by Tricia
Man, there are times you read a bit of news and it makes you smile. Why? Because it’s something you believe should be occuring in public schools and finally someone is making it happen.
Ohio Treasurer Richard Cordray sponsored a bill that would make it mandatory (yes, mandatory!) that all high school students take a personal finance class. If he were here right now I would hug that man!
This won’t be implemented in Ohio until 2010, but it is a wonderful start. I sure hope other states follow Ohio’s lead.
[Via WTOL-TV, via Consumerist]
I’m worried that this might be a bad idea that simply “sounds good”…
How will the curriculum help students from dramatically different financial backgrounds?
Will the students look at the person teaching the class and think “hey, if you are so smart about this, why do you live the life you do…?”
I think that teaching our kids about money (just like sex and religion) should be the responsibility of the parent…
Now, if the classes focus on the “types of accounts, how interest works, what a 401k is”… then I’d be all for it…
I like the idea of a class that gives information… but I don’t like the idea of a class that gives a “how to”…
Does any of this comment make sense? It’s late…
NCN
Wow, I am in Ohio and I could have used this when I was in HS!
Yes it is about time that kids learn personal finance. I wish we had it when I was in school as then we won’t be making a lot of ‘financial mistakes’ before we learn of finance management ourselves.
That is a wonderful idea. I’m currently in high school right now, and that’s something i’ve told my teachers we should have. I’ve got friends that don’t even have all the vehicle expenses and things I have, and earn the same, yet they complain about having overdrafted their checking accounts and such. I’m with you, I hope other states do follow the example.
This is excellent!
(I just hope the credit card companies don’t write the curriculum)
NCN – if they stick with the basics and teach kids what a 401(k) is (for example), I think that will span across all income levels. Of course, some schools may be in a certain income area so they can tailor the classes to account for that.
I think to my high school. They had a “life math” class for students having difficulty in regular math. As a treat from my math teacher (I was in a different math class – algebra, I think at the time), I was allowed to attend one of their field trips. We went to the grocery store and learned all about pricing and per unit costs as well as other math you use in a store. It happens that all of that math helps you to spend your money wisely!
I was a little upset that I couldn’t take that class. From what I heard, they did talk about some finance related things like checking accounts, savings accounts, etc.
I think more importantly the curriculum should involve some sort of education around debt and debt management; moreover the dangers of credit cards. I, along with many millions of others have had to learn the hard way that if you don’t have cash to pay for it, you don’t need it. This is a life lesson that I am all for, regardless of the curriculum, because I think you can break down those barriers and teach the class in a way that enables all students to be taught.
I understand where NCN is coming from. Should kids go to school, they are told to live one way, but then their parents at home don’t follow those guidelines and have a different way. Even though I like the idea of a financial class, the government should never be given the ability to mandate our lives or how we choose to spend money.
If the class is more of a basic economics type of class, I would support something like that. The debit card only does so much and high school students should learn how to balance a checkbook so they don’t get hit with NSF fees. Compound interest and why it is important to save and invest money. Understanding credit and common credit terms if they so choose to take on a loan, like a mortgage, one day. If I were a high school teacher, this is the kind of class, other than advanced math classes like Calculus that I would want to teach.
I’m a little confused by (and possibly concerned about) this comment and wonder if I could ask NCN what he or she meant by it:
“Will the students look at the person teaching the class and think “hey, if you are so smart about this, why do you live the life you do…?â€
Is the assumption that if you’re a teacher (and thus are not making a lot of money), you’re “living the life that you do” because you don’t know enough about finances to have gone into a higher-income profession?
When I see teachers who dress like they don’t have a lot of money, and whose cars reflect that as well (and these are the ony two criteria I have for making assumptions about their lifestyle), I don’t think they are ignorant about finances; I just think they are living within their means, and frankly, I admire them for having become teachers.
NCN, If I have misconstrued your comment, my sincere apologies in advance. I just felt obliged to ask about this.
While a possibly good idea, I think it comes a bit late. They need to start much younger and teach the math behind money and interest along with basic budgeting (I would think 5th or 6th grade would be appropriate).
Then some more delving into types of accounts and loans early in HS could prepare them for getting that first job.
I don’t think it should be a seperae class though. Integerated as part of the regular math and/or economics education would be best.
I agree–if this class is informative, which it should be, this is sorely needed. Explain how compounding interest works (both ways), how mortgages work, how the stock market works, how retirement plans work, how to set up retirement plans, etc.
Nothing should be taught in the “you should.” In fact, the teacher shouldn’t even say that checkbooks must be balanced–just explain the consequences of not doing so. (Aside: I had a co-worker who refused to invest in the company 401(k) because he didn’t believe it would be around in retirement…I thought he was crazy, but I recognize that it was his belief.)
I hope Dave Ramsey is the consultant for the curriculum.
Any education is better than none. Even if VISA wrote the textbook (and it wouldn’t surprise me one bit if they did) the teacher can still inject common sense into the lesson.
“I had a co-worker who refused to invest in the company 401(k) because he didn’t believe it would be around in retirement…I thought he was crazy”
Maybe he used to work for Enron?
Different financial backgrounds has absolutely NOTHING to do with a class on personal finance!! Learning about how to reconcile a checking account, interest (either debt or compounded as in savings account) and different retirment types as well as the difference between stocks, bonds, money market, etc. could not HELP but be beneficial to anyone who lives in this country!!! Even if you are born filthy rich, you still need to be able to check up on your accountant and/or financial planner! I truly do not see how anyone could possibly object to their child being taught this subject in a public school! It is a no-brainer (in my opinion….)! And yes, it should definitely start before high school. But,,,,,ya gotta start somewhere and late is better than never! I grew up in Ohio and they did have an excellent school system, even many years ago!
I took a personal finance course in high school? Did we ever learn to write a budget? No
Did we ever learn to live on less than we make? No
Did we ever learn to invest? No
Did we ever learn anything about insurance? No
Teaching our children presonal finance is definitely a good idea, but the curriculum has to be more than learning to figure out what a loan payment is and how to balance your checkbook.
I discovered your blog via another blog this morning, and I’ve been poking around reading. I just found this post and am I am thrilled to discover this news. And irritated that I didn’t hear about it on my local news. Ugh! I have been in debt since I was 19 (I’m 34 now) and we will be debt free in 6 weeks (score!) Based on my own experience, I have long felt that personal finance classes should be mandatory in high school! Yay! My parents were terrible with money and never taught me a thing.