At home they are just ordinary kids, but at school they are young investors hoping to increase their fortunes by “buying” stocks.

The stock market has been around since 1611 and has been making an increase in use slowly every year. Many people learn about stocks everyday whether it be from day trading or investing into a company.

While Dallastown doesn’t currently have a class that is all about the stock market, some business classes do have units that explain the basics. 

One teacher is Mr. Robinson teaches 3 units that include investing, stocks, and business. These topics are all involved and covered in his Financial Literacy  and Honors Financial Literacy classes.

Financial Lit. is a graduation requirement for Dallastown students.

Robinson uses a stocks tracker from around the second week of the trimester to the end to see potentially how much money students could have made. 

“I keep track of the highest paid students on how they got there and what company they invested in,” Robinson explains. 

Students seem to enjoy the class as well.

“It gives students an idea on how taxes work and how to get your expenses in check,” junior Ian Brenneman says.

So is this experience enough to prepare kids for the real world and to satisfy their interest in the stock market? 

For students who want to learn more about the stock market there might be a few options.

Some teachers and students of DHS believe that coming up with a stocks class would impacts students by teach investments and  how to invest into stocks.

A class focused on the stock market would come with many benefits for students new to the idea. Investing is a great thing to learn as it helps with taxes and putting into a company for future benefits. 

While the class couldn’t use actual money, many school use simulation games online to teach the concepts and give it a ‘real world’ feel.

Although the Business Department has discussed adding a new course, nothing has officially been presented at this time.  Robinson can see potential in the idea of stocks as its own class.

“I think students would be genuinely interested in this opportunity. People individually investing has gotten so much easier through brokerage accounts, so it’s something they can realistically apply in their own lives,” Robinson said,

If a class isn’t created, another option for students interested in learning more could be creating a club, which is an option that other schools have done. 

For those wanting to take the next step outside of school, students must be 18 to have the brokerage account in their own name, but a parent/guardian can open a custodial account which has the minors name, but the adult owns it until they turn 18.

With this, teachers and students of DHS believe that coming up with a stocks class would impact many students. It would teach investments and the main source would be to learn how to invest into the stock market and plan for the future. 

Hopefully soon, Dallastown will offer a class where young investors can try something new with the stock market.