http://www.hendersoncountypublicschoolsnc.org/instructional-technology/resources-by-topic/curriculum-resources/twenty-first-century-skills/ |
http://www.edutopia.org/stw-financial-literacy-infographic |
Here is an info graphic that outlines the current American economic status, especially in young people. As you can see, by factoring in the current trends and problems with finances (especially in young people and their habits) it is important to develop financially literate citizens to foster a more positive financial economy. At this point in our economic states, it seems as if financial literacy is more important than ever.
Financial literacy itself can be defined as "“The improved understanding of financial
products, services and concepts so students are empowered to make informed
choices, avoid pitfalls, know where to go for help and take other actions to
improve their present and long term financial wellbeing" (Kezar & Yang 2010). To further understand how financial literacy can be integrated into the classroom, check out this youtube video that was located on Edutopia.
https://sites.google.com/site/sisathleticsandactivities/home/financial-literacy-through-games |
I bet you're wondering why I have gone into so much detail about financial literacy! Well firstly, it is fresh in my mind and something that I really wanted to talk about. But secondly, financial literacy in itself is something that was lacking from my education. I am not sure if I missed out because I took more fine arts and social science based courses in high school (although the Ontario Ministry of Education outlines how to integrate financial literacy into all areas of learning) or simply it wasn't taught. But this is something that I know I struggle with now, and something that I wish my education had centred around. Budgeting, financing and bank loans are all areas in which I struggle to understand and excel in. Furthermore, at this point I personally feel very behind compared to my peers in understanding economy and how to keep finances in check. Just like all the other literacies we have studied so far, I would argue that financial literacy is an integral life skill, and that not being aware of the aspects of financial literacy can have a detrimental effect to overall quality of life.
I really look forward to learning more about the different 21st Century literacies, and how to integrate them into our future unit and lesson plans. Although these concepts are very new to me, I think that because they are so rooted in life skills with real life connections they will become incredibly important to our education as future teachers.
Allyson, this was a great first blog post! In addition to you, I had no idea what 21st century literacies were and how to even start implementing them into our future classrooms. I think it is important that as future educators we start to become familiar with literacies that can be included within various subjects and not just our “teachables.” Up until now, my courses here at Brock University have mainly been directed towards teaching strategies directly related to my future teaching subjects (Health and Physical Education) but I am excited that this course will offer us resources to utilize these literacies in a much broader category. It will be interesting to see how these literacies can all be connected without favouring one single subject. In addition, when I first read the words “financial literacy,” the only thing I thought of was the subject math, but after you went into further explanation I can see how it can be related to various aspects of teaching. The article you embedded into your blog was very interesting and after reading made me both really upset and intrigued. Many individuals in todays’ society have a much skewed image of money (plastic cards) and will find themselves in huge financial dilemmas…like James. Therefore, it made me realize the importance of teaching our future students about “financial literacy” earlier rather than later and it is not something to take lightly. Like you, if it was not for my parents and upbringing I was never educated on the importance of “financial literacy” and it is most DEFINITELY an important life skill. After watching the video and reading your blog, I am already starting to think of ways to implement financial literacy into my future classrooms (aka financial literacy bingo, financial stability in mental health), so thank you for informing me!
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