April is Financial Literacy Week. Starting today until 5:00 PM ET on April 18, we will host an asynchronous discussion with our guest. Let’s welcome Peg Gould! Peg has extensive adult education experience. She has been a teacher, tutor, tutor coordinator, supervisor, and curriculum writer. She is currently the Director of the Community Education and Training Department of Mercer County Community College in Trenton, NJ. Peg is a COABE member and a former State Advocate for Adult Education Fellow (SAAEF). She is a member of the Adult Numeracy Network (ANN) as well as a member of many community-based committees. She participates in and leads industry partnership initiatives.
Math and Numeracy Community, are you ready to help your students break the cycle of financial woes and get a grip on their money? In a two-day discussion, Peg will show us how to weave financial literacy into adult education math classes. We know there’s nothing cool about drowning in debt, so let’s help our students learn how to turn their financial future around, one lesson at a time. As community members, let’s create a very robust discussion. You don’t need to be an expert to post.
Peg, here are some questions that I would like to start our discussion with:
- How can an instructor incorporate financial literacy with so many students waiting to pass their high school equivalency exam?
- Why is teaching financial literacy necessary for our learners?
- What are two of your favorite go-to lessons?
Comments
It's not completely surprising that HSE (high school equivalency) students equate an HSE diploma with material gains: a house, a car, vacations, etc. Also, if we teach anything that is 'not on the test', students grow frustrated and either tune out or walk away. Thirdly, there isn't a 'financial literacy for the HSE test' prep book. Instead programs kind of get the message of incorporate as best fits the students in a local program...........
There are a lot of online financial literacy tools (for free) that include budgeting, understanding a paycheck, and calculating compounded interest. But it's not as inexact as that. This is a topic I personally don't like to have students explore too much on their own, using their own situation, etc
For example, week 1 I like to set the stage: You are a family of 3 (yourself and 2 dependents: son, age 12; daughter, age 1). You work 2 part time jobs. One job is 20 hours/week, paying $18/hour. Your second job is 10 hours/week, paying $17/hour. Without taking into account deductions, what is your weekly income from both jobs?
OR set a different scenario: You are a family of 4 (yourself/significant other and 2 dependents: son, age 12; daughter, age 1). You work 2 part time jobs. One job is 20 hours/week, paying $18/hour. Your second job is 10 hours/week, paying $17/hour. Your significant other works full time and earns $48,000 annually. Without taking into account deducations, what is your weekly household income?
Then it spirals, as more life events come up. First, I feed them requirements, reduce household income by 15% for taxes. What is the net income? For the dual income family, add in $400/mo for health insurance.
All students are working the same problem, using the same numbers, and finding the same answer. To begin financial literacy, I've found it's helpful to start all students doing same thing at the same time, with the same numbers. It's really story building and there is a real context connection. As weeks go forward, maybe 2 or 3 times/week, life events such as child care, rent, food, clothes, TV/internet, etc become less teacher prescribed and more student generated.
What are some other approaches you use to teach financial literacy? In HSE instruction, is financial literacy necessary?
Hi Peg,
Thanks so much for sharing. The area that I serve battles extreme poverty. Jobs are scare and opportunities to advance are even harder to come by. Almost all of the students come in with a desire to get their driver's license and face a significant upfront cost for driver's ed. Then the students if possible, strive to get a ride which requires the mandated insurance. So mini lessons on financial literacy occassionally hit on goal setting, and overcoming obstacles to achieve dreams.
Hi Faye,
Your area sounds a lot like the area of my programs in terms of unemployment and low income. A driver's license is an expense in and of itself; driving school is an added cost. Once people have a driver's license, though, it's not just about having the photo id. They want to drive, of course. I think of having a car a lot like taking care of a child: things you never thought about end up being costly. A car needs gas and maintenance, insurance and inspection, registration and upkeep, tires and brakes. Financial literacy nuances often overlooked.
But our students have hopes and dreams and goals and desires. I personally think financial literacy can only help to turn those hopes, dreams, goals, and desires into achievable and meaningful realities.
As we bid farewell to Peg Gould, I'd like to kick off this final day with an inspirational story. Peg, we would be honored if you could share a moment when you taught a financial lesson that truly resonated with a student. Was there a particular experience that made you feel like you had made a real impact? And looking back, is there anything you wish you had done differently? Let's take this opportunity to celebrate the incredible work that Peg has done and learn from her valuable experience.
The following was posted: https://community.lincs.ed.gov/comment/34301#comment-34301 by Suzanne Edwards
First I'm glad that many K-12 school systems have begun to teach financial literacy at their level. Kudos to those systems because financial literacy remains such a critical life skill throughout one's lifespan!
Some of the most participative sessions I've had ref financial literacy have just "popped" up during discussions around daily life events. An example: when a learner remarks that their vehicle has reached its life limit and the learner is seriously considering purchasing another vehicle.
Instead of looking at the "big budget" picture and rolling it downhill to "emergency funds you should have stashed away", I take that isolated incident and work with that. Eventually I can use it as a doorway to roll into that bigger budget picture but immediately I want to give them experience with some "hands-on" tools, research and some imaginative scenarios.
One of those tools is the car loan/payment calculator where we integrate what learners think they can afford out of their existing budget for down payment (if possible), monthly payment and time. After showing them how to use the calculator, we inject a bit of fun and quick digital research skills into the picture. We research the (1) various interest rates that local bank advertise for car loans in addition to (2) local prices on new/used vehicles (that's always a fun activity ranging from the high-end dream car exotics to low-end klunkers).
Finally, we do the "plug 'n play" into the calculator with the various scenarios - exotic to klunker, but finally bring it back into the reality range of our learner's budgets. We end up by relating that to the bigger picture of establishing an "emergency fund" into budgets and how that downpayment can affect monthly payments which can make a difference between having a "klunker" vs. a reliable vehicle in their parking spot.
Over 20 years ago, I was teaching a GED prep class. One of my students was a recently laid off steel mill worker, low on unemployment benefits. His goal was to become a motorcycle mechanic, wanting to work for a large motorcycle dealership nearby. He had math skills as low as his hopes had fallen. I taught benchmark numbers that summer, using EmPower from TERC (although I think the series has been adopted by another publisher now). We worked on all kinds of 10s---multiples of 10 and tenths---with manipulatives. I set them out in different stations: paperclips, pennies, stamps, toothpicks, tools, metric rulers, whatever I could find.
The students drew and they wrote and they estimated and they collaborated. Maybe about the 5th or 6th station, the A-HA moment came for my motorcycle mechanic and he understood. He understood enough that he started teaching and leading his classmates as they traveled from station to station. That's all well and good, but the real impact was the next week when the students used their benchmark knowledge to make a financial business plan for their own future company. They worked in pairs for this.
Obviously, the student built a business plan for a motorcycle repair shop. With his class partner, a talented artist, they planned this repair shop. They followed that plan through: both passed the GED and they went into business together: a motorcycle repair shop. The original student I mentioned at the beginning is not only the lead mechanic, but he also is the accountant for a thriving, local small business. His business partner handles the marketing and custom paints motorcycles per customer orders.
The end of this dynamic discussion brings me to the conclusion that financial literacy is necessary and relevant. Lives are changed, and that is the driving reason why financial literacy is not only something to learn but something that helps our learners thrive.
It's been a rich and dynamic discussion. Thank you all and thank you, Brooke! -Peg
It seems that people are also posting the original announcement for the event: https://community.lincs.ed.gov/comment/34312#comment-34312
I do not want anyone to miss this robust discussion.
We want to extend a huge thank you to Peg for shedding light on financial literacy in adult education math classes. While this discussion may have ended, there is always room for continued learning and growth. As a valuable community member, Peg will undoubtedly add her insights to future conversations. Let's all work together as a community to become stronger learners. Also, be sure to mark your calendars for an upcoming live session in the English Language Acquisitions Group titled "Money Lessons." This session will feature guest presenter Kelly Smith from Wake Tech Community College and dive deeper into teaching financial literacy to adult ELA learners. Join us for this exciting opportunity tomorrow, April 19, 2023, at 2 PM ET! Here is a link to the online registration: https://air-org.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJElcu2gqTouHtFPfUPHRP39EjV8EAXlp6BO
Resources:
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: https://www.consumerfinance.gov/consumer-tools/educator-tools/your-money-your-goals/
LINCS Resource Collection: