"Making Money Make Sense in Middle School" - The GIPS Cast, Ep. 068

Did you know that our Middle School students take financial literacy courses? 


While we have personal finance classes at GISH, it’s really at the Middle School level that we see money starting to make sense for students. 


For Mr. Blake Teichmeier, Middle School is the perfect time to start talking with students about money because of all the life exploration and opportunities that hit when a kid turns 13 and 14 years old.  More importantly, he believes anchoring Financial Literacy concepts at the Middle School level gives students the confidence to become responsible decision makers. 


Mr. Teichmeier is a Financial Literacy Teacher at Walnut Middle School.  He joins our podcast to talk about how creativity, real world job simulations, and recreating a financial infrastructure in his classes helps students gain valuable money — and life — insights.  He also shares the story of winning an award and start-up money for a special financial literacy project he’s been working on for a number of years. 


Because it's not just about making sense out of money, it's about equipping students with what they need to be confident decision makers. 
 

Listen to the latest episode above or subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast platform.

(Transcript may be found below the episode player.)

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EPISODE TRANSCRIPT: 

Podcast Intro  00:00

This is Grand Island Public Schools podcast, and these are our stories. We are learners. We are educators in teaching hearts as well as minds. We are 10,000 diverse voices, and we're changing the world together, one classroom at a time. These are our stories. We are GIPS. We are GIPS. Somos, que y PE ese. We are GIPS. Somos, GIPS. We are GIPS, and this is 'The GIPS Cast'!

 

Mitchell Roush  00:31

Welcome back to the GIPS cast, a conversation based podcast exploring the voices of Grand Island Public Schools in Nebraska. I'm your host, Mitchell Roush, the Communications Director here at GIPS, and I'm grateful to bring to you new stories from all corners of our district, because here we're driven by our mission of every student every day, a success.

 

Blake Teichmeier  01:01

So the big thing that we went through after that is we went through and you score yourself, your SEL self and so what we're looking at is, how did you score on your self awareness, like, how well do you understand your feelings and emotions? Self management? How do you do it, controlling those emotions and feelings we talked about.

 

Mitchell Roush  01:19

Did you know that our middle school students take financial literacy courses? That's right, I said Middle School. And while we have personal finance classes at Grand Island senior high, it's really at the middle school level that we see money starting to make sense for students. And why? Well, for Mr. Blake Teichmeier, Middle School is the perfect time to start talking with students about money because all of the life exploration and opportunities that come when a kid turns 13 or 14 years old. But more importantly, he believes that anchoring financial literacy concepts in the middle school level gives students the confidence to become responsible decision makers and critical thinkers. Mr. Teichmeier is the financial literacy teacher at Walnut Middle School, and he's had this teaching gig for over 10 years. And through it all, he's noticed a lot with students and how they develop socially, emotionally and academically and through his creative games and real world job simulations and recreating a financial infrastructure in his classes, he's been able to help students gain valuable money and life insights. He also recently won an award and some startup money for a special financial literacy project that he's been working on for a number of years. He let me visit his class just before winter break to see how all of this works in his classroom. Here's our conversation.

 

Blake Teichmeier  02:56

Hi. My name is Blake teckmeyer. I've been teaching at Walnut Middle School for the past 13 years, and I've been teaching Personal Finance, Financial Literacy, to 6th, 7th, and eighth grade student.

 

Mitchell Roush  03:04

Teaching personal finance to middle schoolers. That is unique opportunity. And I know obviously you love what you do because you've been doing it for a long time. But how does one find themselves being a middle school personal finance teacher?

 

Blake Teichmeier  03:16

Really by accident, a miracle as well. So love it. What really started was I was at Grace University in Omaha, and I got my my degree in middle school math and social studies. Sweet. So I started there. I was subbing at after that, I subbed in both Omaha and great now public schools for a while, I was kind of going back and forth. I had family here. I went to college there, yeah, and so it was really cool is I really got a lot of experience teaching in different classrooms. I was teaching pre K sped students, wow, and seniors in high school and all in between.

 

Mitchell Roush  03:52

And so you've taught like every level, like or having, yeah, like every level, with kids well.

 

Blake Teichmeier  03:56

And what I really loved about that is be able to teach all these different places. I got to know what different schools are like. I got to know what different ages are like, Yeah? And it's kind of like you find the things you love. For example, with sixth graders, you're teaching them all day long, so it's just so much content. The kids are fun, but also, if they're if they're having a hard time, they kind of make your whole day hard, yeah? But then you also have her at the high school, you have kids, it's like, you know, you got your 40 minutes, or whoever long the block is, and it's very much like business. They come in, they get their work done, yep. And then middle school is kind of this crazy, wild mix of the two, right, where they're pretty fun and silly and goofy, and your class periods, you just have one subject to really focus on. So for me, it really helped me to find that that's really what I love to do. So fast forward, I'm doing that subbing, and I'm in Grand Island. I'm subbing at Walnut, at Westridge, just all over the place, and I get a long term sub at bar Middle School. And so I even forgot about this, and just just the other day thinking about and I did. Long Term sub for Mrs. Bigley, yeah, and it was the end of the year, and it was crazy is we were teaching a class on personal finance. That was what our unit was, okay. So I was teaching the kids about money and all that. And so I was kind of cool, because then I applied for a job at Walnut for a stem position, and I sadly didn't get it. And I was like, someone, I get a phone call, like, a week later, and it's rod left me a voicemail saying, hey, really enjoy getting to know you. We have a new class we're opening up called financial literacy. We learned, if you'd be interested in and I was like, let's do this. Yes. And it really felt like a miracle in some ways for me, because it fit me perfectly, because I'm pretty creative, yeah. And so I love that this new class with a lot of opportunity like create and be creative, and then talking about personal finance. I mean, it's like, it's so practical, it's really fun stuff.

 

Mitchell Roush  05:49

That is such an interesting way to end up where you are. But that's one of my favorite things about this gig, is just hearing how teachers end up, where they end up, because there are so many different moments that connect to a different moment, and then you're like, This is where I'm supposed to be, and you've stuck around long enough that clearly you dig what you do.

 

Blake Teichmeier  06:05

Yeah! Well, and it can be where someone's like, I didn't get a job, but really, substitute teaching is just an excellent way to get that experience, yeah. And honestly, I find it's really nice, because then you kind of get to know the schools and the staff. And it, for me, it was a really great way to get to know grand Ave hope schools and ops and so just love it. Really cool, awesome experience.

 

Mitchell Roush  06:24

So cool. And so now you've been doing this personal finance gig for a number of years, and like you kind of alluded to it already, like middle school is a very interesting time for your students, right? Just social, emotional awareness, larger schools than they've ever been in and social capital and building connections and friendships and relationships. All of this stuff is just at the forefront of these students, and you're also wanting to engage them on how to better understand the world, make some smarter decisions and gain some more personal responsibility. So why do you think this age range of like 11 to 14 years old is a critical time to introduce financial literacy concepts.

 

Blake Teichmeier  07:06

Well, I think part of it is because of what happens during this time, yep. So what you see is, for me, teaching for 13 years now, you have these sixth graders that come in. They're these tiny little people. They're scared of the eighth graders, yep. And the reality is, they're just really dependent, not only the classroom, but at home. Right? When it comes to money, they're completely dependent on their parents for money, yeah, but by the time they leave as eighth graders, they're looking at jobs, they're spending time with their own friends. They're trying to kind of create Who are they?

 

Mitchell Roush  07:34

So many things happen in that short period of time from sixth grade to eighth grade, right? Like you talked about, a lot of them have probably gotten involved in extracurricular activities. They know where they're going to go to high school. Like, so much changes in a short period of time.

 

Blake Teichmeier  07:47

Yep. Well, and I think about that Wallace things is seventh grade is like a really interesting time, because they can start to apply for jobs. Yeah, d tassling is a really big one here, and just the Midwest and so really, this is why it's so important. I think it's really the first time kids are getting jobs and getting pay and having their money.

 

Mitchell Roush  08:05

That changes things. Oh, yeah, when it's yours now, you're like, Okay, I have decisions to make with this money.

 

Blake Teichmeier  08:11

The reality is, it's they're building the habits they're going to probably have for a long time. Yeah, you know that first paycheck you get. And so I think that's why it's so important. We start teaching it in middle school. Is because the reality is, sometimes High School is almost a little too late. For some kids, it's that world. They've already been making money, they've already been learning these things. And every kid's different too. Every family is different, and the way they talk about money at home. And so I just think it's really important that they start to get it early, because the earlier you start, just the more confident they're going to be when they actually get to have to make those decisions.

 

Mitchell Roush  08:45

I really like the way you frame that, right? The being more confident about the decisions that they're making. It's not telling them what to do or what not to do. It's how can they be confident decision makers as they're engaging the world in a new way? Yeah, that's a completely different paradigm.

 

Blake Teichmeier  09:00

And I think what they uniquely, what is hard for these kids growing up is social media, yeah, and the impact it's had, right? So if we think about our childhood, you know, money, you got money and you spent it at the store, but also I was just kind of in my own little world. For them, they're connected to the whole world, and so there's a lot of pressure to, like, have the right shoes to have all these different things, you know? It's like the look, the shoes, the car, the I think kids, especially eighth graders, feel a lot of pressure. And I think that's where the confidence is important, because if you just don't know things, you feel insecure about it, you know?

 

Mitchell Roush  09:36

And that, like, right? That's like public education in a nutshell, right, isn't it? And so what's one specific activity? Because I know you're very active in your classroom, yeah, right. And like you said, you like to get creative and challenge the kids and do different things. So what's one activity you do in your classroom that helps the students connect to like, real world financial concepts?

 

Blake Teichmeier  09:58

Before I get into that? I'd like to say real quick, I want to give a huge shout out to the financial literacy program though here at GIPS, yes, please. I want to give a shout out to William Henley at bar Stacey Sybrants at Westridge, and Jessica Rios and myself here at Walnut. Absolutely. I just we could not do this without each other. So it's really important that we have our team. Okay, so for me, one of the things that I do in my classroom that I think is really fun and really engaging for the students. It's called the classroom economy. Okay, so I built this whole entire system in my classroom where kids come in, there's a story, there's these different lessons they do, and then they get jobs that they get hired for nice and then they earn money. And so I think it's really fun is they get to actually practice the things that they're learning about. And so with that, some of the different things, for example, there's the bank, so students come in, and the bank is a great place, because students get to hired there. They get a salary. So they get $15 a week. And what's really nice is they get $15 no matter what, even if they're sick, they get paid. Because it's that world of a salary. You agree to a certain pay, and then it's really nice talking about the bank, because you got to find a safe place to store your cash, right? Because every year I have kids that will be like, I lost my money. Can I get some more? I'm not giving you more money. It's like, okay, this is a lesson. Yeah. It's like, you need a wallet and need somewhere to put it, you know?

 

Mitchell Roush  11:20

You got to start at the basics, right? If, and especially if, a student has hasn't really had the opportunity to unpack the basics yet. Like, that's part of it, right? You've been given cash. Where do you store it? How do you remember where it is? Do you carry it on your person? What can you do with it? Like, sometimes it's easy to overlook those things, because we've just been living with money as adults for all this time, it's like, kids have to start somewhere, yeah?

 

Blake Teichmeier  11:43

And this is the time to make mistakes, right? I mean, Middle School is the time to make a mistake and learn from it. Where it's like, oh, I probably should be more careful with that. I'll have kids who put their it's fake financial literacy money, but they'll just leave it on their desk, yeah? And then they're like, somebody took my money, and I'm like, Why did you leave it on your desk? It was out there. Somebody takes it, but it is that lesson like, Okay, you got to think about that. Two other really cool things is we have the store and the rental center. Okay? So we talked about goods and services, which are a key part of the economy, but at the store, they can buy things there. So we have foldables. Pictures. We got fidget toys that I get once in a while. And the reality is, what's really cool is the kids get to buy it and keep it, and there's this incentive there, and then they earn a wage. So I have a punch card machine that I bought for my classroom, and the kids love it. And they're so responsible. They come in and they punch in, yeah, and, and so I try to help them know where it's like, every day you punch in, you're making money, you know? And sometimes they'll forget to punch in. I'm like, I'm sorry. Like, yeah, that's part of your have to punch in to get the money. And then and the rental center, what's really fun is they can rent rolly chairs and headphones. But what's really cool is the rental center people, we call them, the landlords, they earn a commission percent of whatever they collect. Okay, so for them, it's really, it's that push where it's like, if you want to make money, you got to get people to rent things. Yep, you know, how long does this go on? Is this like a semester long thing where you introduce it at the beginning and these are just components in your class? Or is this like a unit that you do for like, two weeks? Nope, all semester long. So we kind of start the very beginning of the year, and they start to do these lessons. So I've kind of set the story, yeah, where it's like, these kids are going their economic repair team, and they're going to the R town, and this town got destroyed by a storm tornadoes at this certain point. Hint, hint, it's like, grand downs. Yeah, a little bit Exactly. And so what it is is the kids are taking over these different businesses and fixing them. So it's like, each one, they do a trial where it teaches them how to do the job. So the hope is that they kind of get their own training through the lessons. And then what you see is some kids are super responsible, and they just jump right into it, yeah. So, and I love that, and then they do the interview, and so it's kind of their first interview, so it's a real learning moment, where it can be like, I don't know what to say, and it's like, okay, just start to share about what's something that you like to do, what's interesting to you, yeah, start to think about what makes you special, why they should hire you. And so it's just really cool to see them really lean into it.

 

Mitchell Roush  14:15

And to what you said earlier, right? This is a, this is a safe space to learn the hard way too, because with something like that, especially if it's going to take take place over the course of an entire semester, hopefully every student learns something because they figured it out and did something great. But I would imagine just about every student is also going to learn something the hard way, yeah, by because they misjudged something, or they forgot something, or whatever, right? And it costs them. But again, in that safe learning environment with fake money and that sort of thing like that, has to be meaningful, yeah?

 

Blake Teichmeier  14:51

Well, and I think one thing that goes with that is, every year I have kids who are like, I don't want a job. I'm like, that's fine, but you still gotta pay rent, so we also collect. Correct rent. Yeah, every two weeks, $10 for your chair and your desk. And what ends up happening is they realize it's not just that I need to want a job. I kind of need a job to pay for things. Yes, exactly. And that just helping them be like as adults. There's so many things that we have to pay for because they're it's just part of living. It's part of what we do.

 

GIPS COMMERCIAL  15:30

We have the world at Grand Island Public Schools. We are learners, we are teachers, we are doers, we are dreamers, we are students, we are singers, we are athletes, we are speakers, We are builders, we are crafters, we are listeners, we are helpers, we are entrepreneurs, we are artisans, we are coaches, we are counselors, we are servers, we Are thinkers, we are lifters, we are culture makers, we are counters, we are sculptors, we are leaders, we are educators, we are readers, we are scientists, we are mathematicians, we are scholars. We are 10,000 families, stories and voices in teaching, hearts as well as minds. We are changing the world together, one classroom, one lesson, one opportunity, one game, one match, one concert, one equation, one book, one question, one connection, one day at a time, we are the present. We are the future. We are public school proud. We are GIPS well.

 

Blake Teichmeier  17:00

I think, for them, it really is that reminder. Of like, responsibility feels good. Actually, yes, I cannot tell you how many times I just see a smile on their face as they pay that $10 yeah, even if they only have $10 they're happy to do it, because they feel like they're being responsible. They are. And I think that's the beauty is, like, that's what we really want for our kids, is for them to feel good about the things they're doing.

 

Mitchell Roush  17:23

I love this concept of financial literacy is a gateway to just all of the other things that we say we want to do. When we say we want to educate the whole students, right? We you hear that in every corner of this district, like what you're talking about, just with this one example that does that. It teaches kids how to be responsible. It teaches them how to make confident decisions. It teaches them how to collaborate with their classmates, right? All of these things that are interchangeable life skills that they're going to need to have after high school, and they're learning about responsible financial decisions along the way.

 

Blake Teichmeier  17:57

Yeah, well, and I think too, is working at the different locations. It's a max number of five, yeah. So sometimes, not every kid gets hired. It's like, there's also like, You got to get your application in, yeah? There's like, a little bit of like, you may not get your first pick, yeah. And so they have their second and third options and and generally, if you want a job, you can get a job. Yeah, you know. But I think with that is like, you can get hired on. And maybe the people you get hired with you don't like, but that's real life too. You have to learn how to work with others, and so it's that cool experience of just anything that they go through. You can find a way to connect it to just our real experiences.

 

Mitchell Roush  18:32

That interchangeable piece of you know, then at that point, the students are getting what they need in the classroom, but it's also going to make a larger impact for when they walk out of your classroom and make decisions, yeah, and that's and that's what you're after. I love that. So talk to me a little bit about the parent piece, right? Like, let you're gonna have parents listening to this episode, which is really cool. This is your chance to be like, hey, parents, I do this with your kid in class. What is a good way you can encourage, you know, one of your middle school parents to engage with their student at home on some of these concepts.

 

Blake Teichmeier  19:10

Okay, well, I think the biggest thing is include your kids. Yeah, I think it's that world of just like in the same way you don't discipline a two year old the same way you would discipline an eight year old or a 10 year old, there's this kind of this gradual process where they're kind of taking on more of their own responsibility. I think the same thing with money. It's like you're slowly including them, starting to be like, okay, hey, we're gonna do look at some bills together, yep, and I'm gonna talk about how I do the bills, and this is how much we pay for our house. Or, I think that's the thing, is, you're just kind of slowly giving them permission to kind of see behind the scenes. How does the house work, you know? And I think part of that too is giving your kids chores because those are giving them skills. I think that's the thing too, is where it's like reminding your kids when they're washing the dishes, they're learning a skill that they could get money for some day. Absolutely. Absolutely, you know. And so I think for parents, that's the big thing, is just kind of helping your kids in that process. And I think being honest and being open and saying sometimes where it's like, this is something we're working on, or admit sometimes, when you make mistakes, because that's gonna be a big, big thing that they'll learn is like, it's okay to learn in the process.

 

Mitchell Roush  20:21

And that's a simple way you can try to make things that are part of your everyday life a little bit more of a meaningful learning experience for everybody involved, right?

 

Blake Teichmeier  20:31

Well, and I think it's the thing of just seeing it as like this awesome opportunity. Talk about money, talk about as you go and you see things, if you see you get a scam phone call, right? Who does not get those every day? Talk to your kids like, Oh, someone called me that I don't know, and they're trying to tell me, I need to buy something that I don't need or want. That's an important life lesson, legitimately right there. Tell them why you're not engaging in that. Yeah. And so I think it's just like, I think the biggest thing is more is caught than taught a lot of times. So just practicing it yourself, being open, talking about it. And I think it just also where it's like, yeah, including them, make sure that they feel like, like, Mom and Dad are sharing with me things that I didn't know before.

 

Mitchell Roush  21:14

And yeah, I think that's a great way to connect with the with the with the learning, things that are happening in the classroom at home, which is something that, you know, I always hear teachers talking about, and I just think that's cool when you have the opportunity to share ideas like that. So you talked a little bit earlier Blake about just being creative and really wanting to bring that part of you into the classroom and into what you do. So you also have another project that is kind of your baby, I guess, right? So talk to me about great sense, and why is great sense a big deal?

 

Blake Teichmeier  21:45

Okay, so great sense has been a little bit of my my baby project for the last 13 years, in a lot of ways, where I it's not just I'm teaching the content, but I've been making all these characters. I've been creating this whole world, and I've really put a lot into it. Because I feel like, what makes my classroom really engaging is that it's really colorful. It's really like involved and like the kids can tell I put a lot of work into making it interesting. Yeah. And so one of those things is one of my big projects that I just won the big idea contest for you did congratulations. That is awesome is, it's called My it's a book series called galactic growth. And what it does is it connects personal finance to social emotional learning. And for those who maybe are not familiar with that, it's really just social emotional learning is like, how do you handle your inner and outer world? Yep, the way that you handle yourself and the way that you interact with others. And so with that, the book series is really meant to, like, make these connections a real good example. Is your job, right? How do you pick what job you have some day? Well, to pick a job, you really should kind of know yourself and understand Who are you, what's your personality, what's your identity, where you come from? What are the things that you feel like you're really intelligent in? What are the things that you're good at? And so I've written four books so far, awesome. So the first one, if it's okay, I can share with those. Do it, yeah, tell me I want to hear about it. The first book is called Mind and money, a guide to connecting your emotions and finances. And so really, this is an overview of priorities, personal finance and social emotional learning. For those of you who are maybe like, newer to those concepts. This really gives you the chance to be like, Oh, well, what is personal finance? And it kind of gives you each of those areas. And then what is social emotional learning. And so it's this ability to kind of get a better understanding, like, what are we talking about when we mentioned those? Yep. And ultimately, the whole entire book ends with making a goal. Like, what's your goal for the year? You know, when it comes to what do you want to accomplish? How do you want to handle your money this year? How do you want to, like, take better care, care of yourself this year? You know? And so that's the first book. And I, I have gone over on that book and worked on for so long, and but it's, it's got a lot in there. And then the next book is called Better start budgeting, a guide to smart spending, saving and responsible decision making. And so it really comes back to decision making. How are we making our choices? And for kids, one thing that we talked about in there is opportunity cost. It's like slowing down in our decision making process. I think about what are the things we're giving up? Yeah, right. So if you go out and you spend, let's say you go to the arcade and spend $50 right, having fun, that's fine, but what did you give up? Yep, what could you have got instead? It's really building that same thing. We're kind of talking about responsibility. It's this world of, if we put things in the right order, we pay for the things we need first, and then you have money to spend on your wants, right? It's that world of living with less stress by using a budget.

 

Mitchell Roush  24:47

Exactly, and that contributes to, like you mentioned earlier, that confident decision making. If you can understand cause and effect, you can understand needs versus wants and how that relates to your personal context. You can then decide. All right, can I spend the 50 at the arcade, or do I do? I need to trim it down to 20, yeah, and be able to manage that, yeah?

 

Blake Teichmeier  25:07

Well, and even more so in that book, I like that. I really try to push gamifying budgeting. Yeah, it's just like any video game these kids play. You build skills. The more you play, the better you get, right? Do? So the same thing applies to budgeting. You start to see it where it's like, okay, I need to set up these certain things. So for example, you your income, whatever money you bring in, that's what you have to spend. If you spend beyond that, that's that's borrowing, that's debt, yep, you know. And then you have, what are your fixed expenses? What are the costs that have already been spent before the month starts? Like your rent, you got at least make your rent, because you got to pay that exactly kind of a big deal, yeah. And then what's really fun is your variable expenses. That's like your those expenses you can control, like how much you spend on food, how much you spend on clothing. And that's where it gets, like a game, you know?

 

Mitchell Roush  25:50

And do you find the the gamifying pieces able to help it feel a little bit more relatable to the students?

 

Blake Teichmeier  25:57

Yeah? So well, it makes it fun. It's like you've got, let's say you put $100 fun money, right? You got that money to spend, spend it however you want, but you once that's done, it's done, yeah? And you got to wait till your budget starts back up again, you know? And I think for the kids, it's fun because, you know, they're in this world where they get money, they just want to go and spend it. But the reality is we want them to start thinking ahead and start thinking, you know, I should probably put aside a little bit for my future self. Are you loving your future self? Yeah, you know, just like you're gonna be really happy with yourself if you put away a little bit of money every month, and then later, when you want that thing that's a little more expensive, you have the money there.

 

Mitchell Roush  26:38

You're doing this at a pivotal time. Like I do think that it's really meaningful that this is the learning that's happening in middle school classrooms. Like you said, it's almost too late to get at this ground level if you're entering at the high school space. Like it's vital that this is happening in our middle school classrooms.

 

Blake Teichmeier  26:56

And I think it's super important that's being taught high school, right, yeah. But I do think it's like, this is such a pivotal changing time, you know? And so I think it's like helping them set them up, because otherwise, they've already got some habits they've built, yeah, you know.

 

Mitchell Roush  27:11

I love that. I love the creativity. And of course, the winning the Big Idea award and some some startup money for that is huge. That's a big deal. And so that's a testament to not only believing in what you're doing, yeah, but the the ability to make that tangible and share that message with other people. And clearly it's easy for people to latch on to, which is really cool.

 

Blake Teichmeier  27:29

Yeah, I really appreciate everyone who's believing in my ideas and and really, I think it's this idea of like we all want our kids to do better, yeah. And also, I think for all of us, even as adults, this is stuff that we can think about, because the better you get with your finances, the more it kills the stress in your life that comes from that, and then the more you can just really live your life. Yeah, you know.

 

Mitchell Roush  27:50

And that's that's it. That's it. Blake, I know you could do this for hours, but as we wind down our conversation here, I do like to close all of the conversations with the same question, whether they're a staff member or a student or whoever's on the pod, just because I love the answers. So you've been teaching for 13 years in public schools, I want to ask you, what's one thing about public education you want people to know?

 

Blake Teichmeier  28:11

Public education is this beautiful gathering place of people all different backgrounds. I think what's really amazing is people from every type of background, religious belief, we're able to come together. And the thing that unifies us is that we want to grow together and learn together. We really are looking forward to the future. So it's like, I just think it's that awesome experience of doing life together with other people.

 

Mitchell Roush  28:36

Yes, man, that's such a good word. I'm here for it. And I love, I love that about what we do here, too. And I like to say I'm not the only one that says that we've got the world here at Grand Island Public Schools. And I love you can walk into any one of our schools, and you are going to get to hear stories from so many different places represented in the lives of our students, which is really cool. We have so much to learn from each other. Absolutely, I love it. Blake, thank you for being here, and more importantly, thank you for everything you do to help your students.

 

Mitchell Roush  29:14

It really is cool to see what students are capable of in the classroom once you give them an opportunity to explore, think critically and create such cool stuff. Thank you again to Mr. Teichmeier for sharing his vision of financial literacy for students with us and for being generous with his time in his classroom. And of course, thank you listeners for joining us here on 'The GIPS Cast'. We wouldn't be here without you, and if you enjoyed this episode, or if you enjoy the GIPS podcast, we would love it if you gave us a rating or a review on your favorite podcast platform, whether that's Apple podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio, wherever it is, you listen to us, giving us a rating or a review will help other. Discover us along the way, and of course, be sure to check out gips.org That's www.gips.org that is our district website, and that is your hub for all of our resources, stories and tools and more that you need from Grand Island Public Schools. Thank you again for joining us here, listeners will be coming back at you soon with some more great stories from Grand Island Public Schools.

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