FSNet News #17 -- June 12, 2000

CONTENTS

1 Announcements:

1.1 CPA Grants--Possible Change in Application Process

1.2 STC Summery Academy

2 Issues & Best Practices:

2.1 Discovery and Intention -- Student Centered Goal Setting & Reflection

2.2 Financial Literacy Standards

3 Resources:

3.1 Private Accounts in Social Security

3.2 360 Degrees of Possibilities

3.3 Ford Admits SUVs Fall Short of Environmental Goals

BaySCAN is moving on June 1, 2000. If you would like to contact us, our email addresses use the following convention: [email protected]. We will advise you of our new phone, fax, and address information soon.

1 ANNOUNCEMENTS:

__1.1 CPA Grants--Possible Change in Application Process

If you are planning on applying for a California Partnership Academy Grant, please be advised that the Department of Education is considering changes to the application and the process. If you apply, please make sure you use the Fall 2000 forms. Last year a few schools used the incorrect applications and, as a result, missed out on points when their application was read. The awarding of grants has been a very competitive process in the past. A few points can make a big difference in your competitive standing.

__1.2 STC Summery Academy

The Fifth Annual School-To-Career Academy is scheduled for July 19 - 21, 2000, in San Diego. Pre-conference presentations include "Reforming and Restructuring Schools for the new Century," presented by J.D. Hoye and "Nuts & Bolts of Integration," presented by Kathleen Harris. The focus of the conference is standards and assessments -- there will be wealth of useful workshops and informative keynotes. You can get more information and register on-line at http://www.sdcoe.k12.ca.us/stc.

2 ISSUES & BEST PRACTICES:

__2.1 Discovery and Intention -- Student Centered Goal Setting & Reflection

Josephine Loo, a teacher at CCSF, has found a way to motivate students to increase their effectiveness through an adaptation of the "Discovery and Intention Journal Entry System" described in Becoming a Master Student, by Dave Ellis.

Josephine has her students write a Discovery Statement on a small piece of 2-ply NCR paper. A Discovery Statement is a record of what you have learned, strengths and weaknesses, your intentions, descriptions of your attitudes, statements of your feelings, transcripts of your thoughts, or chronicles of your behavior. Josephine collects one copy of these brief statements and reads them to the class.

She then has her students write an Intention Statement. Intention Statements are used to alter their course. They are statements of their commitment to do a specific task, to take a certain action. An intention arises out of their choice to direct their energy toward a particular goal.

Students then pair-up and share their Discovery and Intention Statements. This process motivates students to reflect on their choices and encourage each other to achieve their goals. This is an excellent example of moving toward a student-centered curriculum that encourages students to take responsibility for their learning and to make education relevant to them.

Becoming a Master Student is published by Houghton Mifflin Company.

__2.2 Financial Literacy Standards

Many of us are promoting financial literacy in our pathways but are uncertain as to what content should be included. The Jump$tart Coalition focuses on promoting financial literacy and have developed guidelines and benchmarks for grades 4-12. You can view and download the guidelines and benchmarks at http://www.jumpstartcoalition.org/ by going to the Guidelines page. Jump$tart also has a listing of free educational materials on the Education Materials page. You can also download Jump$tart's questionnaire and results from the Downloads page. This multiple-choice test covers their personal finance benchmarks and reports their survey results. You may want to use this test as part of your assessment.

3 RESOURCES:

__3.1 Private Accounts in Social Security

The Bush/Gore debate over Private Accounts in Social Security is a real world example of concepts like transfer payments; payroll taxes; retirement planning; the relationship between taxes, income, spending and investing; and risk vs. return. Political decisions made now will have significant impact on our students. The NY Times article, "Bush to Advocate Private Accounts in Social Security," published May 1, 2000, summarizes Bush's plan and Gore's objections. Contact Wesley Leung if you would like a copy of this article.

__3.2 360 Degrees of Possibilities

The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants has developed "360 Degrees of Possibilities," a STC curriculum kit. The kit contains five curriculum units (one each for social studies, science, math, business education, and accounting), each containing three lesson plans and related "hands on, minds on" student learning activities, as well as Career Guidance resource materials. These activities help bring the intellectual challenges of the global workplace into the classroom and provide students with a chance to solve real-world business problems.

You can order a free set of these materials online through Video Placement Worldwide at http://www.vpw.com.

__3.3 xx

Ford Admits SUVs Fall Short of Environmental Goals Ford Motor Co., under the direction of chairman William Clay Ford Jr., has made social and environment responsibility a key tenet of its corporate philosophy. The NY Times reported the release of an internal report that states "There are real conflicts between Ford's current business practices, consumer choices and emerging views of sustainability." The problem is Ford's market leadership in sport utility vehicles, a highly profitable market segment, conflicts with its goals to be an environmental leader.

For schools that are using ethics as a theme to integrate curriculum this article provides a classic example of the quandary business often face -- social responsibility vs. short-term profits. The article does a good job of stating the issues and reporting the various rationalizations and implications of continued production of SUVs.

If you would like a copy of the article contact Wesley Leung.

You are reading the Web archive of the BaySCAN Financial Services Network listserv ([email protected]). Questions, comments, and submissions should be directed to:

Wesley Leung, Coordinator
BaySCAN
[email protected] (email)
408-938-1516 (phone)
408-271-7214 (fax)