The summer 2010 issue of brass is hot off the press!

Included in this issue: (Login or register to access articles.)

$10 Million Underdogs: Inner-city high school team battles to build the ultimate hybrid car

Do you tweet? If so, you can now follow brass on Twitter for updates and other news and events.

Find brass on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/brass

Check out the brass|BONUS article for April: "Signing Up To Sell: Four types of business structures."

"Choosing what type of business structure to use is not as simple as deciding whether you’d rather have Inc. or LLC after the name. You'll need to take legal, tax and paperwork implications into consideration before deciding if John Doe's Generic Name Company should be a sole proprietorship or a corporation. Here's a brief breakdown of four common business structures."

On Friday, April 2nd President Obama proclaimed April Financial Literacy Month. This is the seventh year that the government has designated this month in honor of the promotion of financial literacy. Many state governments have also signed resolutions and proclamations.

(To access brass teaching materials and content to use for your personal finance and other business education classes, please login or register for the brass|TEACHER RESOURCE CENTER.)

The brass|BONUS article for March is a look at different types of legal fees, with some tips on how to find a low-cost lawyer. The article will give your students a glimpse of situations that may arise after graduation. Here is an excerpt from Legal First Aid: Finding a low-cost lawyer:

Many situations could require the assistance of a lawyer. Purchasing a house, landlord/tenant disputes, starting a business, and workplace problems are just a few. Fortunately, not all lawyers cost an arm and a leg. There are options for different situations and income levels.

We designed the brass|TEACHER RESOURCE CENTER to not only be a clearinghouse of lesson plans and questioning strategies to accompany brass|MAGAZINE, but also as a place to come for ideas on different ways to use brass in your class.  Here are a few ideas shared with us by teachers who are using brass in theirs.  

The Spring issue of the brass|MAGAZINE Student Edition is now available.  In this issue: 

The January brass|BONUS article instructs students on how to do a cost-benefit analysis.

The holiday season is officially over and it's time to start the new year.  Here are a few of things we are looking forward to in 2010:

• January 23: Mt. Hood Region FBLA Skills Conference - Canby High School, OR
• February 1: Spring issue of brass arrives

In this issue:

• Investing information
• The inspiring story of William Kamkwamba - The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind
• How to write winning scholarship applications
• Career projections
• Ponzi schemes
• Unique web businesses

• February 12 - 15: Western Business Education Association Annual Conference - Reno, NV
• February 20 - 27: National Entrepreneurship Week (Click here to find an event in your area)

We will continue to keep you posted about upcoming events.  Happy New Year!

Just in time for your students to return from holiday break, we have prepared an article with useful information on gift cards.  Gift Card Guidance covers everything from buying, selling and using gift cards to the terms and conditions associated with them.  We have also created questioning strategies to go along with this article, and have the it linked to a brass lesson plan.