In honor of Teacher Appreciation Week 2015, NGPF is celebrating the hard work and commitment to personal finance education exhibited by our nation’s teachers by featuring just a few members of our NGPF educator community. 

Featured Teacher: Marci Krasny

School: Cranford High School, Cranford, New Jersey

How did you get into this wacky world of personal finance education?

I started my journey out of college as a Financial Analyst for a few years.  I liked what I was doing very much but felt that I wanted to start my own business.  After a buyout package from my employer who was relocating I started a gift shop.  I often hired high school students to work part time at the store.  I realized that I enjoyed working with teenagers.   Once again I decided I needed a change.  I attended school in the evenings and received my Masters in Teaching Business Education.  And now thirteen years later I am still teaching at Cranford High School and loving it.

If you had to give a first year personal finance teacher one piece of advice, what would it be?

I would tell a first year teacher to always be well read on current events. Students need to feel that what they are learning is relevant to their lives.  I like to start the class with a video that is about a current trend in the marketplace to engage student responses. This conversation usually leads to a student expressing that they too would love to buy that product or be an entrepreneur and so on…  I then go into the lesson and always bring it back to saying that a sound financial future opens the door for many opportunities.

Tell us about a time when your students had a real AHA! moment regarding personal finance.

I would have to say that the lesson that my students have an AHA!  moment is the lesson that covers higher education and student debt.  This lesson really helps them evaluate their choices not only based on the programs offered but from a financial standpoint.   As seniors it is very easy to see your peers selecting various expensive universities.  But I often explain that they need to accept the amount of debt they will have in the future.   I have sat with students over the years to help them assess their options based on their financial aid packages.  I have had students return after graduating to thank me because they were not in major debt like many students they have met.

About the Author

Jessica Endlich

When I started working at Next Gen Personal Finance, it's as though my undergraduate degree in finance, followed by ten years as an educator in an NYC public high school, suddenly all made sense.