Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on December 3, 2007 - 09:08.
That's a great idea, however, Economics is usually taught by Social Studies teachers who have not had Business Economics. Also the Personal Finance component is just a small part of the overall course. A personal finance class should be mandatory before graduation. I am a business teacher, and I taught my own children how to write a check, balance a checkbook, reconcile their bank statements and what exactly it means to have a credit card. Unfortunately, they had to learn by watching their father and I struggle with student loans and credit card debt. I made sure they understood what credit means, and how to use it as a tool, not as a privilege. Today, only my married daughter has a credit card, and she only has it because it was necessary when she was traveling on her honeymoon. Otherwise they pay off their credit card each month, faithfully. They are better at managing their credit than I am.
My point is that not all parents teach their children about credit. We currently have college students who are graduating from college over $40,000 in debit to credit card companies. And that doesn't include their student loan debt. My daughter works at a bank and she tells me stories of people coming in and not knowing how to correctly write a check, how to reconcile their account and what it means to take out a loan. She asks me often - don't they teach money management in school?
That's a great idea,
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on December 3, 2007 - 09:08.
That's a great idea, however, Economics is usually taught by Social Studies teachers who have not had Business Economics. Also the Personal Finance component is just a small part of the overall course. A personal finance class should be mandatory before graduation. I am a business teacher, and I taught my own children how to write a check, balance a checkbook, reconcile their bank statements and what exactly it means to have a credit card. Unfortunately, they had to learn by watching their father and I struggle with student loans and credit card debt. I made sure they understood what credit means, and how to use it as a tool, not as a privilege. Today, only my married daughter has a credit card, and she only has it because it was necessary when she was traveling on her honeymoon. Otherwise they pay off their credit card each month, faithfully. They are better at managing their credit than I am.
My point is that not all parents teach their children about credit. We currently have college students who are graduating from college over $40,000 in debit to credit card companies. And that doesn't include their student loan debt. My daughter works at a bank and she tells me stories of people coming in and not knowing how to correctly write a check, how to reconcile their account and what it means to take out a loan. She asks me often - don't they teach money management in school?