Source: Dawne Martin, Director, Center for Economic Education at K-State
RADIO
REPORT: 1 Wrap
1 Actuality
Senate Bill 74 mandates that all Kansas students receive some form of instruction in the area of personal finance. You have selected a story on how K-State is helping Kansas teachers fulfill those requirements. The wrap and sound bite follow in 3,2,1.
WRAP 1: An expert in personal finance at K-State says we should see smarter U.S. consumers down the road thanks to Senate Bill 74
TIME: 57 Seconds
Suggested Intro: IF KANSAS SCHOOL CHILDREN LEARN THE CONCEPT OF MONEY AT AN EARLY AGE, HOW MUCH MORE MONEY-SAVVY WILL THEY BE WHEN THEY BECOME ADULTS? LEGISLATION RECENTLY IMPLEMENTED IN KANSAS PUBLIC SCHOOLS MANDATES THAT ALL GRADES RECEIVE SOME SORT OF PERSONAL FINANCE TRAINING -- WHETHER IT'S LEARNING HOW TO CALCULATE INTEREST RATES OR DISCOVERING HOW TO OPEN A SAVINGS ACCOUNT. AN EXPERT AT K-STATE EXPLAINS HOW K-STATE IS HELPING THE STATE'S TEACHERS FULFILL THOSE EDUCATIONAL REQUIREMENTS. LANICE THOMSON REPORTS.
FROM FINE ARTS TO PHYSICS, KANSAS SCHOOL STUDENTS ARE TAUGHT MANY THINGS – BUT PERSONAL FINANCE IS USUALLY NOT ONE OF NOT ONE OF THEM. . .AND UNLESS THEY'RE BUSINESS INSTRUCTORS, MOST TEACHERS HAVE NOT HAD MUCH TRAINING IN ECONOMICS. THE CENTER FOR ECONOMIC EDUCATION AT K-STATE IS ONE OF FIVE CENTERS AROUND KANSAS THAT ARE HELPING TRAIN THOSE TEACHERS FULFILL THE STATE'S EDUCATIONAL REQUIREMENTS SET FORTH BY SENATE BILL 74. CENTER DIRECTOR DR. DAWNE MARTIN SAYS THEY'RE HELPING TEACHERS INCORPORATE PERSONAL FINANCE INSTRUCTION INTO THEIR DAILY CURRICULUM THROUGH EXERCISES AND ACTIVITIES. MARTIN SAYS BECAUSE OF SENATE BILL 74, SHE EXPECTS STUDENTS TO BECOME SMARTER CONSUMERS DOWN THE ROAD. .
(Martin: "I would imagine you're going to start seeing the savings rate go up quickly, maybe the rate in which people invest in the stock market, also I think you're going to see the level of consumer debt go down substantially.")
LANICE THOMSON, KANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY.
ACTUALITY 1: K-State's Center for Economic Education is helping Kansas teachers fulfill educational requirements mandated by Senate Bill 74.
TIME: 15 Seconds
With a goal of making sure Kansas school students have a firm grasp of money issues, Senate Bill 74 was signed into law by Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius in 2003. This mandates that personal finance be incorporated into the state's educational standards for all Kansas students in Kindergarten through the 12th grade. Through this program, older students are given lessons in budgeting, calculating loan interest, managing a checking account and dealing with credit card debit. Younger students are taught simpler tasks, like how to recognize and count coins. Dr. Dawne Martin, the director of K-States Center for Economic Education, says unless they're specializing in business education, most teachers do not receive much training in economics. She says the Center for Economic Education is helping Kansas teachers improve their understanding of personal finance through various workshops and classes. This sound bite is 15 seconds, and the outcue is ". . . comfortable with it."
(Martin :15 "The educational component is actually helping them understand the concept and then having exercises, activities, all sorts of things they can actually integrate into their curriculum quickly. It makes it easy for them to teach economics even if they didn't feel very comfortable with it.")
Martin says that by beginning to teach the importance of managing money at a young age, she predicts we will see much smarter consumers in the United States in a few years. She says she believes the savings rate will go up, more people will tend to invest in the stock market and the level of consumer debt will go down substantially. Last year, the Center for Economic Education trained 77 teachers from northeast Kansas as part of their professional development.