It started with a question …
At our first speaking engagement shortly after Neiman Marcus launched our book, during Q&A someone asked the seemingly innocent question, "Why isn't this taught in school?" How were we to know that just months later we would be developing and teaching a 12-week "Red & Black Personal Finance and Life 101" program to the Class of 2010 at KIPP Houston High School? Or that it would result in What I Learned About Life When My Husband Got Fired! being approved as a personal financial literacy textbook by the (Texas) State Board of Education.
KIPP Houston High School (KHHS)
For those of you not familiar with KIPP (which included us up until a few days before our initial meeting with them), it stands for Knowledge Is Power Program and was co-founded by Teach For America alumnae Mike Feinberg and Dave Levin in Houston in 1994. Since then, KIPP has grown to a national network of public schools which are recognized for narrowing the achievement gap in public education and putting underserved students on the path to college.
KIPP Houston High School is where our unexpected, but extremely rewarding, journey into the world of education began. Although the Texas Education Agency (TEA) requires essential knowledge and skills in personal financial literacy be incorporated into various courses and grade levels, KIPP felt financial literacy is such a critical component of college and life readiness for seniors (soon to be college freshmen) that it should have its own curriculum. We were as surprised as anyone when they asked us to not only develop, but to teach, the program and owe our gratitude to KIPP for its trust in us and for seeing past the messengers and focusing on the message.
Our Guinea Pigs
Once we committed to developing the program, Black recognized we needed expert advice so she requested a focus group of high school seniors. Eight amazing students, who we fondly call our "Guinea Pigs," met with us for five weekly working lunches. After reading specific sections of the book, they identified the key topics they thought should be covered in the program. In addition, it was the "Guinea Pigs" who recommended our book should be used as a textbook, calling it a "reality show in a book". Looking back, they were the first to use a "book club approach", although we didn't realize it (or the power of the format) until many months later.
Test Driving A Second Version
We organized the weekly classes to first address financial topics, and then we went back through the book to cover the other topics (such as time management, dealing with stress, relationships … in other words, Life 101). At the end of the semester, Black surveyed the students and their input, suggestions, and feedback was instrumental in the development of our book submittal to TEA (and may help explain why the book was approved in less than 30 days).
The submittal, which ultimately was turned into a companion guide for educators, organized the classes so that you would start at the beginning of the book and work your way through the chapters (basically what the Guinea Pigs had suggested). It sounded good on paper, but we wanted to see first-hand if it actually worked. And, although both ways worked, we believe a true "book club approach" works better.
Don't Take Our Word For It
Yes, the (Texas) State Board of Education approved the book, but we're more excited that it's student-approved. In fact, it was the sentiments expressed in the student's thank you notes (to the anonymous book donor) that had the greatest impact on us.
Want to read amazing comments from the KIPP students about the Red & Black program?
We know that some people prefer statistics over quotes (Black likes both quantitative and qualitative "evidence"), so we thought we would also include the numbers from our "non-scientific" surveys:
- "Non-Scientific" Survey Results from the Class of 2010
- "Non-Scientific" Survey Results from the Class of 2011
Starting our journey into the world of education at KIPP was an amazing experience and truly an education for us as well. We never expected this detour and never dreamed that KIPP would issue not one, but two, press releases about us!
- KIPP Takes an Unusual Approach to Developing New Financial Literacy Program Press Release (May 2010 Press Release)
- KIPP Believes Personal Financial Literacy Should Have Its Own Curriculum (September 2011 Press Release)
If you have any questions, or want additional information (including FREE educational resources), please contact us at education@RedandBlackBooks.com.
It's a running joke in my family that the only reason I go to the movies is for the popcorn. And while that isn't 100% true, it's probably close, as I can't remember a time when popcorn wasn't an essential part of the experience.
I can still remember seeing Mel Brooks' "Young Frankenstein" when it was first released (in 1974) at the Massapequa movie theater, which was literally at one end of an old strip shopping center. It bore no resemblance to today's multiplex cinemas, and the concession stand offerings were very limited. It was dark and a bit dingy, and the seats were old and uncomfortable. But I didn't care because the popcorn more than made up for it. And while I sat through multiple showings of the movie (it's still one of my favorites), I was grateful my dad had given me enough money to buy multiple popcorns, as in those days there was no such thing as the big bucket, let alone free refills.
Fast forward, and some things never change...
First, I ask them to fill the large bucket "really high, please, I haven't eaten all day, and I'm starving." Ok, so I probably did eat earlier, but I need an excuse for asking for a ridiculous amount of popcorn, don't I? Which takes me to the next part of my routine. If the bucket's filled to the point of overflowing, I know exactly the pace to eat it so that it lasts for almost the entire movie. (Trust me, I'm not kidding!) And then, the final part of the routine … I don't start eating my popcorn until the movie begins. Not the coming attractions— the movie. (Unlike Black, who races to finish her small size popcorn by the time the movie starts as if it's something to be ticked off a "to do" list.)
So, think what you will, but for me, the popcorn's a critical part of what makes going to the movies so enjoyable. And has become an amusing memory for my youngest daughter and me, as many years ago, when we were in the concession stand line, she asked me what size popcorn I was getting,
I love you, honey, and you're so smart, but that may be the silliest question you've ever asked me. And, quite possibly, will ever ask me.
To this day, she still remembers it, and although she no longer lives at home, when she hears that I’ve gone to the movies, she’ll jokingly ask me what size popcorn I got. And in the same breath, answer the question. Because she knows that there’s only one answer.The biggest bucket available.
Every time we see the photo above of our "guinea pigs", it brings back such fond memories. You may be thinking, "What? Are they calling those students guinea pigs?!" Well, actually, yes. And before you think ill of us, please know that we use the term with great affection, deep gratitude, and utmost respect. And these eight amazing seniors from the Class of 2010 know that's our nickname for them because ...
We started calling them our "Guinea Pigs" as soon as they volunteered to help us develop our Red & Black Personal Finance and Life 101 program at KIPP Houston High School. It was important that they knew this was truly an “experiment”, as neither one of us was a teacher or a financial expert.
It all started at our first speaking engagement, when during Q&A a woman asked why the topics in our book weren’t taught in school. The next thing we knew, we were sitting in the office of Bryan Contreras, Director of KIPP Through College, and being asked not only to develop, but also to teach, a semester-long personal finance and Life 101 course to their high school seniors. During their spring semester. (Yes, the months right before they graduate.) While Red looked like a deer in headlights (we barely considered ourselves authors, let alone teachers), Black responded as she often does, with a simple:
Sure, not a problem.
While Red went home to carpool and baking cookies, Black did what she does best — use her corporate and business experience to tackle the challenge. So, she requested a "task force" of seniors to help us develop the curriculum because, as she put it:
If it is not relevant, why bother? And, who knows best what is relevant to high school seniors? High school seniors.
Black introduced them to the business concept of a working lunch (which might also be considered a pizza bribe), and we met for five Fridays. We gave them a list of select book excerpts they were expected to read each week so we could discuss what they thought should be included in the curriculum. That first week, they seemed motivated to help — but we weren't sure what to expect.
They came back excited and totally committed, with two of them having read the entire book and the rest having read much more than the assigned excerpts. Luckily, Red had been a straight-A, copious note-taking student. However, she could barely keep up with their comments and feedback, let alone the side discussions generated by the conversations in our book. You could see their interest in personal finance (and many other Life 101 topics) was strong and genuine, and they explained that learning from the mistakes of others was extremely powerful. One student, after prefacing his comment with apologies, stated:
When I grow up, I don't want to be Red.
We'll always be indebted to our Guinea Pigs for their enthusiasm and suggestions, as using our book as the textbook was their idea, not ours. And through their feedback on the book and the lessons they were already learning from it, which began at those pizza lunches, the answer to how best to "teach" a Red & Black class was obvious to them. It was as simple as a book club. For us, it took a little longer to come to that realization as we were hampered by our own preconceived notions about how lessons are taught in a classroom. So, although the initial intent may have been for us to be the teachers and them to be the students... we learned from each other.
P.S. – For those of you interested in a more "educational" look at our detour into the world of education, including "feedback" (student quotes, Black's "non-scientific" surveys, and KIPP press releases) from our two spring semesters when we "taught" at KIPP Houston High School, please check out An Unexpected Education Detour ...
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