Spotted on the Boulevard: Middle School Dives into Their Financial Literacy Curriculum!
Talk of advertising claims, the impact of geopolitical issues on the economy, and wage estimates floated through the Boulevard as the Middle Schoolers welcomed professionals from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) during the first of their three visits to Speyer, as part of our financial literacy curriculum. Each grade explored various financial topics that not only awaken students to issues of importance in the financial world but are doing so in a way that is open-ended, allowing students to push deeply into topics that are timely, edgy, and do not have clear answers. Read on for insight on this latest visit from Speyer parent and Board Chair Greg Peterson!
Would you rather buy a $250 phone or $450 dollar phone (assuming, in answer to some very pointed questions from Speyer 6th graders, they had identical features, were offered by the same providers, and there are no hidden costs associated with either)? But what if 100 trees were axed to make the $250 phone and only one to make the costlier version? And would your answer change if you were buying phones for a small company that sent representatives (with their phones) to help build houses in needy neighborhoods, but you were facing a company shutdown because funding has recently been cut?
The format of instruction works well for Speyer. It led to some very intimate and provocative dialogue. Asked how one would feel when the sneakers that he/she spent her/his birthday money on didn’t make him/her “faster” or “more popular” as the advertisement had promised, our 5th graders were not satisfied with an easy answer. “Did he need sneakers anyway?” one girl asked. “Were they fairly priced?” another wondered.
Between sessions, the instruction team met in the conference room where, as a matter of standard practice, they asked, “What worked?” and “What can we improve on?” Gently but thoughtfully they challenged one another to explain, to give examples, or to suggest an alternative. It was instructive to see this real world application of the Speyer “what worked well, even better if” protocol. We are instilling in our students the sense of respect for others, empathy, and reflective self-scrutiny that will be (as PwC showed) mission-critical in the real world.
The themes link to elements in the broader curriculum. The 5th grade investigation of commercials and advertising ties into themes of contextualization and understanding the motive of a writer of history. It also resonates with the social and emotional curriculum on the bombardment by pop culture that children endure today. It also informs thinking about research. The instructors challenged the children to question the validity of a claim, to investigate and ask further questions, and to take advice from people with information. A healthy skepticism is a useful skillset. The section concluded with teams creating their own product ads. Amusingly, several teams did not follow the FTC rules but included small print disclaimers and spoke super-fast to “avoid any liability.” Products pitches including internet service available while you scuba dive, the Ice Cream Deodorant, and a customer testimonial "100% delicious, 60% of the time" all brought smiles.
Speyer’s 6th grade is considering how economics and the environment interplay. The students are wrestling with the question of whether technology and progress is an unambiguously good thing. The learning session ended (as one knowing Speyer might anticipate) with a debate. They leapt, battle ready it seemed, into the discussion on phone costing. One student still opted for the cheaper phone despite the peer pressure but was willing to donate or plant more trees. The instructors were enthusiastic. One noted he’d anticipated the curriculum would be rather challenging for 6th graders. In fact, he said, he had to raise his instruction a couple of notches. In particular, the knowledge of geopolitical issues surprised him.
Speyer’s 7th graders have been learning about the stock market: the different kinds of investments possible; what a fiduciary does; how you select an investment time horizon; how often you should rebalance a portfolio; and what can go wrong. Aside from the intricacies and foibles of the markets, students will also learn about charitable giving (and hopefully build a lifetime respect for its importance), about how to build consensus and advocate for causes respectfully, about how the macroeconomic world, politics and current events impact asset values, and about the importance of saving and planning. Several enterprising 7th graders wanted to know the implications of the latest stock market news (and one the group “wanted to short the market”).
The 8th graders (who are deeply involved in their high school selection process) completed a career interest survey, reviewed occupational employment and wage estimates reports, and looked at career planning options and financing college for various fields of study. Many were balancing earnings potential with their personal passions (including “bureaucracy”), and some were “looking for the best paying job with the least amount of education.” One student commented while discussing supply and demand in employment that “there may not be a need for the guy that can do 10 backflips in a row... I mean, that's great but not sure there is a big need.”
Financial literacy is a key element of the modern world and one that many students in college do not grasp. As the world continues to change, there will be many questions with no easy answers. But if our graduates can come fearlessly to new situations, frame difficult questions appropriately, filter and apply the relevant data, and collaborate with others to build, test, and modify solutions in real time, they will play a critical role in the changing world. With its delivery of financial content and Socratic delivery process, the financial literacy unit is continuing the enhancement of our curriculum.