Nonprofit celebrates personal finance and economic literacy

Business leaders, politicians and educators learned about the importance of financial and economic literacy at the Mississippi Council on Economic Education’s annual fundraiser. 

“If we all begin making decisions from a place of being better informed, we can make a meaningful impact on our families, schools, communities and society,” said Jaqueline Brown, a teacher from Okolona High School who received the award for economics teacher of the year at the Tuesday event.

The nonprofit works to increase economic and financial literacy by providing training and resources to students, adults and K-12 teachers in the state. Brown has completed all of the council’s certifications for teachers in subjects such as economics and entrepreneurship.

“You take teachers such as myself who come from rural communities,” Brown said. “We’re able to take those courses to become teachers of personal finance, economics, entrepreneurship and college and career readiness. And we’re better informed to bring that information back to our students.”

During this year’s legislative session, the lawmakers passed a bill expanding the requirement for financial literacy education for public school students. This is part of an expanding national effort to require financial education. 

“You’re going to see so much financial literacy coming forward from this where our children have a future because they will be more educated,” said Secretary of State Michael Watson, who was inducted into the council’s hall of fame during the event. 

“So only by understanding that by having financial literacy, and raising your economic intelligence, will we be able to be full participants in this economy and thus in the broader civil system,” said Kai Ryssdal, the host and senior editor of the public radio news program “Marketplace.”

Ryssdal talked with Bridget Bodnar, director of podcasts and co-host of his program’s kids podcast “Million Bazillion,” about the larger economic forces at play and how that impacts the lives of everyday people.

“We use business and the economy as a lens to tell stories about this society, and we do it in a way that we hope is accessible,” Ryssdal said. 

“You can tell someone how to manage a budget, but if they don’t understand the broader forces at play, why it matters what (Federal Reserve Chair) Kevin Warsh is doing and what that will mean to them, they don’t have the full picture,” Bodnar said.