Dollars and Sense: How Glen Waverley Secondary College is making financial literacy stick

At Glen Waverley Secondary College in Melbourne's east, an elective called Dollars and Sense has grown into one of the most popular offerings at Year 9. Running across two semesters, with eight classes and around 200 students enrolled this year, the subject draws students who want to learn how money actually works. Humanities teacher Phillippa Simon has helped lead and reshape the unit over the past two years and uses Banqer High Junior as the backbone of the programme.

A subject that found its shape

When Phillippa came into Dollars and Sense, Banqer was already in use.The unit had a lean toward accounting, partly as a feeder for VCE Accounting rather than a standalone financial literacy course. Over the last two years, she's helped clarify its scope and build out its structure.

The subject used to lean a little bit more toward accounting in previous years.

The unit now runs across two terms and covers two broad themes: the first, Money: How to Earn It, Save It and Spend It, covers the foundations; the second, Preparing for the Future, takes students into investing, superannuation, and insurance.

Being an elective gives the team room to move at their own pace.

I've got two terms with these students. I see them for three periods a week. I get to really delve into each topic because of the structure of having this whole semester for it, which is quite nice.

Theory first, then Banqer

Phillippa uses Banqer as a consolidation tool rather than an introduction. The typical lesson moves from instruction, to discussion, to worksheets, and then ends with time on the platform.

I'm doing the investing unit at the moment and I haven't unlocked it yet because I want my students to learn about diversification and risk management first. We've got the time, so I can make sure they're more prepared and make some legitimate decisions.

The worksheets are woven through the teaching week. If I've got three periods, we definitely use one or two Banqer worksheets a week. She also notes their value for colleagues new to the subject. Not everybody who takes every subject is a specialist. So there are good worksheets there ready to go. That's especially valuable for new teachers coming into the subject.

The question behind the decision

One of the most distinctive things about Phillippa's classroom is what she does when students are about to make a Banqer decision. She asks them why.

I’ll say to my students ‘hands up if you want to buy a house’ and the hands go up. And then I raise the question: why? Is it stability? Do you want to make your own space, or something for your family in the future? You have to have that why first.

For Phillippa, the thinking has to come before the decision. I try not to bring any preconceptions. I want to make them think about it a bit more. Because they're like, yes, we must buy a house. And I'm like, well, why?

The approach shows up in Banqer too. Normally almost all of her students buy a house once they've saved the deposit, but recently one class surprised her. They're like, oh no, we're going to continue renting. She's not bothered either way. They can put their thinking into words. That's where I can really check for understanding.

What Phillippa would tell other teachers

For Phillippa, the case for Banqer is practical as well as pedagogical. She points to its value for teachers alongside students.

I would say that it has benefits for both the teachers and the students.

For teachers building or inheriting a unit, she sees the resources as a genuine scaffold. When I was restructuring and clarifying this unit at our school, Banqer was a really good resource and it provided support for teachers too.

The interface is really great and easy to use. Other teachers can just get into it. It's not tricky to learn.

For Philippa, financial literacy deserves an even bigger audience. I think that this should be a mandatory subject.