Objective
Teachers will be able to:
- Identify pop culture trends and events connected to personal finance and economic concepts such as consumer behavior, scarcity, and marketing influence
- Use discussion prompts and classroom activities featuring pop culture examples to help students recognize financial decision-making in everyday life.
Standards
Description
From trending toys to viral music, pop culture offers powerful entry points for connecting students to personal finance and economics! This session explores how current cultural moments — from Labubu dolls to sports gambling scandals — reflect real financial decisions and market forces. Together, we’ll unpack what’s driving these trends and how they can spark student curiosity about saving, spending, and consumer influence. Participants will compare the current craze around Labubu dolls to the Beanie Baby boom and bust of the early 2000s, examining how consumer demand, scarcity, and speculation create bubbles in both toy and financial markets. Participants will also explore the connections between gaming and sports gambling, helping students recognize the shared psychology behind spending behavior, risk, and reward. Additional topics include Pantone’s Color of the Year, the cost of the 2026 Winter Olympics, and the profits behind K-Pop Demon Hunters. Educators will discover timely, relevant examples that make economics come alive in the classroom, explore strategies to help students think critically about consumer behavior and marketing influence, and join a collaborative conversation about how to turn students’ cultural interests into authentic financial learning opportunities. Participants will walk away with discussion prompts and classroom activities that make financial systems visible and relevant in students’ everyday lives.