Learning game gives young inmates a profitable taste of Wall Street

March 24, 2000
Web posted at: 2:03 a.m. EST (0703 GMT)

Inmates discuss stocks at the Montgomery Detention Center in Maryland

From Correspondent Kate Snow

ROCKVILLE, Maryland (CNN) -- All it took to lure some young inmates away from a career of crime and get them thinking about the path towards capitalism was $100,000 to spend on the stock market. One group of these investors behind bars managed to double their nest egg.

Too bad the money is all imaginary.

The fake funds are part of The Stock Market Game, an instructional game played by students in grades 4-12 across the country in the spring and fall and is used to teach them about math, economics and the potential profits of investing.

Members of the stock trading class of cell block G-3 all wear suits -- gray jumpsuits -- so the other prisoners of the Montgomery Detention Center in Maryland will know they are under age 21.

	VIDEO
CNN's Kate Snow looks at some young inmates who are learning how to invest in the stock market. Real 28K 80K Windows Media 28K 80K

The young inmate-investors know well the names on the big board at the New York Stock Exchange and they discuss the merits of buying or selling stocks such as American Express and Microsoft.

"Amazon went up eight points ... that's good for us right?" queried one day trader doing time.

"We still should sell some," replied his team member. "I say we sell some."

Such hands-on experience in stocks is an effective teaching tool in the ways of the market.

"I never knew how to read these numbers when I first came in here. I didn't know how to do anything," said Justin Burdette, 20, who is serving an 18-month sentence.

"Now I'm sitting here looking at last year's highs and lows, and looking at the increase, how much the stock costs now ..."

But even though his experience may be valuable, Burdette's team isn't doing so well.

Like every team, Burdette's started the 10-week session with $100,000 in make-believe credit. Six weeks later, Burdette's team has just $5,000 left.

"We've got to find something that will just keep on making money," said the novice trader.

Burdette's team started out investing in what they knew: Polaroid cameras, Goodyear tires. Then they branched out and took a risk on human gene research.

"I didn't know, as far as the stock market goes, one comment can hurt millions of people," said Sharif Harris, 19. "Like the comment that the president made about human genes, that hurt us a lot."

Another inmate, Marc Pritchard, said his team used a straightforward strategy: "America Online, Chevron, Dell, Intel -- real big companies that have a history. Pretty obvious. They're in the paper a lot," he said.

"Yesterday alone, we made $7,000 dollars. Overall, to date, we've made well, $26,000," Pritchard said.

The young inmates employ an old-fashioned tool -- the newspaper -- to make their profits. The newspaper is vital because the inmates have no Internet access to check stocks online or research small companies.

One group from the Montgomery County jail did exceptionally well last fall, nearly doubling their money. They placed first in the Washington, D.C.-area and second in the state of Maryland.

Green, now at a pre-release center, would like to find a job in the stock market

Ryan Green was captain of that five-man team, which beat out teams across Maryland, including some private schools.

"We couldn't believe, sitting here in these gray jumpsuits, that we'd beat these guys dressed in shirts and ties," said the 21-year-old Green.

Green went to college on a baseball scholarship. But after a shoulder injury, he started fighting and using drugs. He eventually lost the scholarship and ended up in prison.

He's at a pre-release center now.

"I'd love to have a job in the stock market," he said. "I love money, I love finance -- I love learning about it."

Green's ambition is shared by other inmates.

"Save money and invest ... that's what I plan to do," said stock trading inmate Adam Feldman, 19.

Back in cell block G-3, the inmates said are considering new careers when they get out. Instead of returning to crime, they may play the stock market.

"This is legal," said 22-year-old Robert Kerr. "I kind of like it because I plan on -- when I get out of here -- I plan on like, starting a new business, or something like that."

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Stock Market Game - Game Rules

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