everything from gift cards to warranties. you've got to hear this before you buy anything. but first, the classroom. it's the incubator for the future lead workers and taxpayers of america. where we are grooming our kids for what america will become. you've heard a lot about where we are failing in education. maybe the best way to fix our problems is to identify what is working. jamie fiddler is a first grade teacher at ps-261 in brooklyn. we're seeing success in what's known at enhanced curriculum. enhancing what we're doing in the classroom. a new study for evidence based policy shows 19-year-olds who participated in enhanced curriculum, 21% were more likely to graduate high school. 61% more likely to go on to college. how is this working in the classroom? >> well, i think across the board you have a lot of teachers now who do tons of read alouds, tons of shared reading, who do tons of math games as a way to promote mathematical understandings, and it really works. it really works. it's amazing. what you're developing is that kids are learning how to communicate with one another, how to really understand books and about their heads, what's happening in books and get them excited about reading. it's a really amazing way of teaching, actually, because they really start to internalize their educational process. >> and is it more contact with teachers and the student? it's definitely more one on one? >> oh, yeah, right. >> the most important in education? >> absolutely. what we did all the time, conferencing, working in small groups an conferencing with two or three kids. you're conferencing with individual children. a lot of times you're conferencing about their writing, and giving them, working with them individually on their development. it's -- s. that just the teacher in front of the blackboard, it's not. >> not at all. >> with 30 students sitting quietly at their desks? a much more hands-on. >> basically me standing up there with 20 kids around here. >> you see the kids responding more? with just a few kids, you can pull them out. >> you can differentiate your curriculum. these are my kids struggling with short vowels. i can pull those kids. these are the kids struggling with long vowels. do a group on long vowels. it's great, because you really have to focus on what the students need. >> i want to highlight another example of what is working in the classroom and bring in ronny sim, the principal at brenda scott academy, a public school for grades pre-k to eight. you teach reading, writing and arithmetic. you have respect, responsibility and reasoning. a gentlemen's club. it's not what you think it is. tell us about your gentlemen's club and what that is going to improve the quality of education in your classroom? >> a gentlemen's club is offered to our second through eighth graders and it's basically to build the stunstudent's self-es help them in the classroom. most of students are pretty bright, but if they're not focused they miss out on a great portion of the lesson. we do a lot of focusing drills and most of those boys who take it seriously, they practice in the classroom. they learn about distractions, how to handle the distractions, because they'll never go away, and a in a jorty of those students are now honor roll students. >> you teach them a firm handshake. you teach them to stand up straight. almost military attention. right somewhere so they can tune out the other things happening around them, so they can listen to their teacher. and some of these kids really get into it? >> absolutely. and actually, when i'm going down the hallway, they are so used to giving me eye contact and shaking during gentlemen club's session, they stop me in the hallway and other kids are seeing that they're focused and so many other people want to be a part of the gentlemen's club because of these students who are so serious about, you know, being part of the gentlemen's club. it has has taken affect on the girls. we now have a ladies' club. they're seeing what the boys are doing, there are 130 girls who want to be in a mentoring program as well . >> i love it. back with us. we love to talk education with l.z., a writer, and a dad. what do you see, l.z., working in the classroom? what would you like to see more of? >> i'll tell you one thing i'm glad it's working, is the fact despite the horrible things you hear about education, the terrible things about teachers' pay and attacks on unions, we still have people who go to college who wants to be teachers. people in the classroom who want to be with young people nap is so important. because all the research tells us there are too many factors that determines a child's education in terms of ak democrat uk achievement. number one is financial. the type of school they go to and the type of resource it has. and number two, teachers. you've got to have good teachers. having good teachers present in the classroom, people who want to be there, it's a very, very good thing. something else that is fantastic, we are seeing more and more ultimate ways in which teaching is happening. earlier guests talked about new projects in terms of reading out loud and the gentlemen's club, a fantastic idea. you know, my son goes to an international bachelor yit school. relatively new. about 40 years old. there are 3,200 in the world. 1,300 are in the u.s. we're doing a lot of good things. >> good to hear. i want to thank you all for spending some time to tell us what's working in the classroom. best of luck to all of you. jamie, lz and russell, have a great saturday. when money gets in the way of expanding your family. that's next on "your bottom line." dinner! 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[ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup. a vacation on a budget with expedia. make it work. booking a flight by itself is an uh-oh. see if we can "stitch" together a better deal. that's a hint, antoine. ooh! see what anandra did? booking your flight and hotel at the same time gets you prices hotels and airlines won't let expedia show separately. book it. major wow factor! where you book matters. expedia. having a baby today is as mitch about money as it is about money and biology. couples are holding off on baby number two or deciding against it altogether because they're worried about how much babies cost. they're worried about their jobs. they're worried about their financial future. meet one pennsylvania couple who's wondering whether to have another baby because of the economy. >> go play with your toys? >> reporter: they want to have another baby. >> witness you get married, are you having a baby? oh, when are you having another baby? but it's not always that easy. >> reporter: but the economy stands in their way. >> two would scare the heck out of me. to have child care costs times two, that's another big chunk of change. >> hey. >> reporter: the couple spends $11,000 on child care for olivia. she's 1.5 years old. ryan, a detective, gets extra income working in his family's business, but lori's job is a major factor in their family planning. >> did you get the letter from us back over the summertime about our funding cuts? >> reporter: 14 out of 21 people laid off at the child care association where she works. lori isn't sure if she'll have a job come january. >> i'm 39 now, and so there's a window, and so that window closing while the job window closes at the same time or potentially will close, it's a little unnerving. >> reporter: no question, women are already waiting longer to have kids and they're having fewer of them. in 2010, 4 million babies down in the u.s. down from the peak of 4.3 million in 2007. this doctor delivered about 3,000 babies. >> going to cost $250,000 by the time you're 18. >> true. >> reporter: $226,920 to be exact according to the government. up more than $60,000 from ten years ago. >> no doubt that the economy matters in having children. it has mattered throughout history. in the depression it went down, other recessions, in boom time it goes up. >> reporter: the recession is tech likely over, but for some people it doesn't feel like it. >> couples are telling me that. the economy is tight. having a kid, it is a great expense. i think a bigger expense up in your head than in reality, but still, people think about kids and college and education and all the costs involved, they're right. they're seeing the moment right now. how could we ever do this? and they're postponing it. >> reporter: he says women think they can't afford to have a baby, but for many, they can't afford to wait. >> biological clock. >> reporter: you can't wait for the economy to recover? >> goes up, stock down. >> reporter: doesn't matter. >> the stock of the eggs is always going down. basically, every year you get older. >> say thank. >> thank you. >> you're welcome. >> reporter: for now, they remain a family of three. >> if we can add another one, great. and if that doesn't happen, then i don't -- we're not going to be any less happy for what we have. >> so wait to have another kid these days can be tough financially and a tough biological decision. maybe it is all in our heads. stacy, and pete dominick, husband, dad, comedian and host of cirrus's xm stand-up. the $226,000, that cute baby. the usda says compare that with, say, 1960, when they were $25,000 to have a baby. take a page out of this. a worm works for child care, husband a detective. is it irresponsible to have is a baby? >> the most expensive time ever to have a baby. not necessarily irresponsible. there's a lot they can do to shore up finances. number one, if she's worried about losing a job, lori should look for a job now. not when it happens. also be smart. look at finances, look where they're spending money and create an emergency fund. if something does happen they're not go to dip into credit cards and find themselves in a bad financial situation. >> tighten the bemt, too. >> exactly. >> tighten the belt, i know that -- he's laughing because there's a double entendre there. >> no. i'm laughing about, thinking about congress. i wish congress men and women would act like they've had a baby. they would realize you have to tighten your belt and as you were saying, get another job. take my personal experience. when my wife, the girlfriend at the time, got pregnant, we didn't think of that. i said, well, i've got to get to work. it was the most stimulative package you could imagine. the pregnancy. i didn't take no for an answer. i took risks. >> the motivator for you? >> a huge motivator, yes, absolutely. this $226,000 number, that's you responsible financial -- i mean, that -- >> you don't worry about that? >> you don't. you really don't. i'll give awe number. how much will it cost if you wait? it's harder to get pregnant. doctors alluded to this. two choices. inveet tro oradoption. >> there's a certainly amount of legal fate when making a child. 18 years from now a pretty long time. the economy could be a lot better. having a baby is having a baby. it's priceless. it's priceless. right? trumps everything, but you have to be responsible when thinking about doing it. >> responsible and don't let college costs worry you either. you plan for your retirement. there are college loan, grants. financial aid. a lot of great options out there. don't let that hold you back. >> all right. we decided we're bullish on going for another baby. >> yep. have you ever been brand washed to the shocking tricks companies use to get you to buy their products, and have you fallen for it? that's next. hi, could you read my list? it's all crossed out... it's 'cause i got everything on it. boom! thank you! 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[ male announcer ] progresso. 40 soups 100 calories or less. have you ever bought a book just because it was on the best seller list, or a brand name toy because your child specifically asked for it? have you ever liked something on facebook? if so, you've been brand washed. my next guest knows firsthand how marketers and advertisers manipulate our minds and persuade us to buy their products because he used to be one of them. now he's written a little expose. now he joins us via skype from columbia. welcome to the program. nice to see you. hard to escape the grip copies have on us particularly if we don't even know it's happening. how do they get us? give us some of the secrets? >> well, it happens everywhere. just think about this when you walk into a retail store, like a supermarket. did you know that if we walk counterclockwise throughout the store we actually spend 7% more? and not only that, we actually are seeing now the supermarkets are putting in speed bombs into the floor. so the tiles start to vibrate slightly, making us slow down. as we do that we spend 6% more. and not only that, we also know now that the type of music they're using in the retailer stores actually makes us spend more money. every signal expose for every second has us spending more. >> like being in a vegas casino. no windows, and the lights are perfect. except it's the supermarket and they're trying to make you reach into your pocket and spend more money. next time we're shopping, what can we do differently not to fall for it? >> the best advice, not to bring your kids with you. we know if you bring your kids with you you're going to spend 6% or 7% more. sounds student bud it works well. use your music player or iphone and play some music, really hard music, hard written, because that makes you rush out of the supermarket quickly. by the way, another advice. to always use very big dollar notes. the 100 bills or 50 dollar notes, because notes because they actually make you spend less. we call the denomination effect. the idea is very simple. the less money you spend, well, typically it's directly correlated with the higher bills you have in your pocket. >> fascinating. you say the average 3-year-old -- and i have one of these, a 3-year-old can recognize 100 different brands. that seems impossible to me, but you think of three years of their life they've been bombarded from all -- even the diapers they wear have an animal, a disney character on it. how do you protect your kids from marketers? >> well, first of all, the first word any baby out there is able to say is not mom or dad any more, it's donald standing for mcdonald's. we learned this very quickly. i think the best advice to use is simple. number one, make sure that you teach your children about what a brand is. number two, most of the kids we were surveying for the brand wars, 76% of them were saying they're teased in school because of not wearing the right labels. so make sure that you actually give your kids the argument they should use in school in case they're teased about brands. and number three, i hate to tell you, but you have to ask your kids to switch off that television now and then because that's the main source still for us to learn about those brands. >> martin lynd lintstron, very nice to see you today. we'll have you back very soon. >> thank you. forget black friday. the christmas shopping season is under way and we have the really important list for you. everything not to do this holiday season, next. ♪ [ male announcer ] it has an hd webcam, killer audio, and lids that switch to start every semester fresh. but mostly it helps me try new moves on and off the court. ♪ [ male announcer ] powered by the 2nd gen intel core i5 processor: not just smart, visibly smart. nobody does black friday like dell.com. visit dell.com starting at midnight and all weekend for instant savings on some of our most popular products. you can put a force field on him and be invisible! 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[ louder ] hello? but we still need your signature. right now during sign then drive it's never been easier to get the all-new passat, the 2012 motor trend car of the year, for practically just your signature. that's the power of german engineering. visit vwdealer.com. since ameriprise financial was founded back in 1894, they've been committed to putting clients first. helping generations through tough times. good times. never taking a bailout. there when you need them. helping millions of americans over the centuries. the strength of a global financial leader. the heart of a one-to-one relationship. together for your future. ♪ all right. full disclosure. i have to tell you, this time of year i do some major soul searching. i feel like we're in the middle of a manufacturers retail frenzy trying to get us to buy into the the idea that we have to spend and you're going to get lots of offers, people. you're going to get lots of offers. you're buying an awful lot. would you like 20% off right now? >> it's not usually 25%, it's maybe 10% at most. ahead of time, you know you're going to be shopping at some place where you might be tempted, check out the deal online. check out the details of the store's credit card. you'll probably find you have a rewards card already that will be a much better deal in the long run. >> so when is it worth it to sign up for one? >> if it's a store that you sign up for frequently, it should be said sometimes there are card only discounts then it might make sense and you don't have a bunch of store cards already so it's not going to mess up your credit report. >> about a weeks ago, there was a story about you have to buy your tv now. but i was told tvs are cheapest now and around the super bowl. if you see things for two different prices at two different stores, just because it's cheaper, it might not be a better deal? >> yeah, that's true. we found if you see an item at several different stores, it's about the same price, you go into a big box store and you say, it looks like the same tv, for example, but it's a lot less, write down the model number first. go home. go online, check it out. you may find that it lacks some features that the other one has. maybe not or it may be something you don't care about. it may be that the remote doesn't light up. but it might have key features that you do want, that they lack to sell them for less at the big box stores. they may omit some features. >> and they're probably going to try to sell you an extended warranty. i always say when somebody sells me something and they try to sell me the warranty i say, what, you didn't make it good enough in the first place? i mean, i think that these things are made to last much shorter than they used to. >> well, what we find over decadeses, consumer reports has done brand relieblth. looked at that and found you seldom should probably never take the extended warranty. probably never is okay. >> you heard it right here, don't take the warranty. because the product seldom breaks during the extended warranty period. and the manufacturer's warranty will probably last the first year. besides, a credit card you use may extend the manufacturer's warranty. so check that out if you go. if a brukt breaks because of a defect, the manufacturer will probably replace it voluntarily or