Remarks by
Martin J. Gruenberg, Chairman
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
At
Jump$tart Coalition National Partners Meeting
Washington, D.C.
April 23, 2015
Thank you very much for including me in your event today.
First, I'd like to recognize Laura and Ted for their leadership, not just of the Jump$tart
Coalition, but for all they do to help teach American youth about money and how to
responsibly handle their financial affairs.
All of you here today are terrific advocates and resources for advancing youth financial
capability, both nationally and in communities across the nation. Thank you for your
dedication and your many contributions to financial education.
I am delighted to be here today for the unveiling of an extraordinary new set of tools to
help educators and families work together to teach children about financial literacy at
every stage of their education, from Pre-K through age 20.
A little over two years ago, the FDIC began working more intensively with partner
agencies on the Financial Literacy and Education Commission to promote youth
financial capability.1 We did this because starting financial education early can have
long-standing benefits for young people and their families.
We soon realized that our interests and objectives in this area matched those of the
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). In particular, both of our agencies
encourage practical and tested approaches that can positively affect young peoples'
decisions in a lasting way.
So last April, the FDIC and CFPB signed an agreement to leverage our strengths by
working together to improve financial education and the decision-making skills among
American youth.
After a year of hard work, we are here today to announce the initial results of that
partnership.
To start, I am very proud to announce a brand new Money Smart for Young People
series. It is an extraordinary step forward for financial literacy. It is the first nationally
available free curriculum that directly brings educators, parents, other family members
and caregivers into the learning process for young people of all ages. This is a major
innovation.
Martin J. Gruenberg, Chairman
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
At
Jump$tart Coalition National Partners Meeting
Washington, D.C.
April 23, 2015
Thank you very much for including me in your event today.
First, I'd like to recognize Laura and Ted for their leadership, not just of the Jump$tart
Coalition, but for all they do to help teach American youth about money and how to
responsibly handle their financial affairs.
All of you here today are terrific advocates and resources for advancing youth financial
capability, both nationally and in communities across the nation. Thank you for your
dedication and your many contributions to financial education.
I am delighted to be here today for the unveiling of an extraordinary new set of tools to
help educators and families work together to teach children about financial literacy at
every stage of their education, from Pre-K through age 20.
A little over two years ago, the FDIC began working more intensively with partner
agencies on the Financial Literacy and Education Commission to promote youth
financial capability.1 We did this because starting financial education early can have
long-standing benefits for young people and their families.
We soon realized that our interests and objectives in this area matched those of the
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). In particular, both of our agencies
encourage practical and tested approaches that can positively affect young peoples'
decisions in a lasting way.
So last April, the FDIC and CFPB signed an agreement to leverage our strengths by
working together to improve financial education and the decision-making skills among
American youth.
After a year of hard work, we are here today to announce the initial results of that
partnership.
To start, I am very proud to announce a brand new Money Smart for Young People
series. It is an extraordinary step forward for financial literacy. It is the first nationally
available free curriculum that directly brings educators, parents, other family members
and caregivers into the learning process for young people of all ages. This is a major
innovation.
Family and other caregivers play an important role in shaping a young person's financial
learning and development. Young people often learn about money by observing and
listening to parents and other adults they spend time with. Yet, CFPB research showed
that while parents want to talk about money with their kids, they often lack the
knowledge and tools to do so effectively.
So to solve this problem, we added a parent/caregiver guide to all levels of the new
Money Smart for Young People series. The guides are easy to use and include
information about topics that are covered in class, as well as at-home activities and
conversation starters.
And the program gives educators an extensive library of lesson plans so they can teach
the concepts that make the most sense for their class.
In a minute, Rich will talk more about our efforts to get parents and caregivers more
involved in educating their kids about money. As you will hear, this new Money Smart
for Young People series truly supports the contributions of students, educators, and
parents in learning.
For example, the new curriculums empower teachers with engaging activities to
integrate financial education instruction into other subjects, such as math, English, and
social studies. We hope this multi-disciplinary approach can be especially helpful for
teaching toward state standards in a range of subjects.
Our new series will offer educators a powerful tool to customize lessons for students at
different grade levels and abilities. Previous Money Smart lessons did not focus on
grade level, but only provided general instruction.
As always, our Money Smart programs are available on line from the FDIC website.
We are eager to hear how teachers use the new Money Smart for Young People
materials so that we can improve the curriculum and share successful approaches with
other educators. We also want school administrators and principals to share their
thoughts on how we can best equip teachers to use these materials.
I know there are a number of education leaders with us today. If you have any
comments, please speak with an FDIC representative after this briefing, or send us an
email through the FDIC website.
I also want to share with you another groundbreaking resource that has come about
because of our work with the CFPB.
For the first time, we now provide videos for teachers that demonstrate how some
fundamental financial lessons can be delivered in the classroom. They are short and
meant to empower teachers not just by building their confidence, but inspiring their
creativity to talk about money in the classroom.
learning and development. Young people often learn about money by observing and
listening to parents and other adults they spend time with. Yet, CFPB research showed
that while parents want to talk about money with their kids, they often lack the
knowledge and tools to do so effectively.
So to solve this problem, we added a parent/caregiver guide to all levels of the new
Money Smart for Young People series. The guides are easy to use and include
information about topics that are covered in class, as well as at-home activities and
conversation starters.
And the program gives educators an extensive library of lesson plans so they can teach
the concepts that make the most sense for their class.
In a minute, Rich will talk more about our efforts to get parents and caregivers more
involved in educating their kids about money. As you will hear, this new Money Smart
for Young People series truly supports the contributions of students, educators, and
parents in learning.
For example, the new curriculums empower teachers with engaging activities to
integrate financial education instruction into other subjects, such as math, English, and
social studies. We hope this multi-disciplinary approach can be especially helpful for
teaching toward state standards in a range of subjects.
Our new series will offer educators a powerful tool to customize lessons for students at
different grade levels and abilities. Previous Money Smart lessons did not focus on
grade level, but only provided general instruction.
As always, our Money Smart programs are available on line from the FDIC website.
We are eager to hear how teachers use the new Money Smart for Young People
materials so that we can improve the curriculum and share successful approaches with
other educators. We also want school administrators and principals to share their
thoughts on how we can best equip teachers to use these materials.
I know there are a number of education leaders with us today. If you have any
comments, please speak with an FDIC representative after this briefing, or send us an
email through the FDIC website.
I also want to share with you another groundbreaking resource that has come about
because of our work with the CFPB.
For the first time, we now provide videos for teachers that demonstrate how some
fundamental financial lessons can be delivered in the classroom. They are short and
meant to empower teachers not just by building their confidence, but inspiring their
creativity to talk about money in the classroom.