My conversation with Elizabeth Justema, a personal finance teacher at  Summit High School in Bend, Oregon coincides with schools opening across the country post-Labor Day. Elizabeth raised her hand when the Social Studies department created  a personal finance elective (it’s quite popular with over 250 students enrolled) for this fall. With a previous career in international marketing at Microsoft, Elizabeth has a wealth of experience to share with her students. As for her interest and knowledge of personal finance, she has her entrepreneurial parents to thank for that.

Our conversation focused on a few topics that educators will benefit from:

• How she selected a primary curriculum for her course,
• How she decided what topics to cover
• How she developed her first unit (“Intro to Personal Finance”) to have students identify their money beliefs and values.

Enjoy!

Details:

•  0:00~1:07 – Introduction
• 1:07~1:50 – Background on Elizabeth
• 1:50~2:36 – Personal finance as an elective at Summit High School in Bend, Oregon
• 2:36~4:54 – Elizabeth’s work as marketer at Microsoft and how it informs her teaching
• 4:54~8:35 – Her process to develop the personal finance course
• 8:35~10:46 – Deciding on what topics to include in the course
• 10:46~13:00 – Easiest/most difficult units to teach
• 13:00~13:52 – Paying for college unit
• 13:52~16:03 – Method/Approach to teaching
• 16:03~16:23 – A word from our sponsor, Next Gen Personal Finance
• 16:23~17:22 – How she plans to use spreadsheets in the classroom
• 17:22~24:02 – The “introduction to personal finance” unit that she developed
• 24:02~25:36 – Expectations from the parent survey
• 25:36~26:14 – Community support for the course
• 26:14~28:01 – Developing the course
• 28:01~29:07 – Stocks vs. index funds
• 29:07~29:36 – Right age to get a credit card
• 29:36~30:07 – Right amount of student debit
• 30:07~30:49 – Her best financial habits
• 30:49~31:56 – Who does she think of when she hears the word success?
• 31:56~32:37 – Billboard message in front of your high school
• 32:37~33:32 – Best financial advice she has given to her children
• 33:32~34:26 – Elizabeth’s kids
• 24:26~35:43 – Words of wisdom for other teachers
• 35:43~36:29 – Conclusion

• Elizabeth’s Unit on money values and beliefs
• The Parable of the Fisherman

About the Author

Tim Ranzetta

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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