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Thanks to Kerri Herrild of DePere High School (WI) (NGPF podcast guest) for passing along this activity created by Kate Kaster of Stevens Point Area High (WI). We love to get ideas from teachers that we can share with our community so thanks to Kate and Kerri for sharing!!! Kate credited the FEFE Business teacher website for the core activity which she then tweaked.
This all started when Kerri inquired whether NGPF had resources that link potential earning power to educational attainment (go to the bottom of the post to see what I found). Kerri then came across Kate’s activity on a WI teacher listserv. It is a hands-on activity that demonstrates the power of education through a tower-building exercise and follow-up discussion. Enjoy and better yet let us know how it goes in the classroom!
Education vs. Income Tower
Directions:
Divide the class into groups of 2
Hand out building materials (25 toothpicks, 25 small marshmallows)
Hand education sentences to each group
Have each group read their education statement
Give groups 10 minutes to build the tallest free-standing tower using supplies given
Discuss the success of each group after the activity.
Education Statements:
____________
Here are a few questions that I thought could help drive the discussion:
__________
Here are NGPF Resources that link income potential to education:
Blog posts (may require some work to be used in classroom)
Update: Just found this WSJ chart showing how income has changed since 1991 based on educational attainment. Only pay increases on real basis went to those with 4-year degree or more!
Maureen Neuner (NGPF Fellow) featured in the Beacon Times
A Few Good Resources and Inspiration...
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Tim's saving habits started at seven when a neighbor with a broken hip gave him a dog walking job. Her recovery, which took almost a year, resulted in Tim getting to know the bank tellers quite well (and accumulating a savings account balance of over $300!). His recent entrepreneurial adventures have included driving a shredding truck, analyzing executive compensation packages for Fortune 500 companies and helping families make better college financing decisions. After volunteering in 2010 to create and teach a personal finance program at Eastside College Prep in East Palo Alto, Tim saw firsthand the impact of an engaging and activity-based curriculum, which inspired him to start a new non-profit, Next Gen Personal Finance.
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