Yes, teachers in the early part of the 1900s sometimes acted as bank tellers gathering deposits of coins from their students! The School Savings Banks movement encouraged children to learn about saving by doing.  Schools would sign on to work with a local bank to set up accounts for children. Teachers collected the money and, through the principal, made deposits in the bank weekly.

It's hard for us to imagine doing such a thing today, but there are other ways to encourage students to save - be it money or the planet.  To learn more, attend Benjamin Franklin's Thrift Summer Institute July 14-18 at HSP.  At this institute, you will be enthralled by the story of the School Savings Banks superintendent - Philadelphia's own Sara Oberholtzer, amazed by the primary sources we have, and excited by the ways you may use them in your classroom.

Register NOW!  The deadline is June 14.

PS  The Institute is free, as all deposits are returned upon completion of the course