Financial Literacy Course Analysis

Americas debt has doubled over the past several years, and most Americans do not know how to manage their finances. One of the only solutions that come to mind when thinking of how to make the economy better is financial literacy courses. [Thesis] Students should be required to take financial literacy class before graduating high school because [Reason 1] people need to learn how to logically make financial decisions, [Reason 2] and also to prepare people to make important economic decisions in an ever changing economy.

They must understand budgeting, taxes and banking while avoiding traps like payday loans that prey on the poor and uninformed. Despite this, only five states require students to take a stand-alone semester financial literacy course, so school districts simply don’t offer one. Campaigning for FBLA national office, I was surprised how few students, all enrolled in high school business courses, had access to a financial literacy instruction. I experienced the results of this shortcoming firsthand after my parent’s divorce. Lacking a personal finance education, my mother initially struggled with basic budgeting and understanding mortgages and taxes. By expanding financial literacy education in high schools, we can lay the foundation to challenge wealth

Credit unions also understand the importance of money management and financial literacy in our youth. To promote this, credit unions set up student credit unions, such as Generations Federal Credit Union’s No Suckers Here program, within schools and universities. These programs’ mission is to teach students about finances at an early age, thus preparing them for later financial situations in their lives. Without this knowledge, a community’s youth would be completely ignorant of how to handle finances, but with credit unions’ aid, they are better prepared young adults who can contribute to their community with peace of mind and

An education expert recently told me that low-income families who won 't borrow for college "just don 't understand" the concept of investing now for returns in the future. "We need financial literacy, so they can see that the debt is temporary. Over the long run, they 'll be far better off with that college degree," he said.

Although the reliance on student loans continues to increase for college students across the nation, the vast majority of American teenagers are not required to attend and complete a Financial Literacy course before graduating high school. According to Jillian Berman, only five states scored an A on the 2015 Report Card on State Efforts to Improve Financial Literacy in High Schools, and those same five states are the only states in the country that require students to take a dedicated semester of personal finance courses before graduating (Marketwatch.com). There is an obvious problem with the state efforts to properly educate finances when 14 out of 50 states rank in at a failing grade. Money is an essential asset to life on Earth, and proper education on financial management is vital for the basic requirements to sustain life. Education on how to manage money in order to afford food, shelter, clothing should be the main priority of the Financial Literacy courses. More in-depth are topics

This statement is rather shocking but proves why high school students should be taught financial literacy. Financial literacy is the ability of learning how to manage money. Financial literacy should be taught because, more people have been going bankrupt at a younger age, they have more debt options, and lastly are unable to manage money because they have never been taught. This is not just a problem for an individual, but potentially a huge problem in this country’s future.

Financial literacy has been one of the many courses that are not being recognized enough in schools today. Only about 13 states require their high school students to take a finance or economics course before they graduate. Although some people think that financial literacy courses are not efficient and should not be incorporated in schools due to ideas that it will harm the individuals instead of helping them. Financial literacy should be required because it helps the new generations understand the importance of money management in the real world, increasing awareness overall, and students are able to receive the necessary help from their teachers while learning about loans, budgets, and expenses.

Do you think students should take personal finance in high school in order to graduate high school?

At Mustang High School, in Oklahoma, teacher Carrie Hixon recently asked her students “What if you used your bank debit card to buy lunch at Taco Bell and you didn't have enough money in your checking account. What do you think Taco Bell will do?” “Wash dishes” seemed to be the common response. A serious Hixon countered, “Until recently, Taco Bell and your bank each could charge you a fee of $25 to $35. However, if you have overdraft protection for your checking account, your bank instead might extend you a short-term loan or pull the purchase amount from a linked savings account.” Many of these words are things that high school students have never had to hear, as they are something that only our parents have to deal with. However, before

This article was all for making personal finance instruction a top concern. It was all about how many high schools are failing badly when it comes to teaching students about how to manage money and only 17 states require high school students to take courses in personal finance. Nan J. Morrison believes that for kids to be successful, they don’t need to learn advanced ideas. However she believes, students do need to know how to open a bank account and how much they need to save each month to reach their goals, she said. They also should know how much money they will need to earn to pay back the money they borrow. She believes that for kids to enter adulthood ready and prepared they should have to take personal finance making them aware of how to open a bank account and many other things you need to know to be a successful adult.

A student entering the real world without any knowledge about credit, taxes, and using their money sounds like something no one would want at all, but a Personal Finance class can fix that problem. A personal finance class can help a student open up and see the cost of living in the real world. It would be useful to my generation and upcoming ones as well. Having this class would release their own worries about the future and how they will not even know something as simple as credit, and they would be matured with knowing how to actually use money. Later in life, they will be ready and not have to depend on their parents of other people. I believe that a Personal Finance class can help prepare a student for everyday life in the real world.

Financial literacy is not part of the American education system. When I was in high school, nobody taught me how to plan for retirement, nor did they teach me how to file my taxes, and they sure didn’t teach me the importance of money management.

Students enroll in college to learn. This acquiring of knowledge is so important that most schools like Marshall University have instituted a required general education program to teach composition, communication, math, natural science, social science, humanities, fine arts, and critical thinking (GED, 2015). Yet the same universities that make the assumption that students are ignorant in general education, feel they are sophisticated enough to make major financial decisions that include assuming several thousand dollars in student debt. It is too easy for students to borrow money and colleges have embraced that fact. I used to blame the students for their financial misgivings, but higher education institutions are as much to blame as anyone. We must ask ourselves when the last time a university said, “we’re making enough money so no tuition increase this year.”

As young people begin their transition into university life there is reason to suggest that the lack of financial literacy provided through public or private education has caused an increase in debt for the demographic. However, credit card debt is not a new social issue and does not find its origin with college students. Debt among Americans has steadily grown as more people rely on credit

As so many young people are in desperate need of personal finance lessons, putting this content within the required high school curriculum would give them all a background they can use when making financial decisions, both right after high school and throughout the rest of their lives. Right now, only a few states have this personal finance curriculum implemented into the required content of their high schools and even fewer have testing to make sure these areas are being taught well (“Survey of the States” 1). They have had beneficial results, although these few locations cannot do enough to educate an entire generation about personal finance before the student loan debt rises even higher and thousands of young adults are unknowingly finding themselves in financial issues. Personal finance education is working in some high school systems, however, there are still improvements that need to be made before every high school student is offered the same opportunity to learn the financial skills that will help them in their future. These improvements include efforts to increase student motivation, educate teachers on how best to teach personal finance, and change the curriculum so that it is more beneficial to these young people.