The purpose of school is to prepare children for their future as
adults. On its edline page, Milton High School states that its expectation is
that graduates will be able to apply critical thinking, demonstrate good
citizenship and communicate effectively. While these are important qualities
for an adult to have, adults must also be able to manage their money
effectively.
The average student is lacking in even the most basic money managing skills.
Very few graduating high school students know how to prudently invest for the
future, or even pay taxes. I know I can’t. How can we be expected to move away
from our parents and pursue our own careers if we lack even the fundamentals of
personal finance? How can we be expected to join the workforce and support
ourselves on our own salaries if we don’t know what to do with our income? To
expect such things is both unrealistic and unfair.
I propose a mandatory money managing class that would be taken for one semester
during freshman year. This class, a sort of Personal Finance 101, would help
students understand savings and investing, leases, mortgages and other loans,
budgets, taxes, credit cards, and more. This class would help prepare students
for when they leave high school. Currently, Milton High School offers such a
class, yet many students, including myself, cannot fit it into their schedules.
Even more students do not appreciate the importance of this knowledge. I
suggest it replace Tech Essentials, a mandatory class that tries to teach the
computer generation how to use computers.
This personal finance class would help prepare students for the financial
demands of the adult world. Even more importantly, this class would prepare
students equally. With our current system, teenagers are prepared for the
financial world by their parents. This means that children of successful,
high-income families instantly have a huge advantage over those with less
financially savvy parents. According to the Hamilton Project’s article
“Thirteen Economic Facts about Social Mobility and the Role of Education,” “The
evidence suggests that children of high- and low-income families start out with
similar abilities but rapidly diverge in outcomes.” Teaching all of our
students these important life skills would be a start towards greater social
mobility.
Not only would this class be an excellent addition to
Milton High School’s curriculum, it would also complement Milton High School’s
mission. Personal finance requires critical thinking and contributing
responsibly to the economy is an element of good citizenship. Personally, I would
feel much more confident about my future if I had taken such a class.
Works Cited
Greenstone,
Michael, Adam Looney, Jeremy Patashnik, and Muxin Yu. Thirteen Economic
Facts about Social Mobility and the Role of Education. Rep. The Brookings
Institution, June-July 2013. Web. 12 Sept. 2013.
"Mission, Beliefs, and Learning Expectations." Edline.
Milton High School, n.d. Web. 12 Sept. 2013.
Will, I totally agree with you on this. The personal finance class has always been one of my back-up choices for my electives but I've never gotten the chance to take it. I'm definitely not looking forward to the day that I have to balance my first checkbook or file for my tax returns.
ReplyDeletePreach it Will! I think this is more than an interesting idea worth exploring. I don't even really know how to respond. I will tell you this: I think you make some very valid, mature points. I have recently started thinking that MHS needed to institute a mandatory senior exit survey to determine what graduates thought about their education. Do you know if other students - besides Shannon - agree with you. I am sure that the district believes that the Tech Essentials class is fulfilling the objectives that you mentioned. That is, the district probably believes that the mandatory Tech Essentials class is trying to level the playing field (excuse the cliche) to ensure that all MHS graduates can succeed in the Technology Age. This makes sense, but I wonder if the school could give students the choice of Tech Essentials or Intro to Finance. This could be done at a minimal cost, because both courses would run out of the business department. The school would not need to hire a new teacher, or allot space in the schedule for a new class. These are the things that usually prevent the addition of new electives. The school would simply turn some Tech Essentials classes into Intro to Finance. Am I missing something? If this is something that you are serious about, then I think you need to poll your peers, perhaps through your Student Government reps. You could really facilitate some real change at the high school. Keep me in the loop, or let me know if you need help. This is something that really interests me. I remember about four years ago, students came to me because they wanted to introduce AP European History. They met with the principal, humanities department chair, and superintendent. These administrators will listen to students. You just have to know that there is a demand for the class.
ReplyDeleteGreat stuff!