{"id":114,"date":"2016-04-23T23:20:53","date_gmt":"2016-04-23T23:20:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/826boston.org\/redesign\/?p=114"},"modified":"2017-03-15T15:07:29","modified_gmt":"2017-03-15T15:07:29","slug":"patricia-gonzalez","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/826boston.org\/redesign\/patricia-gonzalez\/","title":{"rendered":"Patricia Gonz\u00e1lez"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

By Patricia Gonz\u00e1lez<\/strong><\/p>\n

High school students are not given the opportunity in school or in their communities to learn about financial literacy. I personally feel like I don\u2019t have a strong understanding about financial literacy. Is it because I don\u2019t like math? Or maybe it\u2019s because I am not learning the stuff that I am supposed to be learning?<\/p>\n

This is something complicated that needs to be fixed. Students don\u2019t have classes related to financial literacy in schools, and therefore they end up graduating without knowing how to balance a checkbook, budget, or apply for loans. Because of these problems the result is that many of us end up in poverty, debt, and with poor health care. Classes shouldn\u2019t only be based on history, chemistry, or math equations. Students that go to college after high school do not feel prepared when it comes to dealing with money and finances. Therefore financial literacy courses are what we need.<\/p>\n

I spoke to Bob Giannino, CEO of uAspire, an organization dedicated to helping students navigate the financial challenges of going to college.<\/p>\n

Patricia<\/strong>: What is financial literacy and why is it important?<\/p>\n

Bob<\/strong>: I would define financial literacy as having a strong understanding of how to manage your life within your financial constraints and capacities and having a healthy relationship with money, and the role that money plays in our lives. It is very easy for bad financial situations to hold us back and to hold our children back, so I think it\u2019s important to the world that we have a firm grasp on what it means to live within our means, how to manage money well, how to save money for rainy days.<\/p>\n

Patricia<\/strong>: \u00a0How do you help students become financially literate?<\/p>\n

Bob<\/strong>: We use college financing as an opportunity to have conversations with students and families about budgeting, saving, making really good financial decisions and the implications of financial decisions on a young person\u2019s future. \u00a0We try to do it in a very respectful way. We\u2019re not here to lecture parents and families about decisions that they\u2019ve made in the past but we feel that it\u2019s really important, when students and families are making college financing decisions, to be very aware of the macro, larger picture financial aspects of that decision. \u00a0You can\u2019t make the decision about how to pay for college in a vacuum, right?<\/p>\n

Paying for college will probably be the second-largest financial decision that most people will make in their life, second to buying a house. It\u2019s often going to cost people twenty or thirty thousand dollars. And it can have really harmful, long term effects on a young person and on a family if they don\u2019t make the right decision. For example, when you take out a student loan those student loans can never be forgiven.<\/p>\n

Patricia<\/strong>: If you could design the ideal financial literacy curriculum for high school, what would it look like?<\/p>\n

Bob<\/strong>: I would start very early in high school and keep it up [through] twelfth grade. \u00a0It would be connected to things that are immediately relevant to those students\u2019 lives. I\u2019m not talking about something like buying a house in fifteen years but things that are right in front of them like interest and how saving dollars can grow over time. \u00a0There would be an element of investing and what it means to invest smartly. \u00a0I\u2019d talk about \u201cnice-to-have things\u201d versus \u201cneed-to-have things\u201d when it comes to making spending decisions and prioritizing. \u00a0It would have elements of negotiating as it applies to employment and wages. It would distinguish between good and bad kinds of borrowing and loans.<\/p>\n

\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Patricia Gonz\u00e1lez High school students are not given the opportunity in school or in their communities to learn about financial literacy. I personally feel like I don\u2019t have a strong understanding about financial literacy. Is it because I don\u2019t like math? Or maybe it\u2019s because I am not learning the stuff that I am […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-114","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","has-post-thumbnail"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":112,"url":"https:\/\/826boston.org\/redesign\/javier-antonio-suarez-gonzalez\/","url_meta":{"origin":114,"position":0},"title":"Javier Antonio Su\u00e1rez Gonz\u00e1lez","author":"Javier Jimenez","date":"April 23, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"By Javier Antonio Su\u00e1rez Gonz\u00e1lez Our school system needs to adapt to realities of the twenty-first century. Many students nowadays don't want to go to college when they graduate from high school. Some students just want to graduate, get a job, and make money. Meanwhile, high schools are designed to\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/826boston.org\/redesign\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/04\/Suarez-Javier-683x1024.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/826boston.org\/redesign\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/04\/Suarez-Javier-683x1024.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/826boston.org\/redesign\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/04\/Suarez-Javier-683x1024.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":94,"url":"https:\/\/826boston.org\/redesign\/lorian-de-lahoz-cruz\/","url_meta":{"origin":114,"position":1},"title":"Lorian De Lahoz Cruz","author":"Lorian de Lahoz","date":"April 23, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"By Lorian De Lahoz Cruz Having moved to United States from the Dominican Republic, I felt a huge sense of relief when I found out that I\u2019d be attending the only two-way bilingual high school in the state. I have had many positive experiences at the Margarita\u00a0Mu\u00f1iz Academy, but there\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/826boston.org\/redesign\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/04\/de-Lahoz-Lorian-683x1024.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/826boston.org\/redesign\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/04\/de-Lahoz-Lorian-683x1024.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/826boston.org\/redesign\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/04\/de-Lahoz-Lorian-683x1024.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":79,"url":"https:\/\/826boston.org\/redesign\/priscilla-baez\/","url_meta":{"origin":114,"position":2},"title":"Priscilla B\u00e1ez","author":"Priscilla Baez","date":"April 23, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 \u00a0 By Priscilla B\u00e1ez Convergent thinking is the ability to always give the right answer. The first day of school for students is always about hearing what the teachers says to be correct and incorrect, so they can base their decisions on the classroom standards. The limited ways of\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/826boston.org\/redesign\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/04\/Baez-Priscilla-683x1024.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/826boston.org\/redesign\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/04\/Baez-Priscilla-683x1024.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/826boston.org\/redesign\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/04\/Baez-Priscilla-683x1024.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":126,"url":"https:\/\/826boston.org\/redesign\/jonatan-lopez\/","url_meta":{"origin":114,"position":3},"title":"Jonatan L\u00f3pez","author":"Jonatan Lopez","date":"April 23, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"By Jonatan L\u00f3pez When I first arrived to Boston from Puerto Rico I started second grade right away even though I didn\u2019t know English. On my first day of school I was terrified. For the first assignment, the teacher made us write down the city we lived in, and then\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/826boston.org\/redesign\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/04\/Lopez-Jonatan-683x1024.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/826boston.org\/redesign\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/04\/Lopez-Jonatan-683x1024.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/826boston.org\/redesign\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/04\/Lopez-Jonatan-683x1024.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":110,"url":"https:\/\/826boston.org\/redesign\/lisa-gomez\/","url_meta":{"origin":114,"position":4},"title":"Lisa G\u00f3mez","author":"Lisa Gomez","date":"April 23, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"By Lisa G\u00f3mez Here we go with the same twenty-three minutes that we get every day for lunch. It takes you three minutes to walk down the stairs to get to the cafeteria. As always, the same long line takes ten minutes for you to grab your first meal of\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/826boston.org\/redesign\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/04\/Gomez-Lisa-683x1024.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/826boston.org\/redesign\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/04\/Gomez-Lisa-683x1024.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/826boston.org\/redesign\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/04\/Gomez-Lisa-683x1024.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":164,"url":"https:\/\/826boston.org\/redesign\/daniel-rodriguez\/","url_meta":{"origin":114,"position":5},"title":"Daniel Rodr\u00edguez","author":"Daniel Rodriguez","date":"April 23, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"By Daniel Rodr\u00edguez Real world application is transferring skills and knowledge from one class to a bigger opportunity in the future. I interviewed Jonathan Landman, assistant commissioner for teaching and learning of the Boston Public Schools, and I learned a lot about why vocational training and real world application is\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/826boston.org\/redesign\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/04\/Rodriguez-Daniel-683x1024.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/826boston.org\/redesign\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/04\/Rodriguez-Daniel-683x1024.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/826boston.org\/redesign\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/04\/Rodriguez-Daniel-683x1024.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7wVLn-1Q","jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/826boston.org\/redesign\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/826boston.org\/redesign\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/826boston.org\/redesign\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/826boston.org\/redesign\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/29"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/826boston.org\/redesign\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=114"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/826boston.org\/redesign\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/826boston.org\/redesign\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=114"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/826boston.org\/redesign\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=114"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/826boston.org\/redesign\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=114"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}