That is a good point, lots of kids today live in that " I must have....I need that" society where they haven't got a clue about handling financial matters and the parents don't teach them.... they just keep giving!!!
I don't necessasarily believe it's the teacher's job to teach these kids how to deal with money, I think that is a parent's job.....the teacher's aren't responsible for everything a child does!!!
That is a big problem, kids having too much sway over their parents and the parents just can't say no in a lot of cases...so they incur all sorts of debt as a result.
Mind you, a lot of adults can't handle money either, so it's a problem all round really.

Great idea!!

I am a four year old economist

I think people in washington and the world of education should read your column. We need to teach high school students more practical and useful tools. I agree with you 100%.

Great article. Two things that should return to the mainstream middle school/high school classroom are Financial Education and Civics as mandatory courses.

As a sixth grader in a gifted child program, we traded stocks for a month and competed for high yields as a contest, but that was really poorly designed as it did not take into account commissions, capital gains taxes, nor the real world ideas of shorting stocks, etc. There was never anything taught on budgeting, loans, etc. Economic education is as critical to a person's future success as reading comprehension and math skills.

Civics should be taught so that people really understand how government operates at a local, county, state, and federal level. We encourage people to vote, but don't give them a real clue as to how the system works so that they can be effectively gamed or lied to by the those in power.

It seems that people who take a citizenship test have to know more about this country and financial reality than the average US high school student. That must change.

I'm afraid I'll have to disagree with the underlaying argument here - schools are not responsible for teaching young people to manage money. Maybe my view is skewed from being raised by a Jewish mother, but I feel the concepts of an allowance, money for chores, personal responsibility (and accountability), and the need to live within one's means should be covered at home, not at school.

While I did find Personal Finance to be very interesting and useful when I took it senior year in college, I felt much of it was common sense I had already learned. My parents never taught me the finer points of mutual funds, but they didn't need to -�I got the big picture. Maybe that's why I have a zero credit card balance in spite of my turbulent employment lately.

Perhaps a better solution is to ensure that all teenagers spend at least _some_ time working for minimum wage. Nothing educates you more than earning far less than you should.

And if I could do it all again, I would have taken Latin in minute. It's hard to keep up as a hobby. Post hoc, ergo propter hoc, cogito.

I remember as a kid growing up in a large family and was thrilled to get one gift for christmas that I wanted. Each one of us kids had a request and each one got the one gift. I wanted a baby doll and carriage. Am 60 yrs old and still remember what my doll looked like. My brothers and sisters all wanted bikes and got them. But the best thing was sharing our dinners together. It was great. The best time is making dinners together.

My daughters went to an outstanding single-sex private school in Farmington, CT, where Financial Literacy was addressed thoroughly and regularly. They are both well prepared for the real world, thanks to the school's awareness that women, in particular, need to be educated in this area.

In the U.S., we are as squeamish about talking money as we are sex.

I'm a college sophomore myself and couldn't agree more. I think the curricula of the K-12 educations system is in large part, dated. (To say the least). One of my biggest gripes is not blaming the credit card companies or anyone else for that matter, but it seems that we often don't realize that we're adults or that what we're doing has a long-term effect on our adult lives until two years after we did the damage. Then we spend the next seven years trying to clean it all up.

I heartily agree. I also came from a family where money was not talked about much, at least not with the kids. My parents had periodic, sometimes frightening arguments about finances, which did nothing to increase my interest in, or comfort with money. Not every child will be blessed with parents wise enough to pass on their financial wisdom (should they posess any) to their children. Now I'm about to graduate from college with a degree in Environmental Science. If I'd had the time, I would have loved to take some classes in economics or business, but my requirements didn't leave me enough time for that.

I do believe that part of the reason American public schools haven't addressed this at all is that Americans are squeamish about class. We like to pretend that this is a classless society, when nothing could be further from the truth. Investigating the world of finance thoroughly would reveal some of the schisms in American society, which would make some people extremely uncomfortable. But it's unconscionable to hold our children's financial futures hostage to our sense of comfort.

so if i were more frugal it would have prevented the subprime loan mess and collapse of global finance???

sorry, learning Latin is EXACTLY what primary and secondary schools are for. you can specialize in college.

maybe they should have taught me how to change a tire or how to survive in the woods.

as others have noted, personal finance, personal hygiene, etc are not legitimate subjects for our public schools.

I too was student of Latin but also a victim of my own ignorance of the credit game. I was a top-ranked student in a top-tier high school. I excelled in languages and civics, which is probably why I have a good grasp of what is going on in the world outside my front door. And though I possessed much intellectual curiousity, I never ventured into the Finance section of the library... there were much more interesting things going on with Proust and Anais Nin. I would go on to attend an ivy-league school and since I didn't come from money, that new computer, those books, and my sweater collection from J.Crew weren't gonig to pay for themselves. I was able to reign things in piece by piece after graduate school, but the price the less-than-privileged have to pay in this country just to gain entry and prove their mettle in the academic arena is so overwhelming there would still be a massive credit problem in this country if people weren't also trying to satiate a spiritual famine with material goods.

There is a lot of personal responsibility involved here, but if the American education system thinks that learning calculus is more critical to personal development than learning the difference between variable and fixed interest rates, then we deserve the mess we are in. Sometimes the only way to teach a child not to touch a hot stove is to let them get burned. So let's just hope, for everyone's sake, we have learned our lesson.

I'm 23 and I just graduated from college. I get my first credit card when I entered my freshman year at college. To this day, I have always paid out my balance in full. I only have credit cards as a convenience, because I don't like dealing with cash. What's even better, my main one gives me 1% cash back on all purchases. Essentially, since I pay it all off, they're paying me to have a credit card. Pretty neat, huh?

I completely agree with the article. It wouldn't be that hard to integrate home economics education into the curriculum. No money is needed. But... Call me a pessimist/conspiracy theorist, but it's not in the best interest of the credit companies to see this change in the school system, because they are making money off us like crazy. In other words, they would be lobbying like crazy if this was ever introduced...

I agree. I've been saying this for years. Unfortunately, some of my friends are part of the cause of this financial crisis. I'm proud to say that I am not, as I have zero debt and have been living well within my limits--no thanks to my school. My parents spent a lot of time teaching me how to handle plastic and bills long before I left the house.

As for anyone who says it's not the school's responsibility and only one of the home, I have to agree/disagree. It is the responsibility of the home first and foremost, but one of the great qualities of America is that your success is not limited to the home you come from. Debt isn't just something individuals incur, it tends to be a family cycle. If your parents overspend, chances are you will. The education system (idealistically) is a great equalizer that breaks generational cycles and helps those with enough ambition to reach greater heights than their family.

The education system will not solve the financial crisis, but it will certainly help empower those that want to learn. Especially those that come from indebted families.

I would like to preface my comment by stating that I am a high school Latin teacher. Having said that, I could not agree more with your sentiments; it is vital that we start teaching our children financial responsibility. I never had financial education in high school or college or grad school and to this day struggle to raise a family on a tight budget. It is not that I am frivolous with money, rather I do not really understand how finances of any sort work.
I see far too many of my students leaving HS to enter a world that is as unfamiliar to them as ancient Rome would be. Clearly I value a classical education, but the essential role of public school should be to prepare our students for ALL of the responsibilities that adulthood brings. We (in public schools) are mandated to teach health, fitness, sexuality, decision-making, computer literacy, etc., etc. It is an embarrassment that our public education system does not see it as vital to teach our children financial literacy.

Thank you for this article. Years ago I taught High School Social Studies and had the idea of teaching a "Life Skills" Class. I incorporated this in the government class that was required by NC standards.

The kids really enjoyed this. They learned about everday economics which also included renting an apartment, balancing checkbooks and even touched on the stock market.

I have been a firm believer that we are doing a disservice by trying to lump all kids into a teaching standard that everyone is going to college. There are so many kids that have skills that do not require a college degree and could start their own businesses. They just need to be taught balance sheets/profit-loss and how to budget.

The problem is they do not know how to manage money. This is the main reason we are in this economic situation today (trying to live above our means).

Unfortunately because of testing standards and "teaching for end of course" tests, I was unable to continue using this because of the required information that had to be taught.

Keep in mind, reading Shakespeare may be interesting but in most cases does not put food on the table.

I found this article to be terrific, and agree wholeheartedly. I think parent's should bear some responsibility for teaching their kids how to handle money, but a class in high school would be excellent. Economics at the high school level is worthless from a day-to-day perspective, and taught me lot of information that I cannot use to help me manage my own finances. I think the biggest problem I see in my peers (early to mid 20's) is a lack of fundamental knowledge of money management that is exacerbated by an arrogance that prevents them from seeking advice from people who are more knowledgeable. My wife have a financial adviser, a lawyer, and several friends in various financial jobs that we can consult for advice whenever our personal knowledge comes up short....and widmerpool: Latin is one of the most preposterous things for any school prior to college to teach. I know it's the foundation for romance languages, but Latin itself is dead language. How about making American students learn a useful language like Chinese, French or Spanish?

Fantastic article, could not agree more. My situation is a lot like Mr. Bissonette's . . . only I don't even have the financial knowledge. My parents rarely talked finance with me, and I've had to figure out the basics of personal economics on my own. This with a B.A. that included a lot of economics courses.

Some of the posters here are making the argument that teaching things like budgeting and financial responsibility should be the responsibility of parents and not left to the schools; the problem with that is that most Americans, be they young or old, don't understand financial responsibility, thus they have no wisdom to pass on to their children.

And while I certainly appreciate the value of a "classical" education, the reality is, there is no reason the classic courses can't be reinforced and enriched by real world subjects, such as home economics. I find it ridiculous that the college educated student will spend, on average, 18 years of their life in school, and yet the schools don't think they have time to squeeze in talking about a subject that will effect that student's personal prosperity and financial well being for the rest of their life.

People making comments that it isn't the teacher's responsibility to teach kids about finances - it's the parents - I'd like to respectfully knock you in the head.

You need to wake up and realize that people teach their kids what they know. As smart as our grandparents and parents might have been - the way finances and the world works now is DIFFERENT. Do you know how different? Have you noticed? If yes, then do you think that keeping that info to yourself gives you some kind of advantage? It doesn't - ignorance breeds bad choices and puts us all at risk.

If you don't know how different the financial world is now, do you really think you are qualified to teach your kids/grandkids how to manage and plan for their financial futures?

So, tell me again why schools shouldn't be teaching financial competence?
It's just old habits that if you took your blinders off, you would recognize that letting it go on as it has done for decades doesn't serve us as a society.

We have schools so that our children can learn more than their parents, so that we can elevate ourselves, our society and our future beyond the same old stupid rat race of too much spend and not enough earn.

The world, and our economy would be better off if we taught everybody's kids how to be financially competent in the world as it is today, and how to prepare for the future.

I am a four and a half year old economist
i turn five in 2009

All fine except educating kids about credit cards doesn't address the problem of our national financial crisis at all. Citibank is not going under because a college kid isn't paying his credit card bill. The concept of the piece is flawed in its premise. A simple class on financial responsibility is acceptable. However, I think (given the premise of the article) we would be better to address the root problems of greed, corporate welfare, corporate entitlement and the general philosophy of "caveat emptor" which created the crisis in the first place. There can be no morality when profit is the "bottom line". When that is our model for capitalism we should not be surprised when wicked and wealthy men make choices that are not even remotely in the best interest of our society.

Amen, brother! Had I had a decent education in financial management, I doubt I would find myself in my current position. Having little or no education in such matters, I also failed my children, who are entering college. Today, I have begun a self-education course in matter financial, but it would have been infinitely more help had I known these things in high school.

I loved the article. bravo... encore... (the nation truly needs to incorporate that plan).
I was brought up in a house hold that was big on telling us kids to SAVE as much money as possible! that sounds great but, no one ever SHOWED me how to accomplish that.
i attended a uber-exclusive private school in St. Louis Mo. all my friends familys were rich (i mean Rich) i went to school almost everyday in a Porsche 911. my best friend had a platinum credit card that bought everything we WANTED. i never learned about CREDIT or why you should pay your bills on time! i thought that if you got in a pinch you just ask someone to "bail you out" (it''s sad but true)
I went on to college and started getting every credit card that "they" would approve me for. when i missed my first payment i said to myself. "well, if i miss this one, then it won't matter if i miss the next one" that started a horrible cycle for me.
i didn't repay my student loans on time, i had car'S repossessed, i couldn't get a cell phone in my own name! yet it never dawned on me to take some type of finance course.
i then went to serve in the Air Force after the attacks of 9/11. (which totally screwed me because now i have student loans and no degree to garner the wages need to repay them) the military is very strict on financal obligations but they never checked on me bouncing a check or wrecking a car and leaving it at the body shop because i didn't pay my insurance on time.
i started a mulit million dollar computer company(threw investments) and it ended up folding because i couldn't get a biz loan because of my credit. (i was 2 months away from "getting" a 20million dollar deal)
I have shared the same sentiments as the author of the above article. i REALLY wish i would of had a class on this in High School becaue now it's going to take me years to build my credit standing back up and i may be 40 yrs old before i can get a house.
this finacal situation plus the political climate has "forced me to learn as much as possible about finances'
i have no one to blame but myself but i do think that if it was MANDITORY (like Health and P.E.) to pass "home ec" i would not have been so BLIND to the importance of controlling ones finances.

I taught personal finance to college students one semester. They knew nothing, not even the vocabulary of finance and economics. They struggled most with the math.

Before we put one more mandatory class into the high school curriculum, we might want to make sure that we execute well on the existing courses--like math, reading, and writing. Right now, they would fail the personal finance class because they either can't or don't read, and can't figure.