Ask anyone what is the greatest challenge our nation is facing right now, and money woes will be a common response. Students today are bombarded with words like “Recession” “Foreclosure” “Bankruptcy” and “Bail-out”. Many students have felt the frustration of our tumultuous financial times close to home, with parents losing jobs and families losing homes. What can we do as teachers to help our students combat these challenges in the future? We can teach financial responsibility. We would be hard pressed to find a more relevant issue for students right now. Sound financial management practices can empower students to go to college without leaving four years later in debt, establish good credit, avoid dangerous money traps, buy a car, buy a home…the list is endless!

Regardless of the content area you teach, you can weave in financial management concepts to teach students an important life skill. Take budgeting for example. I taught all of my freshmen and sophomores how to create a budget. But when I introduced the lesson the first day, most students had no idea what a budget even was! I realized that if I didn’t teach it, students may never learn how to manage their finances. If you teach English, have students select a character from a novel and create a budget for that character given their employment, time period, and way of life. If you teach mechanics, drafting, or auto-shop, students can create a practical budget for a class project. Teach science? Have students create a budget for all classes to complete a fun new lab with several lab supplies. Don’t leave financial management solely to the math teachers! We must infuse these valuable lessons in our curriculum if we want to mold financially responsible young men and women!

“Money Math , Lessons for Life” (2008,The Curators of the University of Missouri) is a practical set of lesson plans made possible by the US Department of Treasury and other sponsors. Titles like “The Secret to Becoming a Millionaire” and “Wallpaper Woes” invite students to learn and apply responsible money management practices in a practical setting.  The four lessons provided would be easy to integrate into your classroom while giving your students tools that are desperately needed in our nation right now! Your students may even be able to take these lessons home to help educate parents on sound financial practices. Take a few minutes to check out this FREE RESOURCE, and take time to teach your students why money matters.