Catherine Copeland

Rome High School
Teaches Entrepreneurship to high school students

Once upon a Time
Catherine Copeland uses well-know children’s stories to teach financial concepts that are anything but childish, in her lesson called “Once Upon a Time.” King Midas and Jack and the Beanstalk have taught children important lessons for generations. But now they’re teaching high school kids the “Pay Yourself First” philosophy.

Revising the Classics
Students in Catherine’s class work in teams to create a PowerPoint presentation that demonstrates how the story of King Midas or Jack and the Beanstalk may have been different if they had learned to Pay Themselves First.

They create financial goals for these characters, then illustrate a five-step financial planning process for these characters to achieve these goals.

More than financial benefits
Of course the students who participate in the lesson learn financial skills that will last a lifetime. But other valuable life skills are taught as well. Students learn teambuilding as their groups work together to prepare their presentation. They also develop creativity is apply real life problems to fictional characters. And, for the final presentation, students sharpen their speech and presentation skills to show off the results of their work.