After a decade of experience as an equities trader, Hiro Shinohara changed career paths and became a high school teacher at the High School of Finance & Economics in New York City, just blocks away from his previous job. Having worked in finance, Hiro has seen firsthand how understanding money management can significantly impact a person's life. Now in his 18th year teaching, he loves equipping his students with these skills.

What is one of your earliest money memories?

My earliest money memories revolve around buying comic books and packs of baseball cards for just 25 cents each. I remember the excitement of saving up spare change and carefully selecting which comic books and packs to buy. Those moments not only sparked a lifelong hobby of collecting, but they also taught me valuable lessons about the concept of value.

As I flipped through the pages of my comics and sorted my baseball cards, I began to understand that these items weren’t just fun collectibles; they had tangible value that could appreciate over time. I learned to recognize which comics were more sought after and which cards held their worth, which inspired me to delve deeper into the world of collecting and investing.

Describe your school and the size, location, and community where it is located. 

The High School of Finance & Economics is part of District 2 in the NYC Department of Education. The school is located in the heart of the Financial District in downtown Manhattan, a short distance from Wall Street and the New York Stock Exchange. We serve students from all 5 boroughs of NYC and currently enroll approximately 675 students. 

How long have you been teaching? And how many of those years have you taught personal Finance? 

After working as an equities trader for close to 10 years just a couple of blocks from my school, I decided to change career paths and became a public school teacher. I am now in my 18th year of teaching and have taught personal finance for six of those years.

What other classes do you teach? And what age are your students?

I also teach a 10th grade class on Social Entrepreneurship. My Personal Finance students are seniors, primarily 17 to 18 years old. 

What makes you passionate about personal finance education?

I’m passionate about teaching personal finance because I believe that financial literacy is a crucial skill for young adults as they prepare to enter the world. Having worked in finance, I’ve seen firsthand how understanding money management can significantly impact one’s life.

In today’s complex financial landscape, many young people (and their families) feel overwhelmed and ill-equipped to handle their finances. By equipping my students with these skills, I aim to foster confidence and independence as they transition to adulthood.

Teaching personal finance also allows me to engage with students on a practical level, showing them how these concepts apply to their daily lives and future goals. It’s incredibly rewarding to see them light up when they realize the relevance of what they’re learning.

My goal is to not just teach them about money but to inspire and empower them to take control of their financial futures, helping them become responsible, informed citizens.

What are your favorite topics to teach? And activities to use?

My favorite topics to teach in the NGPF curriculum are Investing, Behavioral Economics, Types of Credit & Managing Credit, and Paying for College. As noted above, I used to trade and invest in stocks professionally and love being able to bring in my real world experience into my lessons about investing.  

As for activities, my students love all the experiential games and case studies that NGPF has to offer.

The “Spent” game always has a profound impact on my students, demonstrating the challenge of living paycheck to paycheck and the importance of saving, budgeting, and having an emergency fund for your monthly fixed expenses.

The “Payback” game is another favorite and perfectly timed for my seniors in the fall semester as they apply to college and make consequential decisions about how they will finance their education.

Do you hear from past students? If so, what do they say about having taken your class?

Yes, our school is fortunate to have an active alumni base that participates in Career Day each year. One of my former students, who currently works at Google, came in to speak to my students last semester about the importance of personal finance education and how my class inspired him to start saving and investing at an early age.  This enabled him to finance two masters degrees to further his career and get a mortgage on an apartment in NYC all before the age of 32!

What advice do you have for other personal finance teachers? 

I would advise other personal finance teachers, especially those that are new to teaching the subject, to use the NGPF curriculum as the foundation to their lessons but to differentiate those lessons to fit the needs and interests of their students.

I would also encourage teachers to share as much as possible their own experience (good and bad) about personal finance and money. It’s a great way to build rapport with students and bring to life some of the lessons. After all, the study of personal finance is intrinsically “personal!” 

Lastly, I would recommend using current events articles and videos to make lessons more relevant and impactful for students. 

About the Author

Hannah Rael

As NGPF's Marketing Communications Manager, Hannah (she/her) helps spread the word about NGPF's mission to improve the financial lives of the next generation of Americans.