Welcome back to the Connect FCS Ed podcast. On this weeks pod we have an AP Macro Economics teacher from Gonzaga Prep in Spokane, Washington. His name is Pat Segadelli, and he is also a children's author to Gio and Banks: Scarcity, Choices and Trade-Offs. Welcome Pat!
• Pat sent me a copy of his book, Gio and Banks: Scarcity, Choices and Trade-offs, and I read it to my financial literacy students today in class. I showed all the colorful pages to them and the illustrations and having a little bit side conversations as I'm reading your book with them. They loved it! Pat mentions, "it's reassuring to hear a high school senior really likes it, and finds enjoyment out of it, but also learn something from it to. We wrote the book and really targeted it towards the second or third grade audience, but there's proof that maybe it spans multiple grade levels for sure". (1:44)
• You brought up the great vocab word being 'scarcity', and I loved how you broke it down in the book where scare-city... Perfect timing for Halloween. I asked my students if they had heard of that word? and they were who are like, No, no, I don't even know what that word is, or... And then I even asked them, "can you come up with the definition without using your phones?" or "What does it sound like?" I did have a couple of students mention, "maybe it's not having enough of something". Okay, we're on the right track. Then, I continued reading your book which it is laid out perfectly for them. (4:43)
• With Family Consumer Sciences, one of our national standards is that decision-making. Decision-Making standard and economics is throughout all of our core classes, which that's always neat to see that crossover because a lot of times you don't even think about it, you just do it. Exactly, we just do it without necessarily giving much thought to it, but I guess that's one of the goals of economics, is to encourage people to analyze the decision-making process and really dig into the decision-making process, and I know you know that well with your students, that are juniors and seniors, and I have these conversations with my students because right now they're being faced with a major life decision. What am I gonna do next year? Am I going to go to college? Am I gonna enter the workforce? Am I gonna take a gap year? Am I gonna do this that... Those are all choices that they are confronted with, and ultimately, no matter what they choose, there will be sacrifices, there'll be trade-offs to come with that, and so I just think it's something that never goes away. It's always present with us. (12:33)
• I think that's kind of the choices that pop up in the book between Gio and Bank. There are of a lot less consequence and significance, I think about the story and go move from a small time to New York City, and he has to choose what things to bring and what to leave behind because they don't have enough room, they have a scarcity of room in their apartment, he is trying to buy lunch outside his mom's work and he can't get pizza, cookie and soda, so he has to choose what he's gonna get for lunch 'cause he has a scarcity of money and the scarcity of time and stuff like that, and those decisions that he's making in the book are really small and trivial, but if we're getting kids at young ages to recognize that they're making decisions constantly and recognize that process I think when they eventually get to more significant momentous life decisions, they can enter that process with a feeling of confidence no matter what the decision is, which is why you and I both know the importance of doing this early and often... Is so significant. (18:32)
• You can follow me on Instagram Instagram @Gio and_Banks. That's the best way to get in touch with me, that's where I do most of my marketing is through Instagram. You can contact me through my website, Gioandbanks.com. The website is where you can find the book, if you're interested in purchasing, it is $14.99. The website is also where you can find activities that are available for download for free. In addition to that, I also have access to Washington State Financial literary standards, and also the Council of Economic Education Standards, and Washington State in particular, I've connected them to the book. So you brought up the standards of decision-making, and really the second and third grade standards for decision-making are interwoven into the book, so that's the best way to get in contact with me and to support us through Instagram, through the website. (27:56)
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CONNECT WITH PAT SEGADILLI
Email: https://www.gioandbanks.com/contact
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FOLLOW ILLISTRATOR JEN WALSH
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/byjenwalsh/
WHEN DOES IT AIR…
NOVEMBER 3rd, 2021