bank accounts after Mrs. Stimach presented her lesson,” said Prince. “Just having the information presented to the students starts them thinking about credit cards and why they shouldn’t have them too early.” When instructing, Stimach uses a Q&A format, group work, and open-forum discussion. “The students have great questions,” Stimach said. “With middle and high school students, we talk a lot about what’s important to them and the choices they will make. We also talk about the reality of how much certain things cost. We discuss how much schooling is involved for different careers. A reality check can be helpful.” With the elementary age group, “I teach students that all jobs are important. We talk about the importance of treating everyone with respect, no matter the job,” said Stimach. Chandler observed Stimach teaching and said, “She discusses types of jobs with the younger classes. She emphasizes that every job is extremely important and each job contributes to our overall economic system. The important thing is not what the job is but that everyone is working.” The program is still in its infancy. Stimach envisions Dollars and Common Sense in all schools. Because there is merely one of her and she can only be in so many places at once, she hopes to train other teachers so that more students can be exposed to the integral skills of budgeting and finance. “I plan to apply for more grants and host more fundraising events. Until then, we have to keep the program small,” said Stimach. Teachers and parents who have seen Dollars and Common Sense in action say the program positively impacts our youth. “The program teaches students that all jobs are equally important,” said Chandler. Further, “when it’s not the parents telling the kids this information, I feel they listen much better.” According to Prince, “With everything that is going on with Wall Street and the real estate field, it is more important than ever for students to have a good financial foundation to stand on. They often don’t know the harm they do for their future while running up a huge credit card bill. Getting a house, car, even job opportunities can be harder with bad credit. They don’t know that, and I think Mrs. Stimach’s class does a great job of exposing the kids to this and setting them up to have financial success.”
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