Middle school students flooded the Porter County Expo Center on Tuesday, March 12 for the annual Envision the Future event. Current eighth graders gained the opportunity to learn some of what it takes to be an adult including: how to manage money, time, and life at large. The students took an aptitude test prior to the event that assigns them an imaginary career for the exercise. Young architects, fighter pilots, veterinarians, nurses and engineers figured out how to pay taxes, make house payments, buy a car, and manage student loans.
“It really opens your eyes to how much our parents have to be responsible for and just how much everything costs,” Ben Franklin Middle School student James Van Drie said.
Envision the Future is a small taste of the reality of the world and just how easy it is to lose control. The program aims to teach impressionable students the life skills necessary be a responsible member of society.
Many students complain that school only teaches the theoretical and that most of what they learn in the classroom won’t serve them long-term. Events like Envision the Future, however, balance out the school curriculum and provide a real-life situation for students to apply their knowledge.
“[Envision the Future] benefits the kids because a lot of the time they don’t realize what it takes to live life,” BFMS substitute teacher Julie Dalton said. “It’s a good depiction of adult life.”
Click here to view the entire photo gallery from this event!
