Financial Management Teachings - Why Not Taught In School?

[Better Half]

When I was in school household finances was taught in Home Ec which we took in both 7th & 9th grade. Now the local schools don't even offer Home Ec as an elective. They also taught us how to balance a checkbook in math class.

Money management isn't on the state's standardized test so they don't teach it. Since I've been in school they have dropped so many interesting, useful classes. It's very sad.

 

[sweetcorn]

When I was in junior high we had a class called " practical business" We learned to keep a check book, maintain a budget , etc. We had a class "spouse" , so many kids per couple which varied , a budget , bank account and certain things to " buy ". You had to write checks to pay each bill , etc. Good class , some schools do ALL SHOULD!

 

[punkin]

With the shortfalls in the school budgets, unfortunately, those classes are the first to go. Also, the "No Child Left Behind" policies have little room for such classes. High schoolers should be taught financial management. Seniors are bombarded with credit card offers that they have no idea how to calculate interest, much less on a home mortgage.

In the 80's when I was in high school, we had Home Economics as an elective. It was mainly sewing, baking and more "domestic" duties. I don't recall anything about financial planning.

I learned my budgeting from my parents. Bills were paid first & some was put back in savings every week. My dad has been debt free for as long as I can remember. He is able to live quite easily on SSI because he always planned for that rainy day.

 

[krjwaj]

Our dd is in middle school and the only thing I can think of off the top of my head is a math assignment in which the students had to compare food store flyers. THey had to figure cost per unit, cost per item, cost per oz, and which store offered the better (less expensive) deal.

We do comparison shop in the stores when we go together, too.

I do think a financial curriculum would be beneficial though!!

 

[the simple life]

There are several courses in my childrens' school that teach money mangement, business, personal finance and budgeting.

One of our local banks has a branch inside the school and anyone can open an account there to make deposits.


Alot of the kids also learn hands on management through the outlets at school, there is a bakery at the school that is open to the public and the kids that take the culinary arts program run it.
They handle money and run the shop.
They learn about what the money would then need to be spent on to run the business.

There is also the hair salon that the cosmotology class runs and again, people come in and pay for haircuts.

Alot of the others like the mechanics shop, fixes cars and the woodshop kids will take orders or go out and build a shed or take part working on an addition, they don't handle the money but they do get the experience of working with customers in what most likely could be their chosen profession.
So in that aspect they benefit from the interaction.

I even remember when I was in school (actually the same school that my children attend) there was a course where the assignment was that you were paired off with a partner-so everyone was a part of a couple and you had to manage your finances.
You had to make a budget for what you both need/want and there was a list of bills that needed to be paid and you had to work it all out.
You were randomly assigned how many kids you had and how much money you had to work with.
You also were taught how to handle a checking account.

 

[roosmom]

Still on my rant, (kids made me mad) The schools cant afford classes like that I remember being taught how to balance a checkbook, but that was it. My mom and dad made one thing very clear when we were growing up- pay your house off and then NEVER re mortgage.

 

[heatherv]

My mom and dad made one thing very clear when we were growing up- pay your house off and then NEVER re mortgage.

My dad said that quite often too! Then at the same time as retirement for him my mom was diagnosed w/ breast cancer and they told him he was just a short # of hours (like 30 hrs or something stupid) shy of qualifying for healthcare under his retirement plan. So they refinanced their home, twice, to pay for her surgeries and treatments. So much for that lesson! Now they're stuck w/ their home w/ not much value in it (esp. w/ the market) but mom is cancer free!!! They would just like to be free of it their home, but there's now way possible right now.

back to the schools... my son took a home ec. class last year, but taught him nothing financial.... just cooking/sewing stuff. Which I was glad for that! I'm not sure what his high school curric. will be like, but hopefully some financial management stuff. He knows how to save, he usually has more money than I do. But I'd like someone else to teach him about credit cards/percentage rates/debt things like that.... he tends to learn/listen better from other people rather than mom.

 

[Quail_Antwerp]

I would love to comment here, but I really shouldn't. I am homeschooling my kids because I want to be the adult that teaches them things like Sex Ed, Finances, etc.

When I was in school, they only taught finances to the ones who took Accounting or Home Ec.

 

[Their Other Mother]

Personal finance was taught at my highschool as an elective as well. I took it, and I think it did me some amount of good, but like someone already mentioned it should have been something my parents taught at an early age.


Their other mother:

That is great! I love the things that the pageant contestants spearhead. Our last Miss America was and still is involved in internet safety (which you may already know b/c you are familiar with the contests)
You did good Momma!

Thanks, She is now working on her graduate degree in renewable energy, trying to prepare herself for political aspirations. She saw all this financial stuff coming down the pike last year ....but who wants to listen to a 23 year old woman???

 

[DrakeMaiden]

I went to private school in high school. They had one class that we were required to take that did some financial planning/financial ed. I think the best thing I learned (which isn't always a truism, btw) was to buy a house as soon as you can afford to. But we also randomly picked a yearly income (out of a hat) and then had to draw up budgets based upon current economic conditions (how much food cost/month, reasonable rent, etc). I pulled $20,000/yr.