Thankful.

Many thanks to Dr. King and other civil rights leaders who made the nation a better place for us all.

I'm so grateful to live near a civil rights museum where I could take my five year old daughter, whose curiosity about the world around her is growing at an amazing rate. She learned more about Dr. King today, and what life was like for little girls just like her - only 50 and 60 years ago.

It was quite an experience for her (even the preschool version I gave her), and I look forward to teaching her more as the years pass.

I hope everyone enjoyed the extra time off.

Class Happenings - Let's Talk Money

The last couple of weeks, I've been introducing personal finance to my freshman classes. I was not surprised to find that most of them have not been taught money basics (neither had I at that age). So we're starting with the fundamentals.  This week: savings and the different types of savings account. 

I asked the students to blog their reactions. I loved reading about how savings has "opened a new world" to them. Many of my students appreciated learning about compound interest, and some found the Rule of 72 pretty fascinating.

I know it's important to use a variety of methods and resources when teaching anything, but I find it especially necessary when teaching personal finance. At this age (14-15), they typically don't make their own money. Personal finance concepts are quite foreign to them, so I've got to make it good every time.

I love to bring in products and concepts in which they can relate.  For instance, I ran across an article on Beats headphones this week. While I appreciated the article because of its focus on how Beats changed the headphone industry (absolutely fascinating, by the way), I thought it was a great conversation starter in personal finance with my students -- particularly about paying for luxury items. 

About half my students own Beats headphone, and maybe 1/4 of them purchased with their own money. Interestingly, many of them said they would NOT spend their own money on a pair of $250 headphones. While I have to admit my little heart jumped for joy when I heard this, it gave me some perspective on how they feel about spending. (No offense to Beats headphones, by the way. My family had a pair -- were gifted a pair, I should add -- and they are fantastic.)

Anyhoo, deciding which resources to use when teaching personal finance can be a little tough. There are so many good ones out there (many free),  it's hard to choose and stick with one. Then you have to consider your teaching style and your class personalities. Naturally we end up taking a risk.  I like trying new things, so I decided to try this:

I'd heard great things about EverFi (even found out a teacher buddy I met at this seminar is an EverFi Ambassador).  I looked into it a couple of months ago after hearing from a colleague who noticed it at a conference.  

I had no idea how my students would react to the format, but I took the risk of using it to open my unit on personal finance. I knew I needed something fun to hook the students, and I think it worked. EverFi is highly interactive, and my students seem interested.  So far, so good.  Did I mention it's free?

Another resource I've used the last few years is Knowledge Matters Virtual Business - Personal Finance simulation.  

This one isn't free, but it has ALWAYS been a big hit in my classes. Hearing ninth graders have conversations about insurance, credit scores, jobs, and income brings a level of satisfaction I can't explain. This simulation is so fun, I'm saving it as a reward for the end of my personal finance unit. (Yes, they love it THAT much.)

So these are the two I'm primarily using this year.  I may look into some W!se resources as well. 

I look forward to this year's personal finance journey. My goal is for my students to earn a financial literacy certification so they are knowledgeable and can feel confident when making financial decisions. Of course I'll be sharing pieces of that journey here. 

Have a fantastic (long) weekend, everyone!

Images: EverFi.com; KnowledgeMatters.com 

PD - Business & Financial Responsibility Seminar (Sponsored by PricewaterhouseCoopers & Wharton Business School)

Professional development is such a vital part of our role as educators. We have to continuously learn new ways to reach and engage our students.  It's one of the things I happen to love about teaching. I'm one of those people who always liked school, so the fact that my job requires me to learn all the time is pretty cool.  

I try to participate in professional development opportunities at all levels - local, state, regional, national, and online. I recently got the opportunity to attend the Business and Financial Responsibility Seminar for High School Educators held at the University of Pennsylvania. Sponsored by PricewaterhouseCoopers and Wharton Business School, this was an opportunity for educators from all over the east coast to get together and learn from peers, Wharton professors, and industry leaders. The two and half days were intensive, but packed with so much SUBSTANCE. I left there feeling refreshed and hungry at the same time.

There were about 150 educators and administrators from all over the east coast. (Though I was the only Alabama attendee, I did meet a few teachers from the Atlanta area.)

While I thought we'd be mostly discussing financial literacy, I was pleasantly surprised that we discussed ALL aspects of business.  

I loved the diversity of topics:

Personal Branding

Financial Literacy

Economics 

I understood maybe 30% of what this Wharton economics professor was saying! Economics has never been my strength, so I was prepared to be completely lost. Luckily he was funny, so he held my attention the whole time (hard to do when you're talking to me about economics)!

Diversity in the Workplace

Marketing (my personal favorite!)

Entrepreneurship, management, etc. -- ALL of those areas of business, led by Wharton professors, PWC leaders, and other high school educators.

It was dynamic, energetic, interesting, and SO worthwhile. I encourage everyone to check out the resources these two organizations have created JUST FOR educators. I won't try to explain to you what they are.  I'll let the resources speak for themselves (click the links below).

Knowledge at Wharton High School

PWC Financial Literacy Resources 

Go here to learn more about the opportunity to attend this seminar yourself (you won't regret it).  I should mention that ALL EXPENSES ARE PAID by Wharton and PWC (flight, hotel, meals, etc.), so the trip will literally cost you nothing.

And the added bonus?  Meeting fun people and networking! (I'll call these people by their city/state names for privacy reasons - no names).

"Boston" and I actually met at the airport. While waiting for the shuttle, we realized we were going to the same hotel and put two and two together.

With my seminar buds (l to r) St. Louis, Boston, Brooklyn, and Mt. Ulla (NC)!

More buds at dinner that night. Jersey and Philly.

Cool math teacher from a city in Pennsylvania (can't remember).

During lunch one day, I stepped out to take a short walk around the campus.  Absolutely beautiful. 

Did you know Benjamin Franklin founded Penn?

New addition to the business school.

Pictured with reps from Wharton and PWC.

I've been to plenty of great conferences and seminar, but have never experienced one so rich in substance and networking opportunities. I am truly grateful for the experience, and highly recommend it to others. 

In the past, the seminar has been held twice a year (San Francisco and Philadelphia).  If you're not already registered on the KWHS site, you can do that here. Look for an email in late spring/early fall for information on the seminar.  

And when you get it, APPLY.  You won't regret it!

Update (February 12, 2014):  The application is now available for the June 2014!  Go here to learn more and APPLY!  If you'd like information on the upcoming location (San Francisco), ask my colleague @HHSFinanceGregg!  She attended last summer.

I come with purpose.

Hey, good people. Hope everyone enjoyed the holidays.

Today I come with purpose.

The last time I blogged (my first post here, actually) I didn't quite know where I wanted to go with this blog.  Today, I am 100% sure where I want to go with it.

Like I mentioned, I've been a blogger for a while.  I've stuck with this little hobby for five years, and I've been successful.  I don't mean successful in the sense that I've made money (though I've made a little) or have been given opportunities (though there have been a couple).  My personal/family blog has been successful because I've stayed true to its purpose.  I set out to journal our family life, and that's exactly what I did.  What I still do today.  

So I asked myself over the break what I wanted from this blog, and my answer came easily.  I simply want to document my teaching journey.  I don't care to write deep teaching theories or give my opinion on education today (though I can't promise I won't go into that). I simply want to look back years from now and see things my students did...and things I did.  Look back and see the growth..the progress...the lessons.  That's one of the things I treasure most about my family blog, and I'd love to bring the magic here, too.

So I'm letting the magic begin.  My next few posts will document some 2013 highlights -- from professional development to student conferences to classroom happenings. I will document the great things 2014 brings, too, as they come.

Looking forward to the journey!

G

Image Credit: My phone. Just a random pic from a recent run.  And an early indication that my obsession with the sun (rise and set) may spill over to this blog.