Money management for teens

IRENE Aquino groups her students at Fort Bonifacio High School.

In looking for a meaningful way to mark its 109 years of doing business here, Citibank Philippines found the teachers and the high school students featured in this issue.

By donating copies of the Inquirer every Monday to 40 secondary school teachers in the weeks that the Learning section ran the Inquirer in Education series on money management for teens, Citibank made an investment in the future of thousands of students in Caloocan, Las Piñas, Mandaluyong, Manila, Makati, Muntinlupa, Pasay, Quezon City, Alabang, Silang (in Cavite), Sta. Cruz (Laguna) and Ligao City (Albay).

“We accomplished so much in just six weeks,” said Sergio Zanatti, head of Citibank’s Consumer Markets.

SOM PRINCIPAL Sister Amy reading the newspaper.

“While we set out to educate the young, the teachers have also shared very positive feedback that they learned as they taught—and now know the value of saving for their own financial future,” Zanatti added.

Math and economics teachers were invited to attend a preseries workshop hosted by Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas to qualify for the free copies of Inquirer (see story “BSP hosts national treasures”).

The material published was adapted from the Citibank-funded Global Financial Education training module “Young People: Your Future, Your Money.”

TEACHER Manolo Barles at SOM Girlstown

Classroom visits yielded immediate return on investment for the IIE financial literacy team. Activities exploring the concepts of saving, spending, borrowing and earning money capitalized on the young learners’ energy, enthusiasm and humor.

“We were impressed at how the teachers found creative ways to teach these critical money lessons, and the level of comprehension shown by the students,” said Zanatti.

One teacher said the students posted higher interest in learning because of the lessons’ practical applications to daily life. As much as they had fun designing their own five-peso bills, the students also realized there was a serious need to learn how to save for the rainy days.

The use of the newspaper spiced up classroom learning, the teachers commented.

SINGING seniors at SOM Boystown

The public schools that participated were Angeles City National High School, Bagong Silang High School, Fort Bonifacio High School, Gen. E. Aguinaldo Integrated School, Isaac Lopez Integrated School, Kalayaan National High School, Las Piñas Science High School, Makati Science High School, Maria Clara High School, Muntinlupa National High School, Pedro Guevarra Memorial National High School, Philippine School for the Deaf, Teodora Alonzo High School and Nolasco High School.

The Sisters of Mary Girlstown and Boystown, Erda Technical and Vocational Secondary School and Tuloy sa Don Bosco were the nonprofit private schools that taught the series. Mayon Institute of Science and Technology, St. Mary of the Woods and Blessed Christian School also participated.

ROLE-PLAYING girls at Angeles City National High School

“I know the program has come to an end, but clearly this is just the beginning of an exciting journey for these teachers and students that, I hope, leads them down the road of financial freedom,” said Zanatti.