Assigned to varying amounts of money, different types of clothes to buy and a limited amount of time, students of math A walked with their partners around the Fashion Fair mall looking for high fashion outfits on Oct. 29.

Before leaving for the field trip, Ericlee Gilmore advised his math A students on how to write a check, multiply sales tax and register checks. Gilmore said that the field trip was intended to teach the students.

“It’s to incorporate what the students were learning,” Gilmore said, “and have a hands-on learning session.”

In a timed shopping session, students had to spend their assigned money. Some students had up to $360 and others had $150.

“We all had different amounts of money, and different clothes we had to shop for,” Krista Johnson, ’06, said. “We had to spend the money we had in 40 minutes.”

The students of math A, had to pretend that they were their parents and had to take on all the responsibilities of being an adult. According to a campus student Paul Kinnear, ?06, the students had to carefully buy on a budget.

“I felt more responsible in the way I shopped,” Kinnear said. “Now I know how to shop responsibly and not have my mom get mad at me for over spending money.”

Students had a real life lesson: they had to spend money wisely. They had to know what they were supposed to do before they left. Some students felt good inside because they do not have to ask how to write checks anymore.

“This prepared me for real life, so now if I have to write a check, I know how,” Jason Damm, ’06, said. “Now I don’t have to ask people questions and sound stupid.”

Some students think that other teachers should do this kind of hands-on activity. It would give students a better grasp of every day uses of math. Others thought it was just a way to get out of class.

“I think teachers should do this more often,” Rebecca Wilson, ’06, said. “It was a lot of fun and we get to go out of school for awhile.”

For information on the field trip Gilmore will be available in room T-1 or contact him at 297-9464 ext. 140.