Why don't we teach kids about money or financial literacy in school? Schools offer Wood Shop, but nothing about money. Something is wrong. Please sign in and share your thoughts and one day we will effectuate change.
13 Comments
I have been saying this for years! How important credit is, savings plans, investing.. The power of having financial freedom..
i have said that back in college when i couldnt even balance a dam check book, lol
My high school had various Economics classes...not very hardcore but what is in high school?
Perhaps the State math standards could be reconsidered!
I think it's by design. The system is designed to keep you in (bad) debt. They want you to work for the rich. They teach you to go to college, get into student debt, buy a car, get into more debt, get a mortgage...more debt. Meanwhile the debt you are paying off is making other people rich and you are trapped! Start a business today and get cash flowing in. Control your financial future.
My 10 year old came home recently and said that her teacher has added values to her homework, classwork, tests etc that go toward her "rent" for her chair, and her desk in her class, there's even an option to purchase before the end of the school year believe it or not. She's only in 5th grade but I guess it's a start...I don't recall talkin' about rent and bills in 5th grade...
You're underestimating the importance of learning how to build a bread basket!
that's where content area literacy comes into play...change the curriculum...teach to what's relevant...in a way that kids can and will understand...they need to become engaged in the content they are learning...kids understand the basics...it's a matter of making it 'real' per se...no joke, i had a 7th grader explain the entire LAUSD busing system to me in a short 10 minute conversation....supply and demand, haves and have-nots, free and reduced lunches...this kid was an econ professor in the making....believe in a child's ability to understand beyond his own 'current' level of education (as marked by society) and take it from there...it's a matter of paying attention and moving kids along their learning continuum....they're smarter than we think...now it's up to the mainstream curriculum makers to believe in them and go from there....(sorry, first post i've ever responded to....but so hit it right on point)....
Thank you for the comments. Lonnie Jones-Giaffoglione that is a good start and Amina ZegharrI certainly agree. What about courses on entrepreneurship; how to start and run your own business. How to invest in real estate, how to start a residual business where you have money flowing in every month despite next month sales. How to use debt to make money. Even to kids in middle school. It has to be by design that this information is not taught. The rich kids are taught this by their parents! And Michael Petchenick exactly my point.
Marvin Jones....completely agree....all the points you've recommended are a kid's typical reality....some are witnesses to life's most unfortunate realities on a daily basis and others see all the positive points that life has to offer when speaking in terms of $$....some of those free-market concepts are already happening on the 'playground' - take their innate abilities and bring it forth into the classroom...now the reality is...can this happen in public education or is this something that can only come about and become a direct reality in the 'private' school system where the funds to create such curriculums are available through deeper pockets and let's just say hedge fund managers on the PTA committee??.....and on another note...the 7th grade (*econ*) prodigy I was speaking about...was....wait for it....an African-American male, bused in from the inner-city to a predominantly affluent area (i.e. The Valley)...and a football virtuoso who banked his future on a football career with yes, a scholarship to USC (his first pick)...his lifelong dream...already being scouted by high schools.....and guess what...same kid was failing math and always ending up in the dean's office...always a second away from being suspended or kicked out of school and whom has a mom who cares so much about his future that she is willing to move him to a different area so he could follow his football dream...now i wonder why this kid couldn't care less about his grades..well...it's all a matter of paying attention, asking how their day is going, following up on their studies, and asking them what they are truly interested in learning about....kids don't fail themselves for no reason...they WANT to be engaged in the content they are learning...and when someone gives them that choice like you are recommending...maybe they'll get that chance to change things up and learn the things they want to learn at a pace they are capable of following and pursuing...all kids have this ability...it takes just a few people in the upper confines of society's power-houses to listen and make those changes...our financial system didn't get to where it is today because civil society made it that way...the power is always in the hands of the few...you're typical macro-econ 101 class...what you are talking about is something that could start at the grassroots level...almost a pilot program...get the best of the best and also the kids whom society would typically place at the bottom of the 'ladder' per se into a classroom and go from there...the possibilities are endless...(man, where is Milton Friedman at!) and @Lonnie...I think your child's teacher has it right...not only making it fun to learn, but teaching kids something they'll be able to take into the later years...what we learn at a young age tends to follow us into our adult years....discipline is where it's at...now what kind of discipline we're gonna teach to our kids, now that's up to us...what's that old adage? It takes a village to raise a child? @Marvin....great post, and something you should definitely continue along the social media continuum....kudos and hope you are well....!!!
Marvin, check out my friend Ryan Mack, he teaches financial literacy to kids in Harlem. Great program.
Thank you Amina Zeghar. Very well said. We have to do what we can to change the system. I am an avid follower of the teachings of Friedman, Sowell, Kiyosaki, etc. It wasn't until I understood their teachings that I truly became financially successful. We need to start earlier! I will continue these postings and I look forward to your responses. I am going to post another topic later today. Thank you all for your comments.