Banks in classrooms

This week (9 to 13 March) it’s Dutch National Money Week, which revolves around teaching primary-school children how to manage money. One of the elements of National Money Week is the programme of guest lessons called ‘Banks in Classrooms’, which sees employees from Dutch banks visiting various schools as guest teachers.

Marlène Stenvert-Bloemhard, Communication Manager Events at ING, was one of them. She taught two lessons at the Willibrordus primary school in Breukelen, where her son is a Year 6 pupil.

“It was tremendous fun to be able to share knowledge with young children in this way. Financial education is important. If children learn to understand money at a young age, they will manage their finances more responsibly when they get older.” The Banks in Classrooms programme offers a range of tools as the basis for the lessons. The main element of the programme is the ‘Cash Quiz’: an educational game that can be played both in the classroom and at home thanks to an app. The quiz was a huge success: “The children were really enthusiastic about the game and were almost falling over themselves to give the right answers. It’s good to see how much children actually already know, such as that their parents’ salaries are paid into a bank account - although they weren’t exactly sure where that money comes from. I must say, it was a learning experience for me too. In one of the classes, we spent some time discussing the difference between a current account and a savings account: what’s the best place to keep your money if you regularly make small purchases?

I’d recommend being a guest teacher to all my colleagues. It’s a great way of seeing the world beyond the bank’s four walls and of giving something back to society. I’ll definitely be doing it again next year!”

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