Standard curriculum design assumes learning moves in a straight line. Module one, then module two, then module three, each building cleanly on the last. That is not what I’ve watched […]
Support, Challenge, Vision
I didn’t design our fifteen-month curriculum around a theory. I designed it around what I watched work, and only later found the theoretical language for it. Daloz (1999) describes effective […]
Redundant, and Ignored Anyway
Tout (1997) made an argument I think about often: the phrase “critical numeracy” shouldn’t need to exist. Real numeracy, properly defined, already includes critical thinking. Adding the word “critical” in […]
The Debt That Was Never a Choice
Some of the residents who come through Fresh Start Housing arrive already carrying debt they never agreed to. Pogrebin et al. (2014) documented this precisely for returning citizens: parole fees, […]
Numeracy vs. genuine financial literacy
Foundations: Two Kinds of NumeracyThere are two very different things people mean when they say “numeracy,” and financial literacy programs almost never distinguish between them. Merriam-Webster (2023) defines numeracy as […]
Whose Knowledge Counts
Fricker (2007) describes something called epistemic injustice, the harm done when prejudice causes someone’s testimony to be dismissed, or when a conceptual gap prevents someone from being able to articulate […]
Four Hundred People Over Seventeen Years
I get asked sometimes why I lean on phenomenology, a fairly unfamiliar word to bring into a conversation about financial literacy, rather than just saying “we listen to our residents.” […]
An Unexamined Assumption
Most financial literacy programs are built on an assumption nobody bothers to state out loud: that financial literacy is primarily a technical competency, numerical reasoning, budgeting calculations, understanding financial products […]
The Test That Showed Nothing, Then Showed Everything
Here’s a finding that reframed how we think about measuring our own program’s effectiveness. Early on, we assessed our financial literacy curriculum using standard, generic financial literacy assessments, the kind […]
A Case Manager’s Question I Still Can’t Answer
“I search for financial literacy programs for my clients, and I find dozens of options. They all say they teach financial literacy. But when I send clients, they come back […]