SPANISH FORT, Ala.— Spanish Fort Middle School students in Dianne Bernasconi’s seventh-grade family and consumer sciences class now have a little more knowledge about budgets,whether to use cash or credit, working and self-knowledge after the class participated in a Junior Achievement program.

Junior Achievement  teaches key concepts such as work readiness, entrepreneurship and financial literacy.

The goal of the program is to inspire young people to reach their full potential and dream big, according to www.ja.org, the program’s official Web site.

For Bernasconi’s class’ last session with White-Spunner Construction Inc. CFO David Greenwood, the topic for the lesson was about risk and insurance.

Spanish Fort Middle School is the only school in Baldwin County with the program, according to Bernasconi.

Greenwood asked the students when they take risk, and some replied, that they skateboard and it’s risk, however, they can minimize risk during this activity by wearing kneepads and a helmet.

Students tried to think of activities that didn’t involve risks, but even walking has risks because one could step on a pebble and twist their ankle, Greenwood said.

Greenwood also informed the middle-schoolers about the many different types of insurance available.

The students learned about homeowners, renters, medical, dental, vision, life and disability insurance and why certain insurance is important to have.

During the Junior Achievement lesson students also discussed premiums for insurance and how paying a deductible will cost money, however, nowhere near the possible amount it could be without insurance.

“It’s important to decide what insurance you need and how much you can spend,” Greenwood said. “Insurance is a big issue.

“You buy insurance to protect things.”

The students had many questions about insurance, such as when test driving a car, how does insurance work if the car is wrecked?; getting health insurance when a person is already sick with a pre-existing condition; what happens if  a person gets fired from their job that furbishes insurance; and they talked about the price differences between home owners insurance rates in hurricane-prone areas and places where tornadoes hit, versus insurance for areas not at a high risk.

Greenwood got involved with Junior Achievement this year after he heard there was a need for volunteers.

“I had a great time,” Greenwood said. “It’s fun to get that young energy.

“The kids were really interactive.”

With the program, Greenwood said he hopes the students get “the importance of continuing their education” out his Junior Achievement lessons.

“The program is structured in six courses and each course builds on the previous  course,” Greenwood said when asked what topic he tried to drive home to the students. “Education was the most important thing in my mind.”

Bernasconi said the most important thing students got out of the program was “how money works.”

She also said financial responsibility, insurance and credit were some important life skills the seventh-graders learned in Junior Achievement.

“The program is free for the school,” Bernasconi said. “Junior Achievement supplies the speakers and materials.”

“I learned how interests and skills are compatible, and that your interests can go with your talents when you get older,” seventh-grader Morgan Bulaney said of Junior Achievement. “I also learned how to work on a budget and know the difference between what to need and what to want, and how to distribute your money to buy really what you need.

“I think learning how to control money will help me when I get older.”

Bernasconi said she first became involved in Junior Achievement when she was attending school in New Orleans.

The program gives information in a way that students can effectively learn it, and nine out of 10 teachers believe experimental learning is the best way to learn for higher education, according to a 2004 poll by Signal Hill Group for Junior Achievement Inc.

The Junior Achievement program began in 1919 as an after school secondary program, the site said.

The program has since impacted about 80 million students, the site said.

The organization purportedly is the largest in the world that is dedicated to prepare students for the economy. More than 130 operations are in effect  and reaches more than 4 million students in the United States alone. More than 120 countries worldwide and about 5 million students participate in the program, the site said.

The program seeks volunteers to give the lessons. Those interested should contact Colleen DeVoe, program manager with Junior Achievement of Mobile, at 251-479-9207 extension 104.