New Documentary Short Highlights Student Activism Behind the Growing Financial Education Movement

"Real World Class" film from Next Gen Personal Finance follows five students who are speaking out in favor of universal access to personal finance education for youth

PALO ALTO, Calif., Nov. 8, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- A newly released short documentary film "Real World Class: Student Voices for Financial Education" demonstrates how student activism is inspiring the movement to increase access to personal finance education.

The film was directed by Robert Jury and released by Next Gen Personal Finance, a nonprofit organization that advocates for every high school in the U.S. to guarantee a one-semester personal finance course before students graduate.

"Personal finance is relevant to every aspect of our lives," said Ella Gupta, a student featured in the film. "It's a basic life skill just like learning how to ride a bike or learning how to drive a car."

The documentary follows the stories of five remarkable students from around the nation. In Maryland, a skeptical student embraces the concepts he learned in his personal finance course, advocates for it in his district and now shares his knowledge as a social media influencer.

In North Carolina, a student commits to closing the gender gap by teaching middle school girls the financial concepts they need to know to bolster their confidence around money issues.

A Wisconsin student takes her passion for financial education to the State House and testifies in support of a bill that would guarantee all high schoolers benefit from this essential course.

In Washington state, an interest in investing leads a student to start an investing club that brings in outside speakers and runs workshops to help students build wealth while they have many years of compounding interest ahead of them.

Finally, a budding journalist in New Mexico writes a compelling op-ed to build public support for universal financial education in her state.

"[Personal finance] was the most important class I had taken in all of high school because it actually translated to the things I was going to eventually face and the things that I was already facing in my life," said Neziah Osayi, another student in the film.

Research by NGPF and others demonstrates clearly that guaranteed personal finance education leads to positive outcomes and improves quality of life. While more states are stepping up and embracing this guarantee, three of every four high school students in America still do not have guaranteed access to a personal finance course.

"We need to focus on improving the way we educate people on financial literacy and encouraging people to take these classes and learn about these important concepts,"  said Jakob Diepenbrock, one of the student activists. "By having this education before you actually leave home and go to college or enter the workforce, it will prepare students to enter the real world."

The full film can be viewed from NGPF's website at www.ngpf.org/real-world-class-doc. The web page also has information for how to host a screening of the film as well as other advocacy resources.

Next Gen Personal Finance (NGPF) is a nonprofit committed to guaranteeing that all high school students receive a personal finance course prior to graduating. NGPF has become the "one-stop shop" for more than 70,000 educators looking for high-quality, engaging personal finance curriculum to equip students with the skills they need to thrive in the future. NGPF invests in teacher professional development with live Virtual PD workshops, 10 Certification courses and 40+ asynchronous On-Demand modules. NGPF has been recognized by Common Sense Education as a "Top Website for Teachers to Find Lesson Plans" and "Best Business and Finance Games."

Media Contact:

Hannah Rael
Marketing Communications Manager
Next Gen Personal Finance
[email protected]

SOURCE Next Gen Personal Finance