Strike a Financial Chord

Ever hear the saying, “The way to a mans heart is through his stomach?” With teens, the way to their heart - and their mind - is through music.

The High School for the Recording Arts (HSRA) aka “Hip Hop High School” in St. Paul, Minnesota lives and breathes this concept. With financial help from State Farm, they know how to motivate students through music. They use music to teach the basics - reading, writing and math - allowing kids to better understand.

It all starts like any other classroom, textbooks and studying. But instead of a test, students take the lessons and write music about it. Students get studio time in the school’s state of the art facility keeping them focused on learning.

HRSA students recently took courses about budgets, credit cards and how to save for the future from the nonprofit, Make a Difference.

The HRSA youth took what they learned and created music to share their knowledge with their peers. The songs not only shared important financial tips, but are a fun, unique way to learn.

Challenging students to channel their passions into something positive can lead to amazing results. Listening to the songs, you wouldn’t guess kids ages 17-21, were the writers, talent and producers. Click here to listen to their tracks.

Make a Difference Wisconsin and Junior Achievement of the Upper Midwest plan to weave these songs into their classrooms. These songs will bring new energy to financial literacy classes and events.

“As an organization that teaches kids financial literacy, the songs created by these talented young people bring a freshness and relevancy to this important topic that will help us educate and inspire the next generation,” Ryan Stauff, Vice President of Corporate development from Junior Achievement of the Upper Midwest shared.

These students are using their passions to learn important concepts. And their songs are inspiring and engaging other teens with their messages too.