Class trains students in finances

Middle school students crowded the flag-lined halls of Frick International Student Academy as… Middle school students crowded the flag-lined halls of Frick International Student Academy as they rushed to their-third period classes.

In room 236, children dressed in blue jeans and sweatshirts and carrying Rocawear, Timberland and Jansport backpacks trudged to their seats, chatting about what they packed for lunch.

The class of 17 quieted down as student teacher Sam Brayer, a Pitt sophomore, walked into the room filled with colorful posters about math from different cultures, a room complete with its own “Calculator Center.”

They watched as he wrote that day’s topic on the chalkboard.

“OK, guys. Today we’re learning about credit and investing,” Brayer said.

Teacher Mike McGuire watched his seventh grade class sit through their last day of “Financial Literacy,” a course taught by volunteers like Brayer through Banking on Our Future, a program sponsored by Operation HOPE.

For two class periods every Monday in February, sixth, seventh and eighth grade students filled the orange and blue seats surrounding seven small wooden tables to learn about everything from credit cards to stocks to annual percentage rates.

During the 40-minute period, the students tapped their pencils and squirmed in their chairs as they tried to calculate interest rates and credit card payments, a feat that some adults struggle with.

At times, they were unfocused and confused, but Brayer and McGuire sauntered among the tables, eager to help anyone who needed it.

Shouts of “12 months” and “$113.28” filled the room as Brayer asked the students for the answers to the problems on their worksheets, and the occasional “Oh!” was heard when a student finally understood.

But for a group of middle school students, aged 11 to 15, why teach financial literacy?

Brayer, a volunteer for Banking on Our Future and member of Sigma Phi Epsilon, believes it is beneficial to teach young students the importance of money management.

“Most of the students in my class weren’t very receptive to it,” he said. “However, there were a few kids who really took hold of the information and seemed to really enjoy it.”

“It’s kind of hit and miss,” he added. “But it’ll be beneficial for those students who listened and were proactive in their learning.”

Mike McGuire, Frick ISA’s seventh-grade math teacher, agrees with Brayer.

“For the students that focused and actually gave a 100 percent effort, the program helps,” he said. “They have a much better understanding of the system now.”

The Banking on Our Future program, an offshoot of Operation HOPE, a non-profit organization that specializes in economic needs, has helped more than 228,000 students worldwide since 1996, with stations all over the United States and other countries like South Africa.

Bill Long, Banking on Our Future’s local program manager, said the financial literacy class wanted to teach the students “life lessons” and how to “expand folks’ horizons.”

“We’ve become a debtor nation,” meaning that more and more people are finding themselves in the red, he said. “We’re interested in teaching the kids about making wise financial choices.”

“We want to make an impact on them and their families,” he added. “What we’re doing here is social change.”

Long said that the majority of his volunteers are Pitt students, and he is pleased to see them give back to the community when the opportunity presents itself.

“Pitt students have really stepped up,” he said.

Kristin Caiazzo, a senior volunteer majoring in finance with a minor in economics, agrees that the whole teaching experience felt rewarding and useful at the same time.

“At first, the kids thought we were bankers and didn’t really pay attention to us,” she said.

“But then, we started asking questions like ‘Who likes money?’ and ‘Who has a bank account?’ and they began to understand how money relates to them.”

“It would put a smile on my face when I really saw them understanding it,” she added. “Seeing that sixth graders were getting it was the most rewarding thing for me.”

Brayer said the most rewarding aspect of teaching was the fun he had interacting with the seventh graders.

“It was fun to remember what I was like at that age,” he said. “And the textbook answer would be that it was ‘giv[ing] back to the community.'”

“I know it’s kind of cliche,” he added, “but it’s true. It’s truly a rewarding experience, to say the least.”