sherry Fleming, economics teacher at A.R. Johnson Health, Science and Engineering Magnet High School. A.R. Johnson came in first place in the game in Richmond County last year.

“It’s an excellent educational experience; it provides students with hands-on learning and they retain the information better,” Fleming said.

Georgia has the second largest participation in the country, with approximately 30,000 students taking part in the two sessions. “We want to help kids learn how to invest and to plan for the future. Georgia ranks sixth highest per capita in number of bankruptcies, so this is an important subject for us,” Blankenship said. The game is designed for students from grades four to 12. The victor from each district wins the right to attend a luncheon held each spring in Atlanta and receives a certificate, T-shirt, and other prizes. The overall state winner also receives a trophy. Go to http://gcee.org/projects/smg/open.htm for more information on the game.