TEACHING LESSONS TO LAST A LIFETIME

Teaching Lessons

TO LAST A LIFETIME

“I’ll never use this in real life.” This common high schoolers’ grumble could not be less applicable to the Finance, Economics and Ethics course taught by Board Chair Fred Botek ’85 and Trustee Dominic DiPuccio ’82. Started in the spring of 2013 by Gilmour’s then-CFO Kelly Kearney and Botek, this class has been one of Gilmour’s most popular since then.

Focusing on the three core principles of academics, critical thinking and ethics, Botek and DiPuccio use this opportunity to “get real” in a classroom setting. Their emphasis on teaching necessary life skills using a combination of the Socratic Method and real-world examples brings financial literacy to the forefront and sets students up for continued success after leaving high school (and their parents’ households). One highlight of this practical teaching is the establishment of the classroom bank. At the beginning of every class, each student is required to put a dollar into the bank. At the end of the semester, their savings are returned to them, with interest.

Starting each class with a discussion and dissection of current events, Botek and DiPuccio encourage open dialogue and consideration of both sides of a story, always reminding the students to keep in mind, “Everything is money, but money isn’t everything.” This challenges students to use their critical thinking skills. With the reminder that everything in the world is tied to economics, they can study the story to find the impact of the event on the economy and on themselves.

With critical thinking secured as a foundation, students are challenged to apply their academic skills to financial situations such as budgeting, understanding tax implications, paying rent and insurance, investing, estate planning and more. They are presented with the full gamut of financial decisions they will encounter after striking out on their own. This class culminates with a final project, establishing and reflecting on a personal budget and all its components, which many students have taken with them and expressed gratitude for after leaving Gilmour.

As always with Gilmour, academic growth is only part of the desired outcome. Through a Meyers Briggs-esque test and investment risk tolerance exercises, students also experience personal growth, developing a further understanding of themselves. Ethics are a core principle of this class, teaching students to not only make good decisions, but the right ones. Botek and DiPuccio utilize a book by fellow Gilmour graduate Chris Eiben ’67 for these purposes.

The book, called It Pays To Be Paranoid: Securing Business Success By Preparing For The Worst, is about avoiding mistakes when making basic business decisions. Eiben, a private investigator and business consultant, has seen how these avoidable mistakes can result in huge expenses, lawsuits, losses and bankruptcies. Through case studies, the book aims to show readers ways they can minimize risk and improve the odds of business success.

As an added bonus, Botek and DiPuccio (as current and former Gilmour parents themselves) were also excited to note that students come to have a much deeper appreciation for their parents through their learnings.

This past fall, DiPuccio had the fortune of bestowing this important learning on his own son, Michael DiPuccio ’22, the last of Dominic’s and Julie’s six children, all of whom have attended Gilmour. Asked about the course, Michael shared, “Finance, Economics and Ethics has helped me to become confident about a subject that I had little knowledge about before I took the class. The teachers prepare students for something we will all soon be facing and give us advice about how to go about it the smartest and safest way possible.” He added, “Plus, it was fun to get to have my dad as my teacher.”

Chief Academic Officer Elizabeth Edmondson is a huge proponent of this program, noting that although most classes are capped at 20 students, this one- semester-per-year course topped out at 23 students in the Fall 2021 semester. With this course aligning so perfectly with Gilmour’s curricular philosophy of realworld learning and hands-on experiences, Edmondson hopes to continue offering the class and tie it in further with the growing entrepreneurship program. With Botek and DiPuccio both already looking forward to teaching next year, the future of this course looks bright.