Welcome to the third issue of Making Cents - a financial literacy and economics education resource for teachers from kindergarten through 12th grade!   In this publication you'll find information that will expand your content knowledge, resources you can put to use in your classroom, and links to other useful tools.

The National Endowment for Financial Education's (NEFE) High School Financial Planning Program has undergone extensive revisions.  This program features free student workbooks, teacher materials and an accompanying website. Surveys show it is also one of the most widely used by educators in Pennsylvania for teaching personal finance to high school students. Last updated in 2006, the program just got a complete update. 

Unit 1: Money Management (planning/budgeting, goals)
Unit 2: Borrowing (includes identify theft issues)
Unit 3: Earning Capability
Unit 4: Investing
Unit 5: Financial Services (includes online banking and fraud issues)
Unit 6: Insurance

Personal finance is a hot topic these days in part because of the ripple effects of the 2008 financial crisis. Many societal segments were impacted and continue to be impacted by the mortgage market meltdown, near bank failures and a host of other related issues. It became apparent that many consumers needed a quick course on understanding personal finance basics. How can you learn the language of personal finance? Just as you learned to speak English, you can learn the language of personal finance and teach others in your circle of influence.  

You learned to speak English over time by repeating single words, then small phrases and eventually grasping whole sentences. In addition, your surroundings supplied multiple opportunities for you to practice speaking and to listen to others. The same can occur with learning about personal finance. For starters, refer to the  Jump$tart Coalition's glossary of basic personal finance terms all earners should understand. The glossary is at the end of the National Standards for Personal Finance booklet. Other strategies to employ include:  

• Listen to consumer oriented financial talk shows on the radio or view them on television. Many of the common financial terms and concepts are discussed repeatedly often with a minor twist in the personal situation of the caller or viewer. As others share their stories or ask questions, these shows may boost your confidence or help you recognize how much you already know about personal finance!

• Read financial columns in popular financial magazines and money columns in national and local newspapers. These columns often address current financial issues, seasonal topics or topics related to a financial topic being debated in Congress.

• Discuss financial concepts with family members or colleagues. You can learn from others without sharing all the details about your personal finances and/or help them learn a new concept as well.

I like to equate learning the language of personal finance to learning the language associated with a sport. I was reared in a household with a mother, two sisters/no brothers and a father who cared very little about watching TV let alone watching football. However, I have learned a thing or two about football and other sports after decades of marriage to a former sports editor for a college newspaper. My husband's love of sports has persisted over the decades and I have learned the language of football...at least to a point that I can converse somewhat intelligently about the sport. Repetition has been a key and I have put in some effort over the years to learn as well.

If I can learn the language of a sport that does not put any money in my pockets, you can learn more about personal finances so you can manage the money you earn year after year more effectively.

Do you find that your students enjoy when classroom lessons are augmented with videos or other technology?  The team at Family Economics and Financial Education continues to develop new and innovating resources for teachers to best harness technology in their classes. In addition to their free, downloadable curriculum, they have recently produced a guide to video clips relating to financial education along with tips for using media converters to make the videos available in your classroom.  They have also just released a guide for using tablet and smart phone applications to enhance your instruction. 

In this issue, Chuck Deal from Neshaminy High School shares some thoughts on teaching personal finance as a standalone course. While Mr. Deal received a degree from West Chester University with a teaching certification, he spent most of his career in sales and management with Bell of PA and AT&T. In 2001, he left the company and headed back to the classroom. At Neshaminy, he now teaches Personal Finance and Investment, International Business and Marketing.

Q:  What do you think is the most important personal finance topic to cover?
A:  I feel the most important topic covered in my Personal Finance and Investment course is investing for your future.  Let's face it, today's young people will not have what the baby boom generation and other seniors have had for retirement.  The number of people with pensions is dwindling and Social Security has its issues.  Realistically, no parent wants to move in with their children or be a burden to them.  Therefore, it is critical for a young person today that wants to retire before they reach their seventies to understand what is needed to plan for their future.  They will need to have accumulated the resources themselves to accomplish this goal.  How they realistically can accomplish this is one of the key elements to the finance course.  

 
Q:  What topic do you find is the most challenging for students to master? Any tips for facilitating their understanding?
A: Stocks and mutual funds.  Some students take to the topic naturally while others struggle.  The unfortunate things for those that struggle is they will still need to know the language of stocks.  Why?  Many will have the opportunity to open a 401K or 403B through their employer.  Most of these employers only allow investing through a mutual fund.  So which mutual fund should they pick? Say it is a large income fund.  These two terms are right from the lesson on stocks.  It is a large capitalization fund ($10 billion or more in value companies) that invests in companies that pay high dividends.  Without a basic fundamental knowledge of these terms, students may never really know how they are investing their money.  The second part students struggle with in stocks is finding stocks that are undervalued.  The concept of "buy low, sell high" is easier said than done.  It also requires work to research what company is the best in which to invest.  

Q:  Do you use a textbook? If so, what?   

A:  There are a number of resources used to teach this class.  We do use a textbook called "Managing Your Personal Finances" from Cengage.  In addition to the textbook we are fortunate to have available the National Endowment for Financial Education's High School Financial Planning Program student workbook and teacher's guides.  We also have a local bank donate booklets on how to do banking. It is also fortunate our finance classes are taught in a computer lab.  This has given the students access to all of the resources available on the Internet.  Some of the resources we use are the Market Watch stock simulation from the Wall Street Journal, CNN Money 101, and Investopedia.  

Q:  Do you bring in members of the business community or others to guest teach? If so, what type of volunteers do you use and on what topics?
A:  We have a local Credit Union, TruMark Financial, that will come into our class and discuss any number of topics with our students.  We also have an Allstate Insurance representative speak to our class, as well as a real estate agent from Remax.  This year one of my student's parents owns a jewelry shop and is going to be a guest speaker as diamonds are considered an investment.  

Q:  What advice do you have for a teacher wanting to tackle personal finance in their curriculum?
A:  Make the most of free training and resources! The Pennsylvania Department of Banking's Your Money's Best Friend website has a wealth of available resources.  The Jump$tart Coalition has a very good curriculum framework for all grade levels.  The Philadelphia Federal Reserve has the Keys To Financial Success Program with about 80 lesson plans done for a teacher. The National Endowment for Financial Education has the High School Financial Planning book and CD. Many banks and credit unions have resources that are available for the classroom.  Speak to someone that attended a Pennsylvania Governor's Institute because that was a wealth of information for a teacher introducing the topic to a class. Finally, there is so much information out there for free it is often difficult to decide what to use. A number of teachers post the information they use in class online for their students, but it is available to everyone.  Find a teacher that posts this type of information online - including me.

Apply today for a Pathway to Financial Success Grant from Discover. All public high schools are invited to apply for a grant to bring financial education into the classroom or to expand an existing curriculum. The sooner you apply, the sooner you can get started. Visit their website for additional details: http://www.pathwaytofinancialsuccess.org/get-a-grant 

Adventures in Economics and U.S. History 

On August 2nd teachers can participate in a series of simulations, role-playing activities, and classroom demonstrations designed to effectively teach elementary and middle school students about U.S. history and economics.  The program is sponsored by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. Registration is due by July 26th. Find more information here: http://www.philadelphiafed.org/education/teachers/training-programs/index.cfm

Family Economics and Financial Education (FEFE) Summer Program

Making Cents is published jointly by the Pennsylvania Department of Education and the Pennsylvania State University. If you find the content useful, please consider forwarding it to your colleagues. Through this publication and other avenues, the Pennsylvania Department of Education seeks to continue efforts made previously by the Pennsylvania Office of Financial Education and the Governor's Institutes on Financial Education.

Newsletter Team:

Sally Flaherty, PDE

Cathy F. Bowen, PSU

Hilary Hunt, Consultant

Previous editions of Making Cents are now available online. Click the issue you missed to view the archived edition.

Issue 1 (May 2012)

Issue 2 (June 2012)