Halifax County, Virginia is a small rural county but they know what their kids need to know. The county has recently been considering making their elective Personal Finance class compulsory for graduation.
The course which teaches basic skills in:
- Investing
- Banking
- Budgeting
- Credit
- Savings
- Consumer Skills
- Insurance
- Taxes
- Buying A House and a Car
The subject is being hotly debated in Halifax Talk, a local forum. The sponsor of the proposal, Joe, offers some pretty compelling statistics and ones that I think we would all agree with:
Jumpstart Coalition 2006
Survey of High School Students• Average score for Virginia students on the Jumpstart Coalition Survey of Financial Literacy is 55%.
• Only 5.2% of Virginia students scored a C or better on the Jumpstart Coalition Survey of Financial Literacy.
• Conversely, 94% of Virginia students achieved a score of D or lower on the 2006 Jumpstart Coalition Survey of Financial Literacy.Visa 2005 Survey
of High School Parents• 74% of parents ranked developing good personal financial skills as a concern for their children’s futures.
• 70% of parents surveyed said their child has not had any formal training in money management.
• 76% said that schools should be required to teach money management skills.Hartford Financial Services
2007 Survey of College Students• Less than one-quarter of students say they are prepared to deal with financial challenges after graduation.
• 76% wish they had more help preparing for their financial future
• Half of students surveyed say that parents teach them about financial matters.
Personally, I think a course in Personal Finance would have been a great deal more useful than say the courses I took in Algebra II, Trigonometry and Calculus. Not to mention the course that I took in Home Economics where I actually learned to prepare peaches and cream and sew a dress that was so wretched, I threw it away after class.
I believe they are getting some push back from the state. Why? Budget concerns over how they will finance it! Let’s hear it for Halifax County!!
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Tags: Education
I cannot imagine how passing a test on “investing” and “buying a home” would be anything other than a waste of time for someone with a minimum wage job and student loan debt.
well i think they are trying to teach kids how to be successful business men /gals but also other studies is important
This at least is a step in the right direction. I hope the class covers the folly of excessive debt and how to avoid rip-off type financial products such as payday loans and rent-to-own, which are completely horrible ideas.
And MW, the idea is to teach these kids before they get into the hole. If you could go back in time, what would YOU tell your 18yo self?
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