NGPF Podcast

Thanks to Matthew Gherman of Edward R. Murrow High School in Brooklyn, New York for joining me recently on the NGPF podcast show. Matt teaches Honors Economics, AP Macro Economics and College Now Business Administration and is the Personal Finance Coordinator at Murrow (sounds like a busy guy!). Matt recently received the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Teaching Champion Award for his work incorporating personal finance into his economics curriculum ((Darren Gurney, another Sloan recipient appeared on our blog show previously). Listen to this podcast to hear Matt's insights on: 1) How he makes credit scores compelling for his students 2) The Junior Heroes program he leads which trains high school students to teach personal finance to elementary school students 3) How his school adapts their personal finance curriculum for their special needs students 4) Investing advice he gives his students For more details on the podcast: http://nextgenpersonalfinance.org/ ngpf-podcast-matthew-gherman

Thanks to Brian McFall, Personal Finance and Business Instructor at Washburn Rural High School (KS) for recently joining the NGPF podcast to discuss his blended learning curriculum and the student-run coffee shop at his school. Bryan shares his insights and answers the following questions that may be on the mind of many educators: 1) What are the 21st Century skills that you are developing in your course? 2) What exactly does a blended personal finance course look like from a student perspective? 3) What is the role of the teacher in this new environment? 4) What lessons can students learn from running a coffee shop on campus? More details on the podcast here: http://nextgenpersonalfinance.org/ngpf-podcast-brian-mcfall

Thanks to Lisa Bender, Personal Finance educator at Southern Garrett High School in Oakland, Maryland for recently joining the NGPF podcast to discuss how she develops college and career readiness skills in her students. Lisa shares her insights from her 29-year teaching career (which includes a Financial Literacy Teacher of the Year Award in 2014) and discusses: 1) The strategy she utilized to get personal finance added to her school's curriculum 2) How she uses the career experiences of recent alumni as motivation for her students 3) How she used grants to outfit a spare classroom to teach her students valuable interviewing skills 4) What factors students should consider when figuring out how much debt they will need to take on

Thanks to Nohely Peraza, a student at Eastside College Preparatory School in East Palo Alto, California. As a high school senior and the first in her family to attend college this fall, Nohely provides a voice to the hopes, dreams and financial concerns that accompany higher education in the U.S. She also describes the financial responsibilities that she has taken on in her household and the lessons that she has learned from that experience. Be ready to be inspired by Nohely's story!

Thanks to Anna Takahashi, Director of College Counseling at Eastside College Preparatory School in East Palo Alto, California for participating in this recent NGPF podcast. Anna wears many different hats at Eastside as college counselor, personal finance teacher and financial aid expert to name just a few. She has devoted her career to serving first gen students, that is, students who will be the first in their family to attend college. Listen to this podcast to hear Anna's insights on: *The biggest financial aid myths that she has to dispel *How to engage parents in the college decision process *Recent changes in the financial aid process *How to write a strong personal statement Enjoy! ————- Show Notes Resources mentioned by Anna: Eastside College Preparatory School website BigFuture by College Board College Navigator College Scorecard Net Price Calculator (search on individual college websites) Details: 0:35~2:07 - Description of Eastside Prep. 2:07~3:15 - Anna Takahashi's background 3:15~5:00 - College counseling process 5:00~8:01 - Online resource recommendations 8:01~9:28: How to write good personal statements 9:28~11:54 - Biggest financial aid myths that you have to dispel 11:54~13:20 - What do you consider a good student loan? 13:20~16:00 - Describes how Eastside Alumni come back to her classroom and the impact it has on her current students 16:00~18:40 - How do you engage parents in this process? 18:40~22:06 - Educating students about financial aid 22:06~22:40 - Topics that you cover in your Transition to College course 22:40~25:33 - Recent changes in the financial aid 25:33~27:40 - What are the three topics that are incredibly important to teach students?

Thanks to Major Brian Retherford, Economics Instructor at the USMA at West Point for participating in the recent NGPF podcast show. Hat tip to my friend Todd Eichler who had heard Brian speak and thought he would be a great guest (and he was right!). Brian brings a wealth of perspectives to the topic; from his own entrepreneurial instincts honed at an early age to his current role of filling the financial knowledge and behavioral gaps of future Army officer corps. Listen to this podcast to hear Major Retherford provide answers to the following questions: * What happens when you give those studying at the service academies and ROTC participants an opportunity to take out a $36,000 loan in their junior year? * What are the key investment lessons that we should be teaching young people? * What are the blind spots that you see in your students and how do you address them?

Thanks to Colin Ryan for participating in the recent NGPF podcast show. We ran into Colin recently at the JumpStart National Educator Conference where his keynote address was extremely well received. As you listen, pay attention to how he incorporates storytelling into his workshops and how you might emulate his models in your classroom. Don't let Colin's comedy routine fool you...he keenly understands the role that individual motivation plays in translating financial knowledge into behaviors. His passion, unique perspectives and experience with student groups and educators (over 500 workshops and counting) make this a podcast not to be missed. Listen to this podcast to hear Colin provide answers to the following questions: * How did you come up with this idea of combining comedy with financial education? * How should educators think about using storytelling in the context of financial education? * What are the components of an engaging story? * if you had one minute to make an impression on a high school student about the importance of financial literacy, what would you say?

Thanks to Ren Makino and Sid Sharma for participating in the recent NGPF podcast show. Ren and Sid have interned at NGPF for over a year and have done great work supporting our mission. They are currently students at Palo Alto High School, where financial literacy is not taught as a standalone course but is incorporated into some economics courses in a limited fashion. I wanted to get their take on the biggest money issues they encounter as well as what their peers are dealing with in this affluent suburban community.

As you listen, you will hear some issues that may seem universal for teens while others are more typical of communities like Palo Alto. Given that our curriculum meets the needs of a diverse student population, I look forward to including additional student voices in future podcasts (so please let me know if you have students who you think might be good to interview!).

Listen to this podcast to hear Ren and Sid provide answers to the following questions:

How are their money attitudes similar/different from their parents?

How comfortable are they with new payment methods available from their smartphones?

What personal finance topics are most engaging among their peer group?

What are their savings strategies?

What lessons have they learned from their NGPF experience?

Thanks to Robbin Lussier, business teacher from Chicopee High School in Chicopee, MA for participating in this podcast. In this wide-ranging interview, Robbin's enthusiasm for personal finance shines through her words and actions. She advocates for a dedicated personal finance course at her school...and gets it. She searches for a solution to her professional development needs...and drives long distances to participate in it. She yearns for a curriculum that is practical and leverages technology in her classroom...and finds and implements it.

Listen to this podcast to hear Robbin’s answer to questions, including:

In putting your course together, what topics did you consider including?

What do you consider effective professional development?

What financial concepts do students seem most unfamiliar with?

What strategies do you utilize to involve parents?

Thanks to Ash Cash, personal finance expert, motivational speaker, author, entrepreneur, teacher and radio show host for taking time to participate in the NGPF podcast show. It's no wonder he rises every morning at 4am, he's got a lot going on!

Ash, a former banking executive, has successfully transitioned to an entrepreneurial life educating and motivating others to make financially responsible decisions We first discovered Ash in the process of building our curriculum and included one of his videos, Five Steps to Financial Freedom, in our Budgeting Basics lesson. His energy and motivational message resonated with our students, particularly his point about the importance of having a "side hustle." In our conversation, Ash discusses how he engages a wide spectrum of audiences; from prisoners at Rikers Island to high school students to corporate executives.

Be sure to listen to this podcast and get his answers to:

1) What approaches are most effective in reaching inner-city youth with personal finance education?

2) Having worked at both banks and credit unions, how would you describe the differences between these financial institutions?

3) How do your use your various platforms to motivate people to change their financial habits?

4) What is a "side hustle" and why do you think it is important for young people to have one?