Blame can be spread around for this nasty recession that the world is currently going through. Many people like to blame poor regulation of the banks by the government and inept banking moves by bankers. However, I think most of the blame resides in our education system for failing to educate or citizens about personal financial literacy. We teach our kids about how to count money in the second or third grade, which is the extent of our financial literacy education. Sure, some advanced students are able to take economics as seniors in high school, but economics is substantially different than personal financial literacy, which includes but it is not limited to understanding personal cashflows, types of credit, how to properly leverage your assets, and take "smart" risks.
We have essentially raised three generations of financially inept citizens who allow "professionals" who may be even more inept to manage their finances. This doesn't make logical sense. The ultra-rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer because the poor do not understand how money actually works. Democrat or Republican, your party tie does not matter. While there are some optional curriculums available, such as Junior Achievement's Financial Park, there has yet to be a state or federal push to mandate financial literacy amongst our youth. These levels need to step up and push for more financial literacy programs so that we can avoid the wasteful personal spending and personal mistakes that got us into this rough economic situation.
Monday, February 22, 2010
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
What is happiness?
The following are some questions that I was asked to answer in class:
1) On a scale of 1-10 how happy am I?
I would say I am probably a 6. I am happy, but I am not spending most of my time doing what makes me happy. Teaching does not bring huge happiness to me as I know it can do for other people.
2) On the same scale (1-10) how unhappy am I?
I am a 2 on the unhappiness scale. I am not really that unhappy, I just want to try something different in life.
3) On the same scale (1-10) how checked out (apathetic) am I?
I am a 7 for being checked out. It's not that I am not trying or working as hard. If anything, I am working harder and smarter, but I am pretty burnt out with teaching. I feel that I am getting pretty good at it, and I could see myself improving much more to become a phenomenal teacher. However, I just do not enjoy many aspects of it. There are many things that upset me on a day-to-day basis and I want to try something different because I feel like a lot of what I do is quite repetitive. The most exciting day I had in a long time was a few weeks ago when a parent emailed me asking what I did for her student to further his achievement. I felt inspired and I created a 4 page email listing specific dates and interventions I did for him and emailed it back to her. I did have one other day where I was doing my kinesthetic learning action research project; I haven't ever laughed that hard in class. I do know that the grass is often greener on the other side so when I reach that side I may want to come back to teaching.
4) How happy am I willing to be? I would like to be a 9.
5) In order to achieve my intention and heartfelt desire to be happy at a 9, I will committ to do the following:
1) On a scale of 1-10 how happy am I?
I would say I am probably a 6. I am happy, but I am not spending most of my time doing what makes me happy. Teaching does not bring huge happiness to me as I know it can do for other people.
2) On the same scale (1-10) how unhappy am I?
I am a 2 on the unhappiness scale. I am not really that unhappy, I just want to try something different in life.
3) On the same scale (1-10) how checked out (apathetic) am I?
I am a 7 for being checked out. It's not that I am not trying or working as hard. If anything, I am working harder and smarter, but I am pretty burnt out with teaching. I feel that I am getting pretty good at it, and I could see myself improving much more to become a phenomenal teacher. However, I just do not enjoy many aspects of it. There are many things that upset me on a day-to-day basis and I want to try something different because I feel like a lot of what I do is quite repetitive. The most exciting day I had in a long time was a few weeks ago when a parent emailed me asking what I did for her student to further his achievement. I felt inspired and I created a 4 page email listing specific dates and interventions I did for him and emailed it back to her. I did have one other day where I was doing my kinesthetic learning action research project; I haven't ever laughed that hard in class. I do know that the grass is often greener on the other side so when I reach that side I may want to come back to teaching.
4) How happy am I willing to be? I would like to be a 9.
5) In order to achieve my intention and heartfelt desire to be happy at a 9, I will committ to do the following:
Try a new job/career.
Worry less about checking off stuff on my to do list and thinking more about what I can do to make others happy.
I also think I want a lot of stuff and according to what I heard in class I need to limit this, but I do not currently know how to do this so I need to research this.
Monday, February 8, 2010
2 Million Minutes - Part 2
In class last Tuesday we watched 2 Million Minutes - Part 2, which was about a charter school based in Tucson, AZ. The name of the school is Basis, and it is the number one ranked high school in the nation according to US News and World Report. The school has an amazing cultue of student achievement which starts with staggering graduation requirements. The school's motto is essentially "Exceed the Highest Expectations." They have high expectations for all students, even "average" students. The curriculum is such a simple concept it makes you wonder why all high schools don't implemnt mandatory AP classes and full year physics, biology, and chemistry in 6-8 grades.
The change that Olga and her partner were able to make in the students at their school and in their community is amazing and really inspiring. It makes me want to start a charter school and base it on their model because it has proven to work not just in Tucson but in Scottsdale as well. The movie as invoked a strong emotion of anger from me. For one, I was really upset that I did not have a school, principals, and teachers pushing me to my absolute highest for 6 years of middle school and high school. I took all possible honors and AP classes but I could have done more if I was pushed and inspired. Secondly, it makes me upset that we are failing many of our children by lowering the bar with ridiculously low expectations. As the Intel CEO said, we need to raise the bar if we (the US) is not going fall behind other countries in the world.
The change that Olga and her partner were able to make in the students at their school and in their community is amazing and really inspiring. It makes me want to start a charter school and base it on their model because it has proven to work not just in Tucson but in Scottsdale as well. The movie as invoked a strong emotion of anger from me. For one, I was really upset that I did not have a school, principals, and teachers pushing me to my absolute highest for 6 years of middle school and high school. I took all possible honors and AP classes but I could have done more if I was pushed and inspired. Secondly, it makes me upset that we are failing many of our children by lowering the bar with ridiculously low expectations. As the Intel CEO said, we need to raise the bar if we (the US) is not going fall behind other countries in the world.
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