Hi Everyone,
Almost every Sunday, I read Michelle Singletary’s Color of Money column. Mrs. Singletary, a Black personal finance expert, is in the midst of a 10-part series titled “Sincerely Michelle” in which she explores race-based misconceptions. In the latest installment, she describes how her venerable grandmother, Big Mama, instilled in Michelle a fear of investing in the stock market. Big Mama told Michelle that investing is, “for White folks. They can afford to lose money.” Scarred by hearing about her ancestors’ experiences in slavery, growing up in the Depression, and seeing race riots destroy Black wealth, Big Mama preferred to keep her assets in her home and a government-insured savings account where she had easy access to her money.
Mrs. Singletary said she owes her financial success to, “intentional efforts to rectify decades of injustices that my family endured. In my case, that included a minority scholarship that provided money for college as well as paid summer internships that led to my first newspaper job; a first-time homebuyer’s program; managers committed to increasing diversity; and a Black financial advisor who understood the legacy of slavery and helped me to overcome my fears about investing in stocks.” She goes on to say that she is teaching her children to invest.
How can we help our students with financial literacy? This is an area where some instructors are reluctant to teach since we know too well our own financial failures and lack of knowledge. The recent OCTAE initiative, Teaching the Skills That Matter in Adult Education, can help. The TSTM Toolkit contains financial literacy resources. Lesson plans and project and problem-based learning tools provide plenty of ideas to teach financial literacy skills while we help our students improve their reading and writing skills.
How are you teaching financial literacy to your students?
Have you used any of the resources from Teaching the Skills That Matter in Adult Education?
Thanks in advance for your contributions to our community,
Steve Schmidt, Moderator
LINCS Reading and Writing Community