This week, 8th grade math students at Howard L. Goff Middle School learned about mortgages and the cost of interest. Math Teacher Morgan Rowse delivered his “Most Valuable Lesson Ever” to students in which they chose a house for sale in the local community and then calculated what they would owe on the mortgage, factoring in the sale price of the home, the mortgage rate, the term of the loan, and the amount of money down.

Students used a mortgage calculator on their chromebooks and a hand held calculator to find their monthly payments but also how much interest they would pay to the bank over the life of the loan.

Mr. Rowse had the students test different experiments, such as making an extra annual payment, paying a little extra each month, or lowering the term length from 30 years to 15 or 20 years, to show them how they could save money on interest payments.

While homeownership might feel like a lifetime away for these students, Mr. Rowse emphasized the principles of interest and why it is important to understand.

“I know you’re a ways off from buying a house but you’re not far off from student loans or buying a car,” Mr. Rowse told students. “This is relevant.”