Kentucky middle and high school students get a dose of life in the real world when the local 4-H program spearheads a "Reality Store" at their schools. Students learn that present and future educational aspirations will affect such adult decisions as the type vehicle they can afford, recreational and entertainment choices, and even family size.

The Reality Store is a hands-on, real life simulation where students explore career options and make lifestyle decisions similar to those adults face daily. Teachers often gear some class work toward this concept prior to the actual Reality Store.

Before entering the store, students randomly pick an occupation from a pool of jobs based on their educational plans after high school. These plans might include continuing their education after high school, not furthering education after high school, or dropping out of school.

Students also draw a family situation that ranges from married or single with up to five children.

In the Reality Store, community volunteers have booths students visit to gain information on which to make "adult" decisions and see if their salary will pay for the necessities and luxuries they envision as part of the adult lifestyle.

The booths can include banking, housing, furniture, transportation, clothing, charitable contributions, insurance, groceries, utilities, communications, property taxes, child care, health and grooming, entertainment, medical and dental care and supplemental income.

Volunteers often bring in props to depict the type of services they provide. For example, a real estate agent might bring photographs of properties and a local grocer can bring low-cost, medium-cost and high-cost bags of groceries.

At the bank, youth learn about savings and checking accounts and applicable charges such as opening an account, check costs and overdraft fees.

The clothing booth has information on the yearly and monthly costs for adult and children's attire at various types of stores such as discount, department and specialty. Insurance covers the cost of policies for term and whole life, automobile based on the make and model, homeowners or rental and flood.

Entertainment opportunities include daytrips and other travel expenses and the costs of going out to eat or to a movie or concert, as well as magazine subscriptions. Utilities include gas, electric, water, trash removal, telephone and cable television or satellite.

At the "chance" booth, students pull out a "chance" card for unexpected situations that affect life daily such as children's expenses, career with a low salary and lots of children. Students can visit the SOS booth for advice if their "adult" choices lead to severe financial problems during the Reality Store.

The advice might include getting a second job, borrowing against whole life insurance, credit counseling, or obtaining supplemental income.

The Reality Store gives students a fun, exciting glimpse of their future. This educational experience encourages students to examine their attitudes about the future and career aspirations, and helps them realize they'll need basic skills for financial planning, setting goals, making decisions and planning for a career. Another goal is to motivate students to remain in school, stay free of drugs, and avoid teenage pregnancies.

At the Reality Store, volunteers gain self-satisfaction from playing a role in preparing youth for the workforce.

Contact the Logan County Cooperative Extension Service for more information on Reality Store and other educational opportunities available through Kentucky 4-H/Youth Development.