Name: Caroline Masterson
School: Merrimack High School, Merrimack, NH
Grade levels: 10th-12th grade
Subjects: Business, Personal Finance, Accounting
Years as an educator: 16
Making Money Matter
Jump$tart Staff: “How do you make money matter to your students?”
Caroline: “The one thing that I do to make money matter for my students is that I show them my numbers, my actual numbers. I share with them all my personal finances to put things into perspective for them. They love it! I show them my actual paystubs, my budget, my bank account apps, my credit card apps, my apps for my mortgage, car and camper payments, etc. The students really like seeing how it all works “in the real world” rather than it being discussed only in theory. They help me make financial decisions. I tell them about my spending habits throughout the course and we discuss whether I made good or poor decisions and they help me come up with ways to improve.”
Financial Education Requirement
Jump$tart Staff: “What is the financial education requirement in your state?”
Caroline: “In the State of NH, personal finance courses are NOT a graduation requirement. There is a requirement for all students to take Economics and in our school that is taught in the Social Studies department, not Business.”
Called to Teach
| Jump$tart Staff: “Can you tell us about your calling to teach?”
Caroline: “As I share with all my students, I was planning to get my MBA and go out and conquer Corporate America. After working dead end job after dead end job, for one company that was actually trying to hire for my position while I was in it, I decided that I was doing nothing with the knowledge that I had and needed to find an industry that I could do so. I have to say…my mom was right…she always said I needed to be a teacher. Once I changed my degree program to an MBE and started on that journey, I knew I had found my niche!”
Go-To Resources Jump$tart Staff: “What are your go-to resources for teaching financial literacy to your students?” Caroline: “My go-to resources for teaching at Take Charge Today, Fidelity, the FTC, the Federal Reserve and HSFPP.”
Teaching During a Pandemic Jump$tart Staff: “How do you teach during the pandemic?” Caroline: “We have taught in so many different models during this pandemic. We have gone from Full Remote, to Hybrid to what we call Concurrent Learning (in-person and remote simultaneously). While there have been constant changes, I try to keep my classroom routines the same so that students have some consistency in their lives through these crazy times.”
NEC Jump$tart Staff: How does the NEC effect your teaching? Caroline: “The NEC is the BEST conference I have ever attended! Every year that I have been able to go I come home with resources that I can use and implement immediately…and I do! My 1st or 2nd year I came home with such great resources that I rewrote my curriculum for a class I was actively teaching as we moved forward.”
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