This school year I am fortunate to be able to teach an elective in our high school - Intro to Personal Finance. Being back in the classroom, even though it's only for 45 minutes a day, is revitalizing. The kids are just great! Their curiosity, desire to learn, and eagerness to pepper me with questions has kept me learning, too.
Throughout my coursework for my MBA, I was regularly reminded that there was much about money that I had never been taught. I am fortunate that being stingy with a nickel comes naturally to me and that my parents did impart budgeting skills and reinforced the idea of saving. But, I never learned about the real value of money...how you can use your money and how you can leverage the money of others to help you (and others) make more money. My goal for my students is that they will leave my class prepared to successfully navigate the complex decisions associated with their own personal finances and know a bit about how money works in the world.
This past weekend, I had the opportunity to attend the most amazing conference, with a horribly long name - The PwC and Knowledge@Wharton High School Seminar for High School Educators on Business and Financial Responsibility. 150 high school teachers of personal finance, economics, and business were selected from a pool of applicants to attend (all expenses paid - thanks PwC!) the event on Penn's campus. We heard from Wharton profs, PwC execs, and fellow teachers. I've been to plenty of conferences in my day, and this was hands-down the best. The purpose of the seminar was to provide teachers with background knowledge and new ideas, and to encourage more financial literacy education in our schools. There were no end-of-course deliverables...no state reports due at the conclusion like other conferences and courses, it was really a chance to just sit back, soak up some knowledge, and learn from the best.
One would think that educators would relish this opportunity; to have a weekend with food, hotel, and travel all paid for and be able to learn. We are teachers, right? One would think and hope that as teachers we recognize the value of new knowledge. And, one would think that if we teach a subject, we therefore are interested in the subject and would want to know more about it. Reasonable hypothesis?
Incredulously, there were teachers who through their actions proved this thesis incorrect. Rather than listen attentively to the speakers, there were teachers spending hours shoe shopping on-line, playing Bedazzled on their iPad, editing photos on their computer, chatting on-line, taking a nap, and texting non-stop. I wanted to scream. I wanted to call out these ungracious dopes. Not only could the speakers see this inattentiveness, but so could all the program's sponsors and organizers who stood at the back of the auditorium ready to attend to any need we might have had.
Did I mention that some of these profs have worked directly with US Presidents, the FBI, global leaders, etc.? And, that PwC has committed $160 million to this cause? Really people...you just ignore them and do something you could have done sitting on your lazy ass at home...taking up conference space that others wanted!?!
If this were the Muppets, this would be the part when Kermit's face crumples in response to Miss Piggy. You know the face...it's the one when he just can't believe what he's seeing or hearing from her. That's how I felt seeing these supposed professionals just disregarding the opportunity unfolding right in front of them. I left the conference both invigorated by the experience, and disgusted by some of my peers.
But then I heard something that mitigated that disgust. A fellow teacher at the conference shared that he had been close to deciding that this year would be his final year of teaching. He was worn down by the requirement to teach subjects that weren't his area of certification. The pressure of having to act like an expert in a content area when you're not is a real stressor for teachers. They are forced into this situation by understaffed schools and it's just not good for students or the teachers. He commented that participation in this conference was causing him to rethink his thoughts about leaving the profession. Good teachers shouldn't feel like they need to leave the profession because of poor administrative or budgetary decisions. That he found the conference invigorating is wonderful. I am glad for him and for his students, and hope he really does stick with it. He's the kind of teacher we want in our schools; the others mentioned above...not so much.
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