Sharanya Vairam

SOCIAL AWARENESS CLUB: SESSION 4 Lady Nye Special Primary School The session started with a revision of the learnings of the previous sessions on democracy. With the demonetisation that had just happened, it was felt important to take up the topic of money and banking for the students. Part I The topic initially planned was just banking. So, the topic was started with a discussion about banks, their functions and the story of the evolution of banks; how the system started with merchants safe keeping money and other valuables for travellers and fellow merchants who went overseas, and would loan out of the money for an interest. While this story was being narrated to the students, they raised a question about how money came about in the first place. So, it was logically felt that the topic of banking cannot be taught without going into the topic of money and was therefore, included. Date: November 19, 2016 No. of Participants: 34 Resource persons: • Ms. Sharanya, Project Manager Objective: The main objective of the Social Awareness Club is to make the participating students aware about important social issues and to help them understand current issues in-depth. Part II The students were taught about the evolution of money in story format. The barter system, coin system and paper currency system were explained as well as the transition from one system to the next. Barter system is where the people exchanged goods for goods and goods served as money. The system came about due to the specialisation of production and resultant division of labour. This system was apt for small economies with only a few goods but as the economy expanded and there were plentiful goods, confusion arose and some people were not able to obtain goods because what they offered was not desirable to all. Therefore, the barter system was replaced by coin system where kingdoms used gold and silver coins as common currency solving the problems of the barter exchange. However, this system had problems of its Topic: Money and Banking The second topic was money and banking. In this topic, the students were made aware of the evolution of money and banking, the functions and functioning of both, controlling authorities, etc. The topic is vital for students to understand the value of money and its safekeeping as well as how money is made and where it comes from. own since the intrinsic value of the coins was far greater than the face value of the currency. This led to people using the valuable metals of the coins for jewellery and other personal items. Additionally, the cost of producing coins was heavy and the governments could not produce sufficient amounts for the needs of growing economies. The coin system was finally replaced by the current paper currency system. Paper currency’s face value is much higher than the intrinsic value and the cost of production was lower for Governments. Part III This part of the session was focussed on the role of the RBI and banks. The important aspects of banking such as savings, withdrawal, deposits, lockers, ATMs, debit and credit cards, etc. were explained to the students. Conclusion In summary, the students were taught about the evolution of money and banking. The basic functions of banking were explained. Student Participation and Observations The level of participation and enthusiasm of the students had continued to increase. Since both activities required everyone to participate, they were all more attentive throughout the session. They interjected with good questions and doubts, and answered the questions with equal enthusiasm. Due to the good participation of students, it was possible to improvise the session and expand the scope.