Most of us know the story by now. Donald Sterling, the former owner of the Los Angeles Clippers, was recently caught making inflammatory racial comments that stoked the cinders of hatred, burning through the NBA and creating a firestorm in the media and the nation.
When I heard about this story, I recoiled and surged with anger. And then, as a middle school teacher and administrator, I looked for the lessons. What could we learn from Mr. Sterling? What could we learn from the team? How could this experience inform middle level education as we reach and teach young adolescents who are creating their tomorrows today?
Donald Sterling can teach us about the curriculum of financial literacy. He clearly wielded the tools of money to gain power and accrue wealth, so it could be argued that he was financially literate.
But is that enough?
If Donald Sterling was a young adolescent walking the halls in your school house, what else would you want him to learn about financial literacy? Because we value young adolescents, it is critical that we help them understand the value of money and how it works. Students ages 10–15 years old need to know how to manage the tools of personal finance so they can be secure, engaged, and empowered. However, it is also vital that we help them understand how to build relationships, how to create teams, and how to serve within the curriculum of financial literacy.
For example, while our students gain insights into the world of wealth, shouldn't they also know how to use language (verbal and non-verbal) to bring people together and forge strong teams that are built on trust, Creating a Better Tomorrow Today in the Middle Level: Lessons from Donald Sterling and the Los Angeles Clippers — Whole Child Education:
5-20-14 The Whole Child Blog — ED Pulse Poll Results: What's the Best Part About Being a Teacher?
ED Pulse Poll Results: What's the Best Part About Being a Teacher? — Whole Child Education: THE WHOLE CHILD BLOGED Pulse Poll Results: What’s the Best Part About Being a Teacher?May 20, 2014 by Kit Harris, ASCD ResearchIn honor of Teacher Appreciation Week earlier this month and ASCD's ongoing efforts to celebrate, support, and recognize teachers, a recent ASCD SmartBrief ED Pulse poll asked educa