NGPF Podcast: Tim Talks To Micro-Lending Aficionado, Kristen Goggin of Town School For Boys (San Francisco, CA)
I enjoyed my recent conversation with Kristen Goggin, a 6th grade math teacher at the Town School for Boys in San Francisco, California. Laura Matchett, our director of teacher engagement, “discovered” Kristen who had penned an article about the innovative approach she used in her classroom to develop students who think globally. Find out how she uses the micro-lending website, Kiva, as the centerpiece for her unit that develops entrepreneurial skills as well as empathy for entrepreneurs in other countries (did I mention math skills, too?). Her students use profits that they generate from their own companies to provide loans to start-ups thousands of miles away. Listen to this podcast and find creative ideas that you can use in your classroom too! Enjoy!
- 0:00~0:58 – Introduction
- 0:58~2:28 – What Kristen does during her free time
- 2:28~3:37 – Kristen’s day job
- 3:37~6:52 – Micro-lending project
- 6:52~16:35 – How the project works
- 16:35~19:05 – Business ideas developed by students
- 19:05~20:31 – How students get funded for their projects
- 20:31~20:50 – A word from our sponsor, Next Gen Personal Finance
- 20:31~26:30 – How student profits are used
- 26:30~32:21 – Types of KIVA projects that her students support
- 32:21~33:34 – Elevator pitch for her project
- 33:34~34:28 – Conclusion
- How Microlending Builds Financial Literacy Skills and Empowers Students
- Micro-lending website: Kiva
- Kristen’s website: Stories from the Garage (incl. 6th grade Microfinance Unit)
- “Some of the students get anxious about not getting the funding they need but it is a good opportunity for the students to learn that not everything comes around easily and that there are people out there in other countries that are also anxious about getting funded.”
- “The students explained to 3rd graders about lending money with pencils. They asked the kids, would you lend a pencil to a friend that never gives the pencil back?”
About the Author
Tim Ranzetta
Tim's saving habits started at seven when a neighbor with a broken hip gave him a dog walking job. Her recovery, which took almost a year, resulted in Tim getting to know the bank tellers quite well (and accumulating a savings account balance of over $300!). His recent entrepreneurial adventures have included driving a shredding truck, analyzing executive compensation packages for Fortune 500 companies and helping families make better college financing decisions. After volunteering in 2010 to create and teach a personal finance program at Eastside College Prep in East Palo Alto, Tim saw firsthand the impact of an engaging and activity-based curriculum, which inspired him to start a new non-profit, Next Gen Personal Finance.
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