Junior Achievement: 100 Years Of Financial Education With Crystal Law And Laura Goodman
Episode 144
Episode Guide
Episode Timestamps
Episode Show Notes: ChooseFI Podcast - Junior Achievement and Financial Literacy
Episode Summary: This episode dives into the critical role of Junior Achievement (JA) in promoting financial literacy among students, featuring insights from Laura Goodman and Crystal Law. The discussion highlights various programs JA offers, the importance of volunteer engagement, and effective strategies for personal finance education.
Key Topics Discussed:
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Introduction to Junior Achievement
- Overview of JA’s mission to equip students with financial literacy, work readiness, and entrepreneurship skills.
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Volunteer Engagement with Junior Achievement
- The significant role of volunteers in delivering educational programs.
- JA's reliance on a vast network of nearly 250,000 volunteers.
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History and Evolution of Junior Achievement
- Insight into JA's origins over 100 years ago focused on entrepreneurship and evolving into comprehensive financial literacy education.
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Current Initiatives and Focus Areas
- Discussion of new approaches for program development, including JA's Pathways Initiative aimed at aligning educational offerings with market demands.
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Financial Literacy Curriculum and Programs
- Overview of various JA programs, such as JA Finance Park, that engage students through hands-on financial decision-making.
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Engaging Students in Financial Literacy
- Strategies for volunteers to create meaningful financial discussions with students, emphasizing the use of storytelling.
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Hot Seat Questions
- Quick, insightful questions reflecting personal experiences and financial lessons learned.
Actionable Takeaways:
- Explore Volunteer Opportunities: Engage with Junior Achievement to contribute to students' financial futures .
- Community Conversations: Start discussing personal finance regularly within your community .
- Utilize Storytelling: Use storytelling as a tool to connect deeper with students when discussing financial concepts .
Key Quotes:
- "Volunteers form the backbone of our operations."
- "Financial literacy lays the groundwork for financial success."
- "Harnessing storytelling engages and captivates minds."
Discussion Questions:
- What are your earliest memories of learning about money?
- How can we effectively engage youth in personal finance conversations?
- How do you perceive the role of volunteers in today’s education system?
Related Resources:
Podcast Description: Join hosts Jonathan Mendonsa and Brad Barrett in this enlightening episode as they delve into Junior Achievement's efforts in providing vital financial education, with special guests Laura Goodman and Crystal Law sharing impactful insights on engaging the next generation in financial literacy.
Podcast Intro:
Podcast Intro: You're listening to ChooseFI. The blueprint for financial independence lives here. If you're looking to unlock the secrets to financial independence and early retirement, you're in the right place. Stay tuned and join a community of like-minded people who are getting off the hamster wheel and taking control of their lives in the pursuit of financial independence. ChooseFI, your home for financial independence online.
Podcast Extro:
Podcast Extro: You've been listening to ChooseFI Podcast, where we help middle-class America build wealth one life hack at a time.
The Crucial Role of Financial Literacy in Education
Financial literacy is an essential life skill that greatly impacts individuals' ability to manage their finances, make informed decisions, and ultimately achieve financial independence. The conversation surrounding financial education has gained momentum over the past few years, yet many individuals still lack foundational knowledge. Organizations like Junior Achievement play a pivotal role in mitigating this gap, particularly among young students.
Why Financial Literacy Matters
Understanding personal finance equips individuals with the tools to effectively allocate their resources, make informed decisions about spending, saving, and investing. Financial literacy is not just about knowing how to balance a budget, but it extends to understanding credit, loans, and the broader economic factors that affect personal finances. Financial literacy lays the groundwork for financial success, nurturing skills that lead to greater autonomy and informed decision-making.
Junior Achievement’s Contributions
For over 100 years, Junior Achievement has been dedicated to fostering financial literacy, work readiness, and entrepreneurship among students. Here’s how they achieve this:
Volunteer-Driven Initiatives
Volunteers form the backbone of Junior Achievement's operations, teaching numerous students each year. There are over 250,000 volunteers engaged in various capacities, reaching more than 4.8 million students annually. It’s remarkable how volunteers significantly enhance the learning experience, providing valuable insights from their own professional journeys.
Engaging Programs
Junior Achievement offers a range of educational programs aimed at different age groups. From elementary school to high school, the curriculum focuses on financial literacy, entrepreneurship, and career readiness. Innovative programs such as JA Finance Park immerse students in real-world financial decision-making scenarios, allowing them to engage in hands-on learning activities that deepen their understanding of budgeting and financial management.
How to Promote Financial Literacy in Your Community
As a proactive member of your community, you have the power to influence financial literacy positively. Here are some actionable takeaways:
Explore Volunteer Opportunities
Consider volunteering with Junior Achievement. Joining their mission allows you to share your passion for financial literacy and make a significant impact on students’ futures. Visit the JA website to learn about local volunteering opportunities and how you can get involved.
Initiate Community Conversations
Engage in discussions about personal finance within your community. This can include hosting workshops, sharing resources, or even casual conversations with friends and family. Engaging in conversations about financial topics can demystify money management and encourage others to seek knowledge and assistance.
Leverage Storytelling
Utilize storytelling as a tool to connect emotionally with students and adults alike. Sharing personal experiences related to finance makes the subject more relatable and engaging. Harnessing storytelling can captivate and foster a desire to learn among your audience, making financial concepts easier to grasp.
Effective Strategies for Teaching Financial Literacy
To effectively engage students in financial literacy, consider the following strategies:
Use Interactive Learning
Interactive exercises, such as budgeting simulations and role-playing scenarios, can help students understand complex financial concepts in a practical context. For instance, programs like JA Finance Park offer students the chance to assume adult roles, providing them with an opportunity to see the real-life implications of their financial choices.
Address Common Misconceptions
Many students might hold misconceptions about finances due to a lack of exposure or previous knowledge. Address these misunderstandings upfront by providing factual information and clarifying common myths. This approach not only educates but also empowers students to develop a healthier mindset towards money.
Foster an Inclusive Environment
Creating an inclusive and supportive learning environment encourages students to ask questions and engage more fully in discussions about financial literacy. Being approachable as a volunteer or educator can significantly enhance the quality of the learning experience.
Connect Lessons to Real Life
Ensure that lessons connect with students' daily lives. By discussing relatable scenarios or current events, you can help students see the relevance of financial literacy. Making connections to their everyday experiences will enhance retention and understanding.
Engaging Parents in Financial Education
Financial literacy should not end in the classroom. Engage parents in the conversation to encourage them to support their children's learning. Here’s how to do that:
Provide Take-Home Resources
Junior Achievement programs offer materials that students can take home to discuss what they learned with their parents. This encourages family discussions about finance, making financial literacy a joint family effort.
Utilize Online Resources
Direct parents to JA’s online resources like jmyway.org, which help align students’ interests with potential career paths through engaging quizzes and information. Making these resources available to parents empowers them to be proactive in their child's financial education.
The Shift Towards Financial Capability
The discourse around financial literacy is evolving. It’s now being viewed through the lens of financial capability, which emphasizes not just understanding financial concepts but also taking decisive actions toward achieving financial stability. This shift acknowledges that knowledge is only the first step; the ability to implement that knowledge effectively is crucial for achieving financial independence.
Conclusion
The importance of financial literacy in education cannot be overstated. Junior Achievement is making significant strides in equipping students with the necessary skills to navigate their financial futures with confidence. As community members, you have the power to advocate for financial education and take action to promote financial literacy in your communities. By volunteering, engaging in conversations, and utilizing effective teaching strategies, you can play a vital role in shaping a generation of financially savvy individuals ready to tackle their futures head-on.
Crystal Law, Director of Financial Literacy Experiences, and Laura Goodman, VP of Volunteer Engagement join us to discuss Junior Achievement.
[elementor-template id="143609"]Junior Achievement
Junior Achievement has been around for 100 years. In the beginning, Junior Achievement started as an after school program where students would learn more about business from a company. Since then, it has expanded to include entrepreneurship and financial literacy in its programs.
Our programs are taught by volunteers. And they're truly the backbone of what we do. They're the reason we exist. They're really what differentiates Junior Achievement from any other organization.
The organization works with close to 250,000 volunteers that reach over 4.8 million students.
With over 100 local offices, there is at least one in every state. The programs in each local office are driven based on the local markets. The offices work to cater to the needs of their community. That might include creating individual content for some events or meeting the needs of the school or business partner.
Evolution Through The Decades
The first program of Junior Achievement was an after school program that focused on students learning more about business and creating products to sell. Over the decades, the programs have evolved. In the 1990s, Junior Achievement added capstone programs. These programs, JA Finance Park and JA Biztown, focus on hands-on learning after an in-class curriculum taught by the teachers. At the end of the curriculum, the students attend a virtual or live stimulation where they apply the lessons they learned in the classroom.
Since the original program, JA has grown. The company has over 20 programs across elementary and high school grades. Based on the feedback from local offices, they've been able to add on even more programs.
The main focus throughout the decades has been student success. Junior Achievement strives to get them on the path to productive adult lives with solid financial foundations.
As the company continues to spread the message, they are working to be a better experience provider through JA pathways. They are working on ways for students to focus on competencies, such as financial literacy. The students can master that content and take it with them.
How To Start Talking About Personal Finance
As many of us know, it can be extremely difficult to get a personal finance conversation started. If you are volunteering with JA, then you would be guided through the process in a course outline.
A good place to start is to see what your audience already knows. For example, a JA program might start by asking how many in the class have been to a bank and what they remember about that experience. Then you might lead to a story about your own experience at a bank.
I think starting that conversation, being able to tell a story, and get people comfortable and related is great.
If you were volunteering for JA, then you would be trained on this.
Listen: An Evening Of Financial Independence
JA Pathways
The three pillars of JA are Work and Career Readiness, Entrepreneurship, and Financial Literacy Skills. JA is striving to be a better solution provider, with being a stronger partnership with local schools and business. This will help students be prepared with financial literacy for changing and competitive economic landscapes.
JA "Ah-ha" Moments
Crystal was in the banking industry and did not have any teaching experience. She was first exposed to JA as a volunteer in the classroom. Crystal found that the program was turn-key for a volunteer. It had talking points, prompts, and discussion questions to bring to the class. For example, she talked about saving and asked about what these children have already saved up for.
...getting a chance through any of the JA programs we offer; students being able to think about, make a decision on their own, and apply their knowledge--you really see their eyes light up. The light bulb moment comes on.
When she participated in a stimulation, she found that high schoolers were very interested. They were tasked with creating a budget based on the needs of their fictional families from the scenario. It was great to watch them have the 'ah-ha' moment.
Junior Achievement And FI
Since this show is dedicated to FI, Crystal and Laura shared their views on how it is being incorporated at Junior Achievement.
We teach financial literacy. It's really that first step for anyone, whether you are a student or an adult, to have and gain the knowledge and skills about managing your financial resources, right?! And then we've seen a lot of trends and a shift from financial literacy to financial capability. So really, you know, taking all the knowledge and skills, having the attitude and making the decision, the conscious choice to change your behavior and take action in making better and smarter money management decisions.
The goal is for these students to reach a point where they can take the information to make better financial decisions. The end game is for these students to reach a point of financial well-being or financial independence based on their financial literacy.
Volunteer Opportunities
If you are interested in helping spread the message of financial literacy in schools, then you're in luck. Junior Achievement has a myriad of volunteer opportunities available to you based on your interests and available time.
For grades K-5, the focus of the programs are Financial Literacy, Work Readiness, and Entrepreneurship. In middle school and high school, there are more in-class, after school, and capstone experiences available. The kids are older, so the curriculum is able to dive into more detail that includes employment, income, budgeting, saving, spending, financial institutions, bank accounts, identity theft prevention, investing, charity, and different economic perspectives.
If you want to get involved, contact the local office. Local office staff will be able to find the program that will work best for you. You can volunteer as an individual or a group. Volunteering with JA is really turn-key, everything is ready for you to "plug-in and play."
The most traditional volunteer experience is an in-class program that you do on a session by session basis that each last about 30-45 minutes. A four to six-hour volunteer opportunity is JA in a Day which teaches a program to an entire grade level or participates in a JA Finance Park or JA Biztown. Another opportunity is the JA Company program where students think through a business with assistance. You could also get involved through JA Job Shadows or JA Inspire events.
Get started volunteering with JA here.
The JA Experience
Most students that work with Junior Achievement receive approximately 5 to 10 hours of contact. As the students get older, the programs become longer. JA is even in the process of developing semester-long courses about economics which includes a useful e-book.
It does vary by area but we are seeing more and more areas who are saying we are going to be intentional in this district or in this county that every student in third, fifth, seventh, ninth, you know whatever the grade mapping looks like. That they are going to get that consistent and consecutive dose of Junior Achievement.
Parent Involvement
Parents can get involved in JA because each program has a take-home component. JA My Way is a great place to get started. The site has a career assessment that will suggest careers and ideas for scholarships and grants that parents are welcome to explore. As the JA Pathways program develops, the parent journey and involvement will become more important as students start to use JA outside of the classroom.
Junior Achievement is working to redevelop the JA Finance Parks to expose students to a broader span of adult life. The redesign and update will help to further enhance the student experience.
Check out Brad and Jonathan's review of this episode here.
The Hot Seat
Favorite Blog: Crystal. Not a blog but a book. The Harry Potter series but specifically the Goblet of Fire.
What is an inflection point in your life that was especially memorable or meaningful? Laura. She has spent 14 years with JA and it was her first job out of college. In that first role, she worked for an amazing woman in a male-dominated world. Learning from her was very pivotal for a successful journey.
Favorite Life Hack: Crystal. She carries around different size binder clips for all kinds of uses such as an airplane phone holder.
Biggest Financial Mistake: Laura. Dating someone who had a bad financial history. She learned the hard way that supporting someone without being able to change their financial ways doesn't always work out well.
The advice you would give your younger self: Laura. Don't ever think you can't do it. Just try it, what if it works?
Bonus! In the last 12 months, what purchase has brought the most value to your life? Crystal. A premium subscription to the Calm app.
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New to FI? Be sure to check out Episode 100: Welcome To The FI Community!
