Monday, May 2, 2022
Family and consumer science teacher Heather Long has been teaching personal financial literacy (PFL) at Clintonville Middle School and High School for more than 15 years. As a member of the Wisconsin state PFL standards team, she is proud that the Wisconsin PFL Standards include a strand for the financial mindset, learning how and why we make financial decisions and building mental habits to make good ones. Long shares this story to illustrate:
"I had a student who would walk into my class everyday with a coffee from the local coffee shop. As we were talking about tracking money, I asked her, 'How are you affording this and do you know how much you are spending?' I joked that I couldn't even afford to buy coffee every day. She said, 'I don't know. My mom gives me money.' So the whole class started getting involved at that point, and they decided that they were going to track how much money she spent on coffee without her parents knowing. [She was a willing participant and a good sport.] The total was insane! After two months of tracking, it was over $200! It really hit home for her. I will never forget the day she walked in with coffee from home. The whole class applauded her!"
Years later, Long ran into her now former student. She still makes her own coffee and buys coffee as a treat! "They have to build a sense of competence and control around financial decisions," says Long. "I think financial mindset really does that. They begin to understand what being a consumer means."
Engaging Students From the Start
"You could probably hear a pin drop when you tell [students], 'You have a clean slate. You can do anything you want in life,'" says Long. "For some, it's a relief and for others it's very inspirational to just keep going in the direction they're going. I think it really hits home."
It also sets the stage for the first unit of PFL: Financial mindset. As students dive into PFL, their answers to key questions reveal another facet of who they are:
- What are your wants and needs? They identify items or activities that contribute to well-being, personal values, and goals.
- What can you do right now to help you achieve your future life?
- What do you want your future life to be like? Will your career choice support your desired lifestyle? Does it align with your values?
Once they understand the basis for their financial decisions, says Long, "They grab ahold of all the other units after that. I think they love the topic."
Preparing to Teach PFL
Many degree programs do not prepare educators to teach PFL. Long is always on the lookout for good educator resources like these:
- Take Charge Today is a University of Arizona program Long took years ago. They offer podcasts, short conferences, and learning sessions for teachers.
- Next Gen Personal Finance has fresh content and lots of modules for teachers to tap into.
- Jump$tart Coalition provides crosswalks to the Wisconsin PFL standards.
- State resources. Tap into your CESA, DPI’s WISELearn, and the Wisconsin Association of Family & Consumer Sciences (WAFCS)
- "Thinking Money" is a PBS documentary that addresses the psychology of making financial decisions.
- Networking, she says, is the key to finding resources and developing ideas.
While PFL basics remain the same, her students' interests have changed over the years, trending away from credit and toward investing. Today's students also are concerned about debt and how to reduce it. Long says that new topics, such as cryptocurrencies and inflation, are always emerging. Given her track record, she is likely to be prepared when those topics make their way into her classroom.