Speaker 1: Right after I graduated from college, I worked for a major investment bank, and then I started a business, and then I got into teaching. I was looking for a career change and teaching was the thing that I found.
TITLE CARD TEXT: Claudia Walker is one of 732 teachers in the U.S. introducing middle and high school students to the world of investing through the SIFMA Foundation's Capitol Hill Challenge.
Speaker 1: As teachers, we come to the work because we want to prepare kids for the future and financial literacy, making sure that students understand about financial literacy and the different forms of investment is absolutely preparing them for their future. It's probably one of the most important things that we could do.
Speaker 1: You know, we're talking about money, and most kids are motivated by money. Whether it's, you know, chores or getting a scholarship, they're motivated by the payoff. And so, my conversation with the students is how do you manage that? Regardless of how much money you make, how do you manage your finances?
Speaker 1: For me, it's really important particularly with the population of students that I teach. They're predominantly Latino and African American, and we know that there is a gap in terms of their access to financial literacy classes. And so, for me, it's really important that when my students leave my classroom, they have the tools, they have the knowledge, to go into the world and really be able to use what they have in order to create wealth for their families and their community, and the Capitol Hill Challenge is a great place to start.
Speaker 1: Success as a teacher is a student coming to me and saying that, you know, "There was something that you said or that you did in the classroom that really shifted the way that I saw things or that I saw myself." You know, content is important, but I want students to understand that they matter, that there's a place for them in this world, and really figuring out what that place is.
TITLE CARD TEXT: Charles Schwab Foundation has committed $1 Million over three years to advance financial capability and civics through the SIFMA Foundation's Capitol Hill Challenge.