3rd-grade teacher goes viral for teaching kids financial literacy by charging them 'rent' and issuing 'fines' — in classroom bucks — for misbehavior

3rd-grade teacher goes viral for teaching kids financial literacy by charging them 'rent' and issuing 'fines' — in classroom bucks — for misbehavior



A third-grade teacher in North Carolina has garnered international attention for charging her students rental fees for their desks and chairs, while making the kids pay fines for bad behavior.

The classroom economy under teacher Shelby Lattimore is receiving praise for teaching kids financial literacy and by providing students with ways to earn a theoretical income for working classroom jobs.

Students can earn "Miss Lattimore Bucks" for different responsibilities around the school.

What started as a "motivator to get them to come to class and just build attendance" turned into children taking jobs such as line leader, door holder, and teacher's assistant.

"We have a cleanup crew of four students at the end of the day," Lattimore told WSOC-TV.

The children earn fictional incomes but also have to dish out their hard-earned money for expenses.

"Miss Lattimore is inflating your rent," the teacher told her students in front of local outlet WCNC. The announcement was met with groans and "oh, come on!" from students.

The teacher charges $7 per month in rent for desks and chairs and applies fines for bad behavior such as talking in class or late homework.

The kids are encouraged to think long-term with their earnings and can spend the money on a number of benefits.

@shelby_thatsmee

Introducing Ms.Lattimore Bucks (SN: I’ve always wanted money with my face on it) #money #teacher #rewards

Candy costs $2, while $3 buys students a homework pass. Lunch with a friend has a price tag of $5, and lunch with the teacher costs $7. The holy grail for students is allegedly a "be the teacher" pass, with which students become the teacher "from the beginning of the day to the end of the day."

The latter comes with a price tag of $30.

"I really see a lot of adults saying they wish they would have learned this before it’s actually real life and there are consequences in real life," Lattimore said.

One student called the program "a life lesson" in how money works, as local cameras captured looks of shock and horror on the children's faces as they were forced to give up their hard-earned cash for classroom expenses.

Lattimore also gave racial remarks to a local outlet, stating that a lot of her "students of color" have seen their parents "living check to check," which has caused them to "see the money management of not thinking long-term."

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'Killer cop' website allegedly places bounties on officers by exposing photos and personal information — LAPD detective says: 'This is uncharted territory'



The Los Angeles Police Protective League filed a lawsuit on March 17 against the owner of a "killer cop" website that allegedly placed bounties on officers by publishing their photographs and other personal information.

In response to a public records request by a journalist, the LAPD released the names and headshots of more than 9,300 officers, almost every sworn officer on the force, including undercover cops who work with the Mexican mafia and cartels.

The information was posted to an online database called "Watch the Watchers" by Stop LAPD Spying Coalition, a group that seeks to abolish traditional law enforcement.

"This website is intended as a tool to empower community members engaged in copwatch and other countersurveillance practices," the group wrote. "You can use it to identify officers who are causing harm in your community. The website's ease of use also makes it a political statement, flipping the direction of surveillance against the state's agents."

The Los Angeles Times reported that legal action was taken on behalf of Officers Adam Gross, Adrian Rodriguez, and Douglas Panameno, who seek to have their personal information removed from the website.

LAPD Detective Jamie McBride told "Fox & Friends First" that he believes the "reckless behavior" will "incite violence" against law enforcement officials.

"This has never happened before my 32-year career … this is uncharted territory for all of us," McBride stated. "These officers are very dedicated to what they're doing in their investigations. They're going to take precautions now and constantly look over their back on their way home from work."

McBride explained that the release of officers' information would likely have a significant impact on recruiting during a time when the LAPD is already facing an understaffing issue.

The lawsuit accused the website owner, Steven Sutcliffe, of posting on Twitter a picture of a monetary reward with the caption, "Remember, #Rewards are double all year for #detectives and #female cops."

In another tweet, Sutcliffe allegedly posted a link to a database of LAPD officer photos with the caption, "Clean head-shots on these #LAPD officers. A to Z."

Sutcliffe's Twitter account, @KillerCop1984, has since been deleted.

He told the Los Angeles Times that the lawsuit is "malicious" and "retaliatory."

"It is vindictive and frivolous. Their motion is filled with lies," Sutcliffe stated. "They are trying to silence my free speech. The truth cannot be retaliatory. It is 1st Amendment protected speech."

McBride argued that "it's not simple as free speech."

"That's not free speech. That's reckless behavior, and that's going to incite violence because you have people out there right now that are a little off-center, and they're going to look at this and say, 'hey, let's go kill a cop and make some money,'" he said.

LAPD Chief Michel Moore reported that the police department is investigating the "solicitation for violence against officers" to determine whether it was criminal.

"The posts, the nature of the posts, they're not just intimidation. They're threatening, and they may constitute a crime," Moore said. "This is one of those things that I worried about and feared when we released these photographs ostensibly to be transparent, that others were going to use them to threaten our officers."

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Burger King employee received a crummy goodie bag for working 27 years without missing a day, then David Spade stepped up big time



A Burger King employee has worked at the fast-food restaurant for 27 years and never missed a day. In recognition of his hard work, the management company rewarded the worker with a lousy goodie bag. However, comedian David Spade stepped up to give the hard worker a much more suitable gift.

Kevin Ford, 54, works as a cook and cashier at the Burger King in the Las Vegas McCarran International Airport in Nevada. Ford was given a gift bag by HMS Host – a company that operates restaurants in airports.

For working 27 years without missing a single day, the company rewarded Ford with a single movie ticket, a Starbucks cup, two packs of Lifesavers candy, a bag of Reese's Pieces, two pens, and other trinkets.

Despite the severely lackluster gifts, Ford was very appreciative of the gesture.

A video of Ford accepting the crummy goodie bag went viral this week. Many viewers remarked on how grateful Ford was while accepting the uninspiring gifts.

@thekeep777

He's Worked for the Company for Almost 3 Decades and Has Never Called Out!!!😵‍💫🥺😱😭 #Grateful #Dads #FathersDay #Loyalty #Honor #WorkersUnite #Rewards #Thankful #NorrinRadd777 #theKeep777

Ford's daughter noticed that people were interested in giving her father a more rewarding gift for his hard work, so she launched a GoFundMe campaign.

"Hi, My name is Seryna. The man in that video is my father. He has worked at his job for 27 years and yes, he has never missed a day of work," Seryna Ford wrote on the crowdfunding website.

"He originally began working at this job as a single father when he gained custody of me and my older sister 27 years ago," she explained. "Then as our family grew and he remarried, he continue to work here because of the amazing health insurance That was provided through this employer because it was unionized. Which got all four of his daughters through high school and college with full healthcare coverage."

The daughter noted that they are not expecting any money, but said that her father would love to visit his grandchildren in Texas.

The GoFundMe campaign caught the eyes of many – including David Spade.

Spade made a donation of $5,000 to Ford after hearing his story. However, Ford was not sure if it was the real David Spade. Then Ford received a message on Instagram, according to TMZ.

"Keep up the good work. 27 years," Spade wrote to Ford.

Ford was blown away that the Hollywood celebrity contacted him, "HOLY S**T Dude!!! Cannot Believe This!!!"

The Burger King employee exclaimed, "THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! For Even Watching the Video! I Love You My Brother!!! Much Love and God Bless. ... I think [I] might be able to take a day off."

Spade replied, "Wait till year 30."

Ford joked, "Damn, are you one of my managers???"

Burger King issued a statement regarding the viral video, "The Burger King brand and its many franchisees nationwide are committed to recognizing and celebrating the achievements of the thousands of people serving across a wide range of roles — all dedicated to providing our guests a world-class experience."

"Following review with this location's franchisee, we've learned that this video depicts a Team Member in receipt of a peer-to-peer reward in recognition of a short-term positive performance/experience," Burger King told People magazine. "The franchisee offers its Team Members a robust employee recognition program, which includes the recognition of tenure milestones and monetary awards."

In an interview with YouTube personality Sierra Nicole, the gracious Ford thanked everyone for the support.

"I just want to say thanks to everybody out there. It's just so overwhelming," Ford said. "I'm just Kevin, you know. I just love everybody. I think that it probably touched people because I think we as humans, period, just need love and gratitude. And when you see someone like that, you know, ... I was happy to get anything. Some people got nothing, so I was just happy to get anything."

At the time of publication, the GoFundMe campaign had raised more than $63,000. He told TMZ that he may use the money to buy a new hybrid vehicle so that he can visit his daughters and grandchildren in Texas.