Our first full week of December was rather exciting! Monday was fairly typical, except that some of the mentors are relying on their peers for personal problems, as opposed to only YESS issues. I'm extremely proud of how the scholars offer support and advice to one another in a non-judgmental way.
Tuesday, students worked on their classwork and I got to witness two special things: 1. One mentor tracked her mentee's work by contacting each teacher to rate how well the mentee was doing and 2. A mentor who was struggling to complete his assignments in a class made some real progress! The vast majority of students utilize this time effectively and I'm so proud of their efforts.
Wednesday, we watched part of a film all about finances. Students learned how to make their money work for them by distinguishing between wants and needs, setting savings goals, and using banks to manage their funds. Quite a few students said that nobody really teaches them about money, so I'm hopeful that they will remember some of this vital information.
We had a guest speaker on Thursday! Lila Rodriguez, Operations Manager at Young Americans Bank, came to talk with all the students regarding banking terminology. Young Americans Bank is the only bank in the world designed specifically for kids. It was started in 1987 by Bill Daniels, known as the "father of cable television," because Mr. Daniels read about a group of students who were unsuccessfully attempting to get a bank loan for school. Since he had earned so much money in his career and he wanted to help, he decided to start an educational bank that offered real banking opportunities. Young Americans is a special place for many reasons, but mostly because their goal is to teach kids how to manage their money,
not make a profit. You can find more information about the bank
here!
On Friday, we practiced demonstrating gratitude by making thank you cards for Lila and then participated in team building activities.
