Teaching Economic Inequality and Solutions in Personal Finance with Judy Smith

In this episode, Yanely Espinal sits down with veteran Bay Area economics teacher Judy Smith to explore how she integrates a mini-unit on economic inequality and solutions in personal finance within her economics course. Judy explains how, after 20 years of teaching, she shifted her focus from the "why" behind economic inequality to the "how" and the hope that empowers students to research and advocate for policy solutions like affordable housing, raising the minimum wage, and expanding child tax credits. This conversation covers the practical flow of her course, where seniors first complete a Civic Action Project in Government course and then a personal finance portfolio in Economics before diving into the inequality unit that wraps up the course. Judy shares how student choice and civic engagement drive deeper buy-in from students. Yanely and Judy also tackle tough questions about balancing personal responsibility with systemic awareness, navigating uncomfortable classroom conversations, and preparing for California's new standalone personal finance graduation requirement. You'll come away with actionable strategies, curated resources, and renewed motivation to bring conversations about economic equity into your own classroom.

You can listen to Teaching Economic Inequality and Solutions in Personal Finance with Judy Smith online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Teaching Economic Inequality and Solutions in Personal Finance with Judy Smith is an episode from Next Gen Personal Finance by Next Gen Personal Finance.

This episode is 40:49 long.

This episode was published on Apr 27, 2026.

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