After reading an article on financial literacy, linked at the bottom, I've decided finance classes or something similar should be required in high school. Basically the articles are stating that a large percent of people don't understand debt, including how to compute compound interest, and that this could be a reason why some people have so much of it. Debt, credit cards, and retirement savings are things all of us will be facing and if we do not get the basic tools on how to deal with them in high school I don't know where the knowledge is going to come from for many people. I'm a college graduate and I consider my knowledge in the area extremely limited, and unless you've taken certain business or finance classes you could be in the same boat as me. I realize that kids schedules are already packed with classes they need to take, I work part time in a high school, but these finance problems are serious issues and I believe this may be the best way to work at the root of the problem. I'm interested in hearing if other people think this is a problem, and any solutions they might have.
Teach finance in high school
By A.J.84 - Posted on February 27th, 2008
I worked in a retail job through my undergraduate years in college. Understanding credit and debt aside, I was appalled at how many new freshmen would proudly take out their new check books to pay, open them, and say "now what do I do."
Writing checks, filling out tax forms, balancing a check book--these are all things I learned in junior high--in a required class. Not finance, but communications. It's sad that something so basic as filling in the blanks on a check is not as simple as it seems to me, and reminds me how much I took my education for granted.
If it's not offered at your high school, you may want to consider perhaps an online finance class through a community college. I only say online because you say you work part time. I also know some universities offer correspondence classes to high schoolers--my sister is taking German through packets mailed to her from Brigham Young University. She gets study packets and homework sheets and tests and she just mails everything in, and they mail back her grades and ways to improve areas she needs to work on. It's a good program and worth looking in to.
http://www.progressiveu.org/blog/sawaboof
"...There is a crushing guilt that comes with being a Catholic. Whether things are good or bad or you're simply... eating tacos in the park, there is always the crushing guilt."
-30 Rock-
Oh, you know what else? Banks offer classes as well to high schoolers. The credit union in my town pays them to take the classes, actually-- $50 for juniors, $100 for seniors. Just something else to look into. :-)
http://www.progressiveu.org/blog/sawaboof
"...There is a crushing guilt that comes with being a Catholic. Whether things are good or bad or you're simply... eating tacos in the park, there is always the crushing guilt."
-30 Rock-
Write to your school board about it! :D
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Please see my recent blog post, "Genocide and Student Activism": http://www.progressiveu.org/041447-genocide-and-student-activism