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It was a book that first got James Langford thinking about financial literacy — and why his peers didn’t seem to know anything about it.
When he was 13, Langford was given the book “The Motley Fool Investment Guide for Teens: 8 Steps to Having More Money Than Your Parents Ever Dreamed Of.” That sparked an interest to learn about saving and investing, but when he talked to his peers about personal finances, he might as well have been speaking another language.
“Whenever I tried to strike up a conversation with my friends about financial literacy, they were clueless,” he said. “Most kids my age don’t know how to manage their money.”
He cited a 2009 study conducted on behalf of the Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy that found the average score of high-school seniors who took a 31-question financial-literacy exam in 2008 was just 48.3 percent, the lowest ever recorded by the biennial study.
About a year and a half ago, Langford, the son of Chris and Ellen Langford of Fort Wayne, joined the BizWhiz program at the Northeast Indiana Innovation Center in Fort Wayne. The program provides assistance to college and high-school students in planning, starting and operating their own technology-related businesses.
At first, Langford said, he didn’t know what he wanted his business project to be. But he had a flash of inspiration: There had to be a better way to educate students about financial literacy.
“A lot of the stuff that’s out there really isn’t good, so we’re trying to come up with something better,” said Langford, who is homeschooled and now a junior.
Through his company, Financial Education Solutions, which has space in the Innovation Center’s Student Venture Lab, Langford is developing a curriculum for sixth- through eighth-graders that distills financial literacy to its basic elements, while at the same time meeting Indiana educational standards. For each grade level, there is a three-week unit. Each unit has 15 lessons that last about 20 minutes. Lessons will feature audio and video presentations that explain the topic, which are followed by class activities to help students master the concept.
“The idea that we start out with is
Rochford
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It was a book that first got James Langford thinking about financial literacy — and why his peers didn’t seem to know anything about it.
When he was 13, Langford was given the book “The Motley Fool Investment Guide for Teens: 8 Steps to Having More Money Than Your Parents Ever Dreamed Of.” That sparked an interest to learn about saving and investi
By Barry Rochford
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
It was a book that first got James Langford thinking about financial literacy — and why his peers didn’t seem to know anything about it.
When he was 13, Langford was given the book “The Motley Fool Investment Guid e for Teens: 8 Steps to Having More Money Than Your Parents Ever Dreamed Of.” That sparked an interest to learn about saving and investing, but when he talked to his peers about personal finances, he might as well have been speaking another language.
“Whenever I tried to strike up a conversation with my friends about financial literacy, they were clueless,” he said. “Most kids my age don’t know how to manage their money.”
He cited a 2009 study conducted on behalf of the Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy that found the average score of high-school seniors who took a 31-question financial-literacy exam in 2008 was just 48.3 percent, the lowest ever recorded by the biennial study.
About a year and a half ago, Langford, the son of Chris and Ellen Langford of Fort Wayne, joined the BizWhiz program at the Northeast Indiana Innovation Center in Fort Wayne. The program provides assistance to college and high-school students in planning, starting and operating their own technology-related businesses.
At first, Langford said, he didn’t know what he wanted his business project to be. But he had a flash of inspiration: There had to be a better way to educate students about financial literacy.
“A lot of the stuff that’s out there really isn’t good, so we’re trying to come up with something better,” said Langford, who is homeschooled and now a junior.
Through his company, Financial Education Solutions, which has space in the Innovation Center’s Student Venture Lab, Langford is developing a curriculum for sixth- through eighth-graders that distills financial literacy to its basic elements, while at the same time meeting Indiana educational standards.
For each grade level, there is a three-week unit. Each unit has 15 lessons that last about 20 minutes. Lessons will feature audio and video presentations that explain the topic, which are followed by class activities to help students master the concept.
“The idea that we start out with is really simple. We start out with wealth,” Langford said. “Our concept is wealth is financial freedom. It’s not buying stuff.”
Langford’s $ucce$$ financial-literacy curriculum focuses on savings and budgeting in the sixth grade. Seventh-graders will learn about debt, credit scores and saving for college. Eighth-graders will learn about investing and saving for retirement.
The lessons most likely would be done in a math or social-studies class, Langford said. But the curriculum is flexible and can be tailored to an individual teacher’s needs. That’s a big reason why he decided to keep the lessons short.
“Time constraints are a huge issue in schools,” he said.
To ensure the curriculum meets schools’ needs, Langford has sought input from teachers and administrators. And he’s also received advice from financial professionals.
The sixth-grade curriculum is nearly complete, Langford said, adding that the seventh-grade lessons will be finished in 2010 and the eighth-grade lessons in 2011. He plans on testing the sixth-grade curriculum during the second semester of the 2009-2010 school year.
Langford said the $ucce$$ curriculum already has received interest from schools. The curriculum largely will be marketed through Financial Education Solutions’ Web site, www.feslearning.com.
In support of his business, the Innovation Center gave Financial Education Solutions a $2,500 Accelerator Grant. Langford also works as an intern at the center. Other than his time, he said his business hasn’t cost him anything, and he’s working with individuals who have volunteered their services, including Web-site design and video production, for free.
Langford said he hopes his program will inspire students to become financially literate, just as a book inspired him when he was 13.
“When they’re done with this program, they’ve changed their life, hopefully,” he said.
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