Young investors
Stock Market Game teaches Delaware students to invest virtual dollars
11:38 a.m., Jan. 5, 2015--Delaware students in grades 4-12 experienced the real world of investing through the Stock Market Game (SMG), offered by the University of Delaware’s Center for Economic Education and Entrepreneurship (CEEE).
The program, which allows students to invest a virtual $100,000 in the stocks of their choice over the course of 10 weeks, has been administered by the CEEE since 1983.
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“I am always impressed with how well the students do and the support that they receive from their teachers and parents,” said Carlos Asarta, CEEE director. “We are very fortunate to receive funding from the Delaware Department of Justice’s Investor Protection Unit to help us offer this wonderful program to students in our state.”
At the end of the SMG, the team in each of the three grade-level divisions that achieves the greatest portfolio growth is declared a winner. Students on the winning Delaware teams are honored at an awards reception hosted by the CEEE on UD’s campus.
CEEE staff member and SMG coordinator Marion Jacobs called the program “an engaging way to bring the real world of finance and capital markets to students.”
“All of a sudden they know what everyone is talking about,” said Jacobs.
Program in action
Kirk Middle School teacher Gail Morris uses the SMG in her economics course as a springboard for discussions on investing and trading, introducing her class to critical stock concepts.
“They learn the long-term effect of what could happen if you buy now,” said Morris, who has been utilizing the SMG since 2008.
Morris teaches her students about ideas like diversification, saying, “Try to have a different mix in your portfolio. Don’t get what your neighbor has because they might have a different thought process than you.”
Morris advises her students to both “think outside the box” when shopping for stocks and to consider companies where their families spend the most money.
“Think about what kind of companies you commonly use if you or your parents spend money,” said Morris. “If you’re going to go spend a lot of money somewhere, wouldn’t you want to get a lot of money back?”
Shue-Medill Middle School teacher Kane Swaney agrees that his students are intrigued by the idea of earning money back from popular companies.
“I always tell them, ‘you can be a part owner of that company,’” said Swaney. “That gets them interested.”
This year marks the first time that Shue-Medill has offered the SMG as part of its own elective class, providing a largely self-directed learning experience that includes lessons on the stock market and investing.
“It’s great because it gets them involved in math, learning about corporations, corporate structure and statistics,” said Swaney. “All of that is great for now and their future.”
Swaney said that many of his students chose the elective course because they previously participated in the SMG in elementary school, demonstrating the program’s staying power in students’ memories.
“I think that it’s something that will stay with them,” he said.
Seventh graders in Swaney’s class Emily Lopez, Mariah Blumm and Arizabeth Hernandez-Garduno said that they followed their teacher’s advice in their search for which stock to buy.
“We bought the stock based on what we use the most,” said Blumm.
“Or things that any person would use,” agreed Hernandez-Garduno. “Like using UPS to send mail or drinking Dr Pepper.”
“It teaches us a lot about selling, buying and trading stocks,” she continued.
Blum added that she checked her team’s online portfolio every day at school and often again when she got home.
James Jordan, an eighth-grader in the class, said he chose to take the course because he hopes to become a financial adviser. His team invested in stocks like Apple, Cabela’s and GameStop.
Jordon said that his advice to other participants is to “definitely research stocks before you buy them.”
Teacher training
Before the SMG began in October, teachers were offered a training course at the CEEE on the UD campus. The training session, run by Jacobs, covered the role of financial markets in raising capital for business growth, how the SMG works and how to navigate the SMG website.
The SMG website provides teachers with resources like lesson plans and student activities that answer basic questions like, “What is a stock?”
Teachers Eva Grider and Kattina Young will be bringing the SMG to three of their classes at Mount Pleasant High School in March.
Grider said that one of the most important elements of the program is teaching students not to fear investing and the stock market.
“I think a lot of people are way too scared to do anything with their money except put it in a bank for less than one percent,” said Grider.
“Even as an adult my biggest question is, ‘where do you start?’” Grider continued. “This gives them the opportunity to learn where to start.”
Article by Sunny Rosen
Photos by Kathy F. Atkinson