When you’re a teacher, you may need to find creative ways to get students to pay attention. As you begin to discuss business finance with your students, you may see their eyes start to glaze over. In some cases, they may actually be snoring.
One of the main reasons for disinterest can be that students don’t feel connected to the topic. How does business finance help a student who wants to be a fashion designer or an architect? Students often view business finance as something that pertains to creating a profit and loss statement. They may fail to realize how they can use the skills they learn no matter what career they plan to pursue.
To help get past disinterest, you need to know what things do interest your students. For example, if you have a person who is interested in marketing, you can incorporate discussions on pricing. Not only is this a business statistic that financial managers use, it’s something the marketing department has to consider. Determining the appropriate price can make the difference between selling an item and watching it sit on the shelf. If an item sells faster than you can produce it, the price may be too low.
Do you have a football player who only cares about the game? Statistics are a vital part of football, from knowing the number of rushing yards a player has to tracking the number of touchdowns. Relating business finance to this other statistical element can grab this student’s attention.
That person who wants to go into graphic design may one day find work as a freelancer and need the skills you’re teaching.
Students often just need a reason to pay attention. There are many ways you can connect business finance to the things that interest your students, especially if you’re paying attention to the things they like and dislike.