Cars and Personality

Last week I was teaching my personal finance class about car loans. After some team trivia about different costs involved in buying and owning a car, I gave them time to go car shopping. I had them get on the computers and browse through some cars they might consider buying in the next 5 years so they could get familiar with pricing. I had to remind a few of them to be realistic, but told them I’d be curious to see what they picked out. Some people’s car choice fits their personality, and some don’t. Some of my students wanted me to guess what car I thought they’d pick, while others weren’t sure what to choose so they took a quiz to see what model was recommended for their personality. It was a fun way to get to know some of them better, and it seems to keep them engaged in the lesson.

At the beginning of the class I had asked who already had a car. I asked those that raised their hands whether they had named their car. Most of them had, so I had them share. Some of the names I heard were “Fiona”, “Betsy”, seemingly older female names. There was one that made me laugh out loud, and I could tell before the student even said it by the mischievous look on his face — “Black Jesus”!

 

“Gambling”

One of the things teachers find themselves doing  every so often is calling home about students whose grades are low or whose behavior is poor. Earlier this year I decided that in addition to calling home for these students, I would also call home for a few of my most pleasant and hard-working students. I wanted to let their parents know that I enjoyed having them in class and was impressed by their work ethic.

One of these calls was for a girl I had in my personal finance class last semester. The mother I spoke to seemed reluctant to believe her daughter was a hard worker and acted as though she was different at home compared to how I was describing her on the phone. As the conversation went on, this mother acknowledged that she thought the class was an important one that teaches valuable things to teenagers, but there was one thing she did not agree with.

“Oh, and what’s that?” I asked. She proceeded to tell me that she viewed the stock market as a form of gambling, and did not approve of such a thing. I was speechless at first, not knowing exactly how to respond. I could almost see her point, as no one really knows for sure what’s going to happen in the stock market and it’s very possible that a lot of money could be lost. However, it’s a perfectly legal way to invest one’s money in hopes of making it grow. It’s something that is important for students to learn, whether they are going into the business world or not, so they know what their options are.

I have my students compete against each other in a stock market simulation every semester, and some of the students get really into it (which makes me happy!). This is the activity that the mother objected to, though she couldn’t have been too upset about it because she never called me or the administration to complain – and I am thankful for that. I would hate to have to stop conducting it due to parent complaints. I find it to be such a great way of engaging my students and giving them some hands-on learning experiences.

Appearances can be deceiving

Many people will assume things about him, this teenage boy with the lip ring. The sides of his head are buzzed in a way that resembles a faux-hawk, though the back of it is tucked into a short ponytail. He wears a gold ring with a blinged out dollar sign on one hand, and chains around his neck. 

The demeanor of this boy in the classroom presents a sharp contrast to the labels that many will assign to him as he walks down the hall. He is quiet and does not speak out of turn. He takes notes and does his work.  He is one of the most polite students I’ve known, always saying hello to me and to have a good lunch, a good day, or a good weekend. 

This boy is a daily reminder that appearances can be deceiving, and that we should avoid making assumptions about people based on how they look.