I surveyed the eighth graders and these were they're responses. 

https://docs.google.com/a/uncc.edu/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0ApJq7rtD8mKIdGdoZi1pdUs3eERRanM2cC10UGdjNXc#gid=0

The responses were a mixed bag, it appeared to be 50% agreeing with me and the other not. Reasons why it wouldn't seem like a good idea were mainly that middle schoolers are too young to begin learning about money usage and that it would interfere  too much with their classes. 

The next part was my interview questions. 

I interviewed using these questions:

As of right now, I'm really wondering about how I'm going to include my primary research into the final adaptation. I have a few ideas in my head, such as utilizing the survey questions as a type of poll like what was mentioned in class. My interview questions as well, I need to figure out how to display that information. I don't want to just show answers that agree with me, I want to show disagreeing responses and maybe why they were chosen in the first place. What were the underlining reasons that drove them to make that decision? I need to really investigate the root cause of people's view on this matter. On the outside it appears as a real simple answer, but most of the time the simple answer is covering up a long explanation, especially when a very opinionated question is asked such as, "W/hose responsibility is it to tea/ch kids how to handle their money? The school, parents/guardians, both, or one of the other? If why one of the other, why?"

Dear Carrie,

            My research proposal is the addition of a mandated finance education course that encompasses middle school, to college. The new finances subject will be a required subject to pass like English and Math. There will be of course multiple classes in this new subject, enough to cover all years in middle school, high school, and college. It’s not a one-class type of deal, but a foundation for kids to build off of once they become adults and are taxable by the government. I believe most kids are not prepared to handle their money, know where it’s going and coming from, or have a smart way to spend it or invest. I also believe most kids have little to no clue in extensive detail how our economic situation is in our country. I’ll admit I don’t really know all the details either, and I’m by no means the smartest with money, however a new subject dealing with money would aid me and everybody else immensely. There 's the argument that this kind of knowledge is taught by the parents, and that it's their responsibility to teach this to the kid, however, I doubt all our parents have made nothing but perfect financial situations, or are continuing to make the smartest financial decisions. Not to get confused with the, “getting by”, or, “just making the bills”, lines our parents pull on us. We should have the ability for us all to say by the age of 30, we’re “financially stable”, with confidence.
            I should also state I’m no teacher, and don’t have the extensive knowledge of the education system and setting up courses, let alone an entire pathway that covers seven years of a child’s life, but so far this outline seems to work in my eyes.
            Middle school, kids are old enough to show maturity in their studies, and usually begin to earn a little money in their own ways, so this looks like a good age to begin. Not elementary because they’re too young, and haven’t had enough experience using money. At the start of middle school,  the classes will start off very basic. It will act as an introduction to money in the US, and the rest of the world. How money is important, a slow push into interest rate problems, (like we don’t get enough of those in Math class) and some ways the kids can interact with their parents with the handling of money. This will give them a different perspective on money at that age. 
            High school, the students will begin to have a pretty good concept on money, and begin to wonder how it plays out in the real world. What high school will do, is explain all the ways money is used in the real world, such as the many different types of loans, loans for a car or house, credit cards, and the amount of interest it gathers, investing, the stock market, wall street, what uses up the most money in our country, and ways to come up with a smarter plan for the way their money is spent. Also, an in depth look at how financial aid works, and how our student loans will look like when we make our way to college. So when the students get to college, they have a better idea for what they’re in for.
            When it comes time to college, the student will have a clear understanding on many basic ways of spending money, handling it, and how the currency is used, but now  that they’re on their own, they have bills and taxes hitting them. This is a perfect time to have all the odd and mysterious charges we get encounter, explained and covered. Why they’re issued in the first place, and how can we affect how much we pay. There will be a more detailed plan on budgeting our funds, and planning ahead for the future. Methods or ideas that will better our future would also be brought up. Clarification about understanding the market, and an extensive look at our economy versus the rest of the world’s. Where all the money being circulated is going or where’s its came from, and a way for us as U.S. citizens to make a positive impact in this world financially, and to let us have a better foot to walk on when we graduate from college.
            I know that was a broad overview on the layout, but I believe something like this needs to be in place, and have be required. This concludes my proposal on a finances education required pathway from the start of middle school, all the way through college.

            Sincerely,
            Devin Berrio

            

The five-paragraph model in schooling has been taught to students at a very young age, during early elementary school years, and for a good reason. At the age of 10-12, we lack a form of writing that can express our ideas clearly enough for others to read and interpret our meanings. What the five-paragraph model allows for kids is a structure to follow, to organize our thoughts, and to wrap our ideas up at the end. A quote that sums up my thoughts would be "Once the [five-paragraph essay] framework has been established, they [students] can imploy structural and organizational creativity"(page 19). Once we establish said structure, then we have the ability as a formal writer to express our thoughts in a more cohere matter. It also allows us to have ample practice at using this technique, that we can late

After reading Paulo Freire's article about how students and the teachers live a lifestyle that doesn't cooperate with one another, I couldn't help but agree with his reasons. He describes the relationship as a sort of, 'memorizing things and placing this new found knowledge in a container'. This container of course is our brain. This method is often referred as "banking" throughout the article. 
            " In the banking concept of education, knowledge is a gift bestowed by those who consider themselves knowledgeable upon those whom they consider to know nothing. Projecting an absolute ignorance onto others, a characteristic of the ideology of oppression, negates education and knowledge as processes of inquiry." (Freire, paragraph 6)
Key words he says are; oppression, negates, and inquiry. Oppression as in we're being forced to be or act a certain way under the teacher's supervision. Negates the learning part of school, makes us memorize things, but not know it, therefore negating the purpose of teaching. Also inquiry. We no longer want to "find out" the answer, or discover the reasoning, we just want to know the information for the test then forget it. It seems to me we're being forced to learn things we don't want to spend our time learning. This goes back to the argument of oppression. No matter who it is, or how minute the task may be, if you force somebody to do something they don't  particularly  want to do on their own, there will not be the same intellectual gain. So by manifesting the teacher as the all mighty one with all the answers and all the knowledge, and with the kids having nothing, and being treated like peasants, then the kids will not be in an environment where learning is fun, or feels like it's worth their time. 

Name one person whom is obligated to be belittled everyday and enjoy it, and I'd call you a liar. 

"Bullshit, of course, is everything you — and the others — fear is beyond you: books, essays, tests, academic scrambling, complexity, scientific reasoning, philosophical inquiry." (Rose, 187)

That quote from Mike Rose's article stuck out the most to me. He bluntly speaks on an issue I'm sure all of us have had with school. How do all of these lessons and examinations really judge or define ourselves for what we are? We may get fed up, think we're wasting our time, and just want to shut down because we fail to live up to everybody else's expectations. The fact of the manner is, we shouldn't let the stress of schooling decide how it defines who you are. You're not your SAT scores or GPA. We're told to believe that taking the highest honor courses will put us in a better opportunity for the future. That finishing with perfect grades will really let everybody know you're the best. In my opinion, it means you can test the best out of everyone else. Testing isn't a way of defining a person. Testing will not get you through life as far as you may think. You end up wasting a lot of you life worrying about what president was the first to steal food from the market, instead of something a little more practical in day to day life. 

I'm not saying that an education isn't important to be successful in life, because it is. I'm just saying that we sometimes get caught up in it a little too much, that we begin to have the personality of our text books. Lifeless.