Activity and Reflection:
Navigating the Banking System

Nancy Coffey, Operation Bootstrap, Lynn, MA

Background

Independent of the home-buying readiness project, a centerwide Student Health Action Team program on stress was being held at Operation Bootstrap. During the course of the health team’s project, it became clear that many ESOL students experienced great stress when negotiating with banks.

Original Teaching Goal

Because one of my teaching goals was to help students navigate financial systems more easily and because the ESOL students had revealed how stressful financial negotiations could be for them, I decided that for homework, I would send everyone to a bank for practice. I also asked students to collect printed information about different checking and savings accounts at that bank. Those who were feeling really brave were encouraged to discuss accounts with the customer service representative. In preparation for the task, we had an in-class discussion about anxiety and how to cope with it. Students were encouraged to go in pairs to support one another, although surprisingly none did.

In fact, the homework activity was not terribly successful, although it did lead to a wonderful discussion about why most people hadn’t done the assignment and how the few who had successfully entered a bank had coped with the anxiety. One student got inside the bank and then left without getting anything. Another talked to the customer service representative and opened a checking account on the spot.

Revising the Lesson

I then printed up information from one bank’s brochure so that students could compare that bank’s offerings with those of their own banks. Several students proved to be very savvy consumers. Some had even discovered the no-cost banking offered by a very reputable local credit union. This discovery led to a sophisticated discussion about the difference between credit unions and banks. Several students changed their accounts as a result of this activity.

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