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Younger students will still need structure and should not be allowed to simply drop out. However for older kids, I do like the idea of more intermingling of age groups by ability and for allowing for different levels of achievement to be signified by a stratified diploma system. Most states have just one diploma that signifies completion of K-12 schooling and for some it's well out of reach while for others it's far too easy and watered-down.
Yeah and that can make moving forward rather sticky.
Students in HS doing online/ virtual school college classes can't do them at home due to that.
They have to come to school and sit in the computer lab and take the class.
Now these are students taking calculus, physics, etc. with online assignments and tests.
These types of students should be able to stay home and take the online class from home but the laws are not in their favor because the compulsory attendance laws have so many hours on campus as counting towards a full day.
My district has an online program. I posted some links about a couple of innovative programs in my district on another thread. Apparently these kids are in compliance with the compulsory attendance laws. Heck, homeschooling is compliant!
I still wonder why personal finance isn't required in every school in the country? What's the reason for this?
-You've had an explosion of financial products to consumers in the last 30-40 years. I.e. credit has become much more available. Mortgages. Sub prime. Investments. Finance is practically a part of your every day life.
Today in the LA Times, there was an article about bank over draft charges. They can be very sneaky. Why aren't students prepared for this in k-12? This should be mandatory. Not knowing personal finance in 2014 is like not knowing how to read or write in 1950.
I think the public system is a farce. There's this, "I'll get around to it" mentality. It may take 20 years. And you wonder why we're 26th in the world in math and 17th in science.
I still wonder why personal finance isn't required in every school in the country? What's the reason for this?
-You've had an explosion of financial products to consumers in the last 30-40 years. I.e. credit has become much more available. Mortgages. Sub prime. Investments. Finance is practically a part of your every day life.
Today in the LA Times, there was an article about bank over draft charges. They can be very sneaky. Why aren't students prepared for this in k-12? This should be mandatory. Not knowing personal finance in 2014 is like not knowing how to read or write in 1950.
I think the public system is a farce. There's this, "I'll get around to it" mentality. It may take 20 years. And you wonder why we're 26th in the world in math and 17th in science.
The idea of teaching personal finance comes up frequently on this forum. The problem is, most high school kids are not in a position to invest money and by the time they are, everything will have changed again. Also, whose values do you teach? Do you teach maxing out one's credit cards,borrowing to the max, or do you teach more conservative money management? Or something else?
I teach in a middle school that requires every student to take "Financial Literacy." I actually think that this is happening more than people seem to think. But let's not let that get in the way of continuing the false narrative that the American public education system is solely responsible for low international test scores.
The idea of teaching personal finance comes up frequently on this forum. The problem is, most high school kids are not in a position to invest money and by the time they are, everything will have changed again. Also, whose values do you teach? Do you teach maxing out one's credit cards,borrowing to the max, or do you teach more conservative money management? Or something else?
Kids get into an awful lot of finance in their 20's.
-Credit cards. I wouldn't teach values, I would look at basics. Do they understand how interest is computed? That's very important.
I get offers all the time for "0% balance transfers" and the like. Why not make a personal finance portfolio as part of the graduation requirement? You could include filling out tax forms, a mortgage application, credit cards or understand student loans. It seems like a glaring omission not to have this.
-Insurance. Are actuarial tables discussed at all in school? Or the odds of something occurring. Many products are based on this.
For example, some of the credit card companies have been fined for various "credit protection" plans that were basically no good. Students should be able to judge what's in the market place. Do they know the difference between a credit union and a bank?
I wonder why this isn't covered at all. It seems like we set the bar extremely low. I don't think you're fit to graduate high school if you don't know some of these things. Predatory lending?
-I think you should show the effects (say of credit cards) before graduating. Say in 9th or 10th grade, give students a mock account (or 3 or 4 or 5). Then, from that point until graduation, they have to....keep up with payments every month. Changes in terms. Changes in the due date. Offers in the mail. Do they take the offer, or don't they?
Why not run some kind of simulation. Surely, a section of kids (maybe 20-30%) will see they can get into trouble if things are changed or taken away.
Kids get into an awful lot of finance in their 20's.
-Credit cards. I wouldn't teach values, I would look at basics. Do they understand how interest is computed? That's very important.
I get offers all the time for "0% balance transfers" and the like. Why not make a personal finance portfolio as part of the graduation requirement? You could include filling out tax forms, a mortgage application, credit cards or understand student loans. It seems like a glaring omission not to have this.
-Insurance. Are actuarial tables discussed at all in school? Or the odds of something occurring. Many products are based on this.
For example, some of the credit card companies have been fined for various "credit protection" plans that were basically no good. Students should be able to judge what's in the market place. Do they know the difference between a credit union and a bank?
I wonder why this isn't covered at all. It seems like we set the bar extremely low. I don't think you're fit to graduate high school if you don't know some of these things. Predatory lending?
-I think you should show the effects (say of credit cards) before graduating. Say in 9th or 10th grade, give students a mock account (or 3 or 4 or 5). Then, from that point until graduation, they have to....keep up with payments every month. Changes in terms. Changes in the due date. Offers in the mail. Do they take the offer, or don't they?
Why not run some kind of simulation. Surely, a section of kids (maybe 20-30%) will see they can get into trouble if things are changed or taken away.
It would be like teaching them "whale hunting" or something. There's no application to real life, especially in 9th/10th grades, when most kids probably couldn't even get a credit card.
That said, I think some sort of personal finance is taught in the schools in my district.
It's taught in my school district and in my youngest son's college. Perhaps those of you that don't have this taught in your school districts should talk to your local school board.....
The public won't buy it. How many unsupervised teenagers will be running the streets? People complain that parents use the schools for day care when it's really society that uses the schools for day care. By keeping kids in school they are being supervised and society doesn't want a bunch of 12+ year olds out there unsupervised. They don't want 16+ year olds out there unsupervised as evidenced by the fact that many states are passing laws to make school mandatory until age 18.
You need some place for the drop outs to go.
Kids will be kids no matter what and at whatever time of the day they aren't in school. Parents will still hold ultimate accountability for their own children (at all times of the day) until they become of legal age to be responsible for themselves.
In terms of drop-outs, they will have to do what drop-outs today do... which is find jobs to start supporting themselves. The revamped educational system should help them do this as well as help them to later change their mind.
Regarding a prior reply by another poster: In terms of today's state-based mandatory attendance requirements for school - those laws would have to be updated/eliminated.
Regarding a prior reply by another poster: Teaching basic finance to students would be like teaching the other subjects - if there is a demand (students wanting to take this class), then surely a teacher will become available to teach it.
Kids will be kids no matter what and at whatever time of the day they aren't in school. Parents will still hold ultimate accountability for their own children (at all times of the day) until they become of legal age to be responsible for themselves.
In terms of drop-outs, they will have to do what drop-outs today do... which is find jobs to start supporting themselves. The revamped educational system should help them do this as well as help them to later change their mind.
Regarding a prior reply by another poster: In terms of today's state-based mandatory attendance requirements for school - those laws would have to be updated/eliminated.
Regarding a prior reply by another poster: Teaching basic finance to students would be like teaching the other subjects - if there is a demand (students wanting to take this class), then surely a teacher will become available to teach it.
You do not have much experience with schools and the ed establishment if you think the bold would be easy to accomplish, let alone desirable.
You really are naive if you think the blue bold. The states and the individual districts determine what courses are taught and especially what is mandatory. Sometimes a group of students (or their parents) can convince a school to offer a subject, depending on how receptive the local school district is. And really, you want just "any teacher" to teach finance? Teachers, like everyone else, come with all different philosophies about education. Some teachers can't manage money well themselves, just like some people in every occupation.
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