OSAGE COUNTY — Jenn Millard from Central Missouri Community Action, along with a number of local volunteers, enacted Reality Enrichment And Life Lessons (REALL) simulations at Linn and Chamois last week. The simulations are meant to show students the difference between a comfortable and a not-so-comfortable life based on the choices they may have made - beginning with whether to graduate from high school.

The REALL simulation is meant to teach students the value of making proactive choices. It provides students with a comfortable home life an idea of what it could be like to live in poverty, but it also allows students living in poverty to see a way out through education and employment, and shows all students how the choices they make in high school can impact the rest of their lives.

“The simulation is a fantastic event for all my high-schoolers to be able to participate in,” said Chamois Guidance Counselor Meghan Birmingham. “They learned a lot about what the world is like once they are out of high school.”

During both parts of the exercise, students were given a packet with their “life” in it. The packets included a sheet explaining who they were and their monthly income and expenses, cash or checks, children (paper cut-outs worn on a lanyard around their necks), and anything else applicable to their assigned life. Students lived their life for four timed weeks, during which they were required to arrange for childcare, find or go to work, pay bills, and perform other tasks by navigating tables portraying businesses, an employment agency, daycare, social services, and law enforcement, before the end of the “week.”

The first part of the exercise was a “Reactive Life,” which simulated lives spent facing the consequences of negative decisions, including dropping out of high school and possibly legal trouble. Some students wore buttons proclaiming “sex-offender” or “recently released.” Many students were assigned children, and some had no spouse or a spouse that did not contribute, Students were not given enough resources to meet their financial responsibilities. They could apply for a job at the employment agency, and some had the option of applying for more benefits through social services. Some were required to pay child support or attend weekly parenting classes. Some missed work due to additional legal trouble, and were fired. Despite the stress of trying to find enough money to pay their bills and buy groceries, students still had to remember to pick their children up from childcare. 

During the second part of the exercise, the “Proactive Life,” students completed the same tasks, but this time, most had steady employment and enough income to pay their bills. Some had stay-at-home spouses and did not have to arrange childcare, earning cheers and signs of relief. Some had extra money to put into savings.

After each “week,” students discussed the challenges they faced and where they had and had not succeeded.