Ever since I was a little girl, my parents instilled in me the importance of making smart financial decisions. They taught me to compare what I was giving up to what I would gain for every choice I made, whether it was relating to finances or not. I moved into adulthood and as I pursued a career in education, I realized it gave me the opportunity to teach economic literacy the way my parents taught me. As a language development teacher, I intentionally incorporate economic literacy into my curriculum almost daily because I believe economic knowledge is a building block to success throughout life.
Economics and personal finance are often considered high-level subjects for high school or college students. However, I believe students should learn the basics of these concepts at a young age. The most important skill I teach elementary students is the same lesson I learned as a young girl: good decision-making. Students I teach grow to understand the subject of scarcity and the opportunity cost with every choice. Whether the students are deciding how to spend their allowance or choosing to play outside instead of finishing their homework, students in my classes learn how little decisions such as these can compound to impact their future. Decision-making reaches far beyond the subject of economics.
Many students in my language learning classes are first-generation Americans or come from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. For these kids, economic literacy is an extremely important skill to understand because they have less of a cushion for making poor financial decisions. By learning finance and economics at a young age, these students will be equipped to budget and save their money as young adults so they can achieve financial freedom and security.
In today’s economy, many of our interactions with money and expenses seem invisible. We purchase items online, shop with credit cards and take out loans. We rarely use tangible money to cover costs. As a young student, it is hard to see and understand the exchange that is taking place during a purchase. When teaching personal finance, I do my best to make money and spending as concrete as possible to emphasize that finances should have structure and limitation.
Every educator knows there is never enough time to teach students everything they need to learn, as teachers, we must get creative with our content. While I love teaching economics classes, a unique way I train students in economic literacy is through a classroom management system. This method works well for teachers who may not have the option to teach specific personal finance or economics classes. The concept of a “classroom economy” has been used and modified by teachers for years, and I have found it to be extremely successful and rewarding. With a classroom economy, students earn “money” throughout the year by completing their student jobs and must budget their earnings to cover both costs and rewards. Students must pay for necessary fees, such as renting their desks or using the hall pass, and have the chance to buy rewards if they save their money and budget accordingly. They can also incur fines for misspending or misbehavior. Students begin to view school as their “job” and learn that money is not just used for fun purchases, but also must be saved for necessary costs.
I also have found the lessons provided by Economic Literacy Colorado to be fantastic resources for financial training. Economics is learned best through communication and interaction, and these courses require the students to get up from behind their desks and actively engage with the lesson and each other. Since students digest material quickly and differently from one another, I am always looking into new financial literacy resources, and now that students are learning from home, online programs have even greater importance. I often rely on Economic Literacy Colorado’s database of elementary school courses, since my students enjoy the content and I am unable to teach some of my classroom lessons.
I am passionate about teaching economic literacy but recognize that not every school or teacher has the bandwidth to create new courses. Time will always be an educator’s biggest obstacle, which is why I advocate for integrating economic concepts across various subjects and in all age groups. The best form of instruction is to make connections across multiple platforms, and thankfully this is easy to do with economics. My life began on a healthy financial trajectory because of the economic education I received from my parents, and I encourage my fellow teachers to join me in giving the opportunity of financial stability to students across Colorado.
Della Hoffman is a teacher at Place Bridge Academy in Denver Public Schools.