Grade 8: Comprehension
Learn About Money
The story so far…..
It is 1956. Robert is nine (9) years old and has found a part-time job working in a shop for a man he calls
‘Rich Dad’. He and his friend Mike have been earning 10C an hour. Robert’s hoping that ‘Rich Dad’ will
teach him how to make money.
He has just plucked up the courage to ask ‘Rich Dad’ for a raise when ….
…..”You still have the passion to learn? Good,” said Rich Dad. “Now get back to work. This time, I will pay
you nothing”.
“What?” I said in amazement.
“You heard me. Nothing. You will work the same three hours every Saturday, but this time you will not be
paid 10c per hour. You said you wanted to earn to not work for money, so I am not going to pay you
anything.”
I could not believe what I was hearing.
“I have already had this conversation with Mike. He is already working, dusting and
stacking cans for free. You had better hurry and get back there.”
“That is not fair!” I shouted. “You have got to pay me something.”
“You said you wanted to learn. If you do not learn this now, you will grow up to be like
those two women over there and that older man sitting in my living room, working for money and hoping I
do not fire them. Or like your dad, earning lots of money only to be in debt up to his eyeballs, hoping that
more money will solve the problem. If that is what you want, I will go back to our original deal of 10c an
hour. Or you can do what most people grow up to do. Complain that there is not enough money, quit and
go looking for another job.”
“But what do I do?” I asked.
Rich Dad tapped me on the head. “Use this,” he said. “If you use it well, you will soon thank me for giving
you an opportunity, and you will grow into a rich man.”
I stood there not believing what a raw deal I had been handed. Here I came to ask for a raise and now I was
being told to keep working for nothing. Rich Dad tapped me on the head again and said, “Use this. Now get
out of here and get back to work.” I did not tell my poor dad I was not being paid. He would not have
understood, and I did not want to try to explain something that I did not yet understand myself.
For three weeks, Mike and I worked for three hours, every Saturday, for nothing. The work did not bother
me, and the routine got easier. It was the missed baseball games and not being able to afford to buy a few
comic books that got me.
Rich Dad stopped by at noon on the third week. We heard the truck pull up in the parking lot and splutter
when the engine turned off. He entered the store and greeted Mrs. Martin with a hug. After finding out how
things were going, he reached into the ice-cream freezer, pulled out two, paid for them and signaled to Mike
and me. “Let us go for a walk, boys!”
We crossed the roads, dodging a few cars, and walked across a large grassy field, where a few adults were
playing softball. Sitting down at a remote picnic table, he handed Mike and me the ice-creams.
“How is it going boys?”
“Ok,” Mike said. I nodded in agreement.
“Learn anything yet?” Rich Dad asked.
Mike and I looked at each other, shrugged our shoulders and shook our heads in unison.
“Well, you boys had better start thinking. You are staring at one of life’s biggest lessons. If you learn the
lesson, you will enjoy a life of great freedom and security. If you do not learn the lesson, you will wind up
like Mrs. Martin and most of these people playing softball in the park.
They work very hard for little money, clinging to the illusion of job security, looking forward to a 3-week
vacation each year and a skimpy pension after forty-five years of work. If that excites you, I will give you a
raise to 25C an hour.”
“But these are good hard-working people. Are you making fun of them?” I demanded. A smile came over
Rich Dad’s face.
“Mrs. Martin is like a mother to me. I would never be that cruel. It may sound cruel because I am doing my
best to point something out to the two of you. I want to expand your point of view so that you can see
something. Something most people never see …… Most people never see the trap they are in.” ……
Answer the following questions in full sentences unless otherwise advised.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
In this text in relation to the two main characters who is the employer and who is the employee?
Why does Robert have a part-time job as opposed to a full-time job?
Explain why Robert was amazed at Rich Dad’s response to his request for a raise?
Would you say that Mike’s job description was strenuous? Justify your answer.
What did Rich Dad indicate Robert’s dad believed the answer to his money problems were?
What did Rich Dad believe most people do when they complain about not having enough money?
Rich Dad tapped me on the head. “Use this,” he said.
What was Rich Dad implying?
8. Why did Robert decide not to tell his dad he was not being paid?
9. What upset Mike that for three weeks he was working for nothing?
10. During the third week what alerted the boys to the fact that Rich Dad was visiting?
11. Why do you think Rich Dad bought the boys an ice-cream and took them away from the shop to
talk to them?
12. What would be the advantage for the boys if they learnt the lesson Rich Dad was hoping to teach
them?
13. The lesson that Rich Dad wanted the boys to learn can be summed up as either ‘Never work for
money: let money work for you’ OR ‘Have control over money: never let money have control over
you’. Explain what this means.
14. From the box below choose a synonym for each of the following words.
*passion
*conversation
*debt
*opportunity
*signaled
*remote
*security
*skimpy
*staring
*cruel
inadequate
chance
vicious
discussion
safety
isolated
15. The idiomatic expressions can be found in the text.
Explain what they mean in the context of the passage.
a. ‘to pluck up courage’
b. ‘up to his eyeballs’
c. ‘a raw deal’
gaze
arrears
desire
indicated