Flocabulary’s new jam: financial literacy hip-hop videos

Estonia: 2, U.S.A.: 1.

Not only is tiny Estonia rocking the U.S. in terms of internet speed, its young people are also apparently smarter about their money, according to a new release from Dumbo’s Flocabulary. The Dumbo edtech O.G. cites a recent study that found more than one in six U.S. students have not reached “baseline proficiency” in financial literacy.

So, in partnership with the City University of New York (CUNY) and the state’s Higher Education Services Corporation, Flocabulary has released 12 new hip-hop videos on personal finance, each with corresponding deep-dive curricula.

One, on banking, is viewable to the general public:

http://youtu.be/lhrD4ITtMWQ

With lines like, “I got my ducats stackin’ like Medici,” the video speaks in a humorous and colloquial way that’s meant to hold students attention through the big picture of some of the more dry themes inherent to banking.

(Caution: the video is going to make you feel bad if you use a bank with lots of fees.)

“Students need this information to help them understand the real world and make better connections to it,” said Marie Green, a Michigan middle school social studies teacher quoted in the Flocabulary release. “We are always looking for new and innovative ways that reach out to students.”

Schools with access to Flocabulary will have access to all 12 videos and their corresponding lesson plans. See rates here.

We last covered the company in August, when it announced a major expansion into Wisconsin schools.