A Gaping Hole In Americans' Education

What is new after almost 50 years of nelgect. In this day and age there a adults that have no idea what an IRA and how it can benefit them from a tax standpoint and provide for their retirement. Sad state of affaris. But then our education system should be junked and we should start over. (San Antonio, Texas)

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The AICPA has begun an initiative to help with this problem. More information is available at www.360financialliteracy.org. It is an interactive tool to help people get control of their money!
(Myrtle Beach, South Carolina)

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We are only copying our federal government's actions--spending more that we make as far as credit card debt. It is awful and no one seems to be concerned. What is the Chamber doing re our hugh federal growing debt? (Tuscaloosa, Alabama)

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My wife has tried for some time to offer classes in the school systems in the Hampton Roads area. To date she has made presentations at a local small college but that is the extent.
She gets very frustrated with the stone wall approach of the schools that see no need to offer the absolute basics. Several students have seen her after being out of college for a couple of years for financial counseling to get out of trouble without filing bankruptcy. Of course they all say if I had only known then what I know now.
I applaud the AICPA initiative in this area. (Franklin, VA)

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Let's see...we tout "GAMING" to fund education. Corporate welfare is used as an "Ecomomic incentive.

The insurance industry sells products that one cannot benefit from and will soon be mandated to have.

Large corporations who do not want to deal with EPA, LRB, other taxing bodies, simply find another way to do business off-shore.

An average tax payer pays more that the top CEO's.

Which topics do you think we should teach first?

Democracy 101 How to enslave a nation
Financials 101 Who IS the federal reserve and how these international bankers work.
PE 101 Private Equity=911 How to profit from terror.
(Pekin, IL)

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I have taught an undergraduate course in Personal Finance at American University in Washington DC for more than 20 years. One course cannot entirely educate someone, but it can lay the groundwork for a lifetime of self-education. The realities are that middle schools and high schools do not want to take on another responsibility, especially one mandated from above. Institutions of higher education can add such courses more rapidly and at lower cost. This should be one part of a national approach to financial literacy: stimulating all colleges and universities to offer at least one and preferably more courses in personal finance. (Vienna, VA)

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Let's recognize that the relationships between business, schools and family have changed. We need schools to be open Monday thru Friday, 52 weeks a year, from 7:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. No closed days for teacher training and esoteric public holidays that no working parent gets.

That opens up time for algebra, history, english language and literature, geography and at least one foreign language to be taught -- as well as elective subjects like public speaking, current events, sports, art, music, etiquette, ballroom dancing, welding and carpentry, and museum field trips, which don't need to be taught by qualified "school teachers".

Further more, expecting a school teacher who has zero experience in the business world to teach exporting, Letters of Credit, and the different between a Free Trade Agreement and off-shore manufacturing, is ridiculous. If the US Chamber of Commerce wants business-savvy high school graduates, and a school system that meets the needs of employees, then the Chamber need to tell business owners that they are expected to schedule all employees aged between 25 and 45 to work at the school during those extended hours and days, so there are volunteers a-plenty to present and coach and help out.

As thing are now, childless employees often feel that parents get extra time off. "Our" schools belong to our communities, so childless employees should be scheduled to help at the schools as well.

This idea would also mean there would be lots of male role models around for the boys to interact with.

Grandpa and grandma could also be available for the younger ones, to help with reading and independent study projects, which should replace homework. If we find out what interests the children, it becomes easier to teach them.

This isn't about volunteering; it's about making our communities work. (San Diego, CA)

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From an education point of you I believe that No Child Left Behind is one of the major probllems. The funding as promised by the Bush Administration has never reached the states. In order for a state to qualify for Federal Funding the schools must me certain standards. So we test for the benefit of the school but not for the benefit nor toward meeting the needs of the child. While a great deal of money is spent on the testing little else goes on in the schools that enable our young people to meet the challenges of the 21st century. At one time we did prepare students for tomorrow. Now we spend our monies on test tools, tests themselves and such things as Camp FCAT. What we should be doing is infusion as we should add Career Education to our Curriculum. Here are the areas to be taught:
1 Self Awareness- What's out there and what do we want to do and what would we like to do.
2 What materials exist that will tach us what choices we have for careers and what alternatives are there. If becoming a doctor is too expensive and takes too long what else can we do in the medical field?
3 Why is it important to work? What will working do for us as far as making our lives better?
4 What occupations are out in the world? Let's learn about the relationship between reaching employment goals and education as the road to achieving.
5 What is the pay structure of various jobs? How does the money and banking systems work? Let's identify the relationships between personal economics, life styles, and occupational roles
6 The recognition that different career directions require various types of educational preparation
7 To identify and define the use of tools and procedures used in each occupational cluster
8 To develop employabilty skills

Nothing new here. Just that with No Child Left Behind and FCAT the above mentioned skills have been thrown out of public education. (Greenacres, Florida)

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The best place to start is at the beginning. The Prussian educational model that all public schools use does not work. The curriculum is not based upon learning to think, but learning to mimic. Now we have created two generations of "monkey see, monkey do". These people are not educated, they are trained. So let's get back to the basics of thought and reason. Look at the philosophers and great minds whose works have lasted for centuries, for millenia and learn their works. Build upon that the basics of all the sciences and arts. Get a Liberal Education, it will set you free. I say this as a science-consultant who learned about true education the hard way. (Lehi, UT)

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Our schools focus on managing crowds; we build schools so big now that the emphasis has to be on crowd control; teachers and admin. aren't trained to handle such big groups; only prisons and military get that kind of training.
This overcrowding issue may be the core cause of murders in schools. (Orlando, FL)

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Amen. It's sort of like sex education -- as a society we say "that's up to the parents, not the schools", but the reality is that most of the time the financial fundamentals never get taught. While the hurdles to implementing this approach are high, the potential rewards for individuals, the economy and our society are huge. (Huntsville, AL)

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I am an adjunct professor in advertising and public relations at a local college. I have been counseling my students for over 20 years in the ways of the financial world, as my father did for me and my siblings. Unfortunately, parents are about as well educated as their kids these days, so they can't pass on sound advice and information to their children. Most students view credit cards as "free" money. Frankly, I think every college and university should have a LIFE 101 course in the curriculum which would include personal financial management. Perhaps the National Chamber, in concert with local chambers, could begin communicating with colleges, universities and even high schools in their areas. (Mobile, Alabama)

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Great comment and agree 100%. I have often posted with more negative reactions to some of the more aggressive opinions expressed in this newsletter, but I think you are absolutely on the money with this one. Kudos!! (Falls Church, Va)

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The credit problem is not just an education issue. People are extended tht credit by supposedly reputable companies. Could no one see where subprime ARM mortgages were headed? Who lets people run up $60,000 in credit card bills? Then the companies complain that they have too many people filing bankruptcy so Congress passes a law that changes the rules. So people charge more to just get by. When the credit crunch really hits everybody says the government needs to help out. Save us all from foreclosure. Keep these credit institutions up and running. Why wasn't anybody thinking about the end result when all this credit was being handed out? Or was it planned? "Don't worry about the war. Go to the mall." When you get your bonus refund this summer, go to the Mall instead of pay your bills. (Tucson, AZ)

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Housing costs are the main force which makes us uncompetitive in the world... Back in the mid-70's homes went for $30-35K and it only took one breadwinner to cut it with the other spouse raising the kids. Today it takes two breadwinners and you're still behind the eight ball. Shame on our politicians and local governments... they have mandated so many restrictions to building homes the supply could never keep up with the demand in the long run causing massive home inflation. If home prices came down (which they are), wages can be pared back and make us once again competitive in the world. Aren't we lucky to have such "great politicians" and to think we reward them for their inemptness with a "pension" ... which is the next crisis they have brought upon the taxpayer. I don't remember voting for these pensions... do you???? (Orange, CA)

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How ironic a friend would see this article today after our conversation yesterday. I published a children's workbook (a four step process) on telling time given the average teenager, young adult and even some adults can't tell analog time. This past weekend I had a booth at a family event and I can't believe the attitudes some of the parents had when they stopped by and saw that their child COULD NOT tell time. One parent replied, after hearing her daugther could not tell time was, "Oh, my two older children can't tell time either." A father said to my husband when his son could not tell time, "I'll just get him a digital." This is the whole premise of trying to bring back the basics just like the basic element of handling personal finance, understanding what you are signing. The bottom line is people are so quick to rely on others guiding, directing, leading them down a path of destruction because they don't want to think. Why? Technology and others who want to get their own pockets fat without any regard of their clients. I'm a real estate broker who feel all not is not good money and author. Wake up our children's minds: www.whattimeisit.us (Sacramento, CA)

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I don't necessarily agree that its the failure of the education system. It is an easy target for just about anything that is wrong with the US but I think the blame should be aimed rather at the lack of opportunity to practice the fundamentals of economics through entrepreneurship and business ownership at an early age. Give young people more responsibility sooner. Get their head in the game and they will develop the skills they need to take the US to the next level in the world. (Panama City, Florida)

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When are we going to wake up. The children are not learning because they are not listening. Except the rare occasion of handicap or disease, if the parents would discipline and teach the children moderation and wisdom then the teachers could teach. (Navarre, FLoirda)

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My big complaint with all this is that companies who need highly trained technical people such as chemists, especially those with advanced degrees simply are not available in sufficient quantity. Therefore companies must go with the H-1B Visa process that artificially limits the number of visas to levels that are preposterously low. How is it that there are those who fear that America is being taken over by "aliens", also will not support adequate funding of technical educations, and then wonder why America is losing ground to India and China? Dumb! (Cumberland, RI)

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Figure it out. We pay 9000 per child that 270000.00 in a class room of 30 kids. the teacher get paid 50000.00. Were does the rest of the money go. Adminstration what a joke. Let't get away from public schools and start teaching again instead of teaching political correctness. competitive (san diego, ca)

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I agree with Mr. Ellis from Utah that our schools should first teach the basics of thought and reason coupled, of course, with the tried and true (not necessarily "new") fundamental basics of reading, writing and arithmatic. This provides a meaningful foundation upon which other instruction can build. All of this CAN indeed be taught in a manner relevant to today's environment despite what naysayers may think. I disagree that the private sector et al should shoulder the burden and conduct needed financial training. Instead, we MUST demand of our public schools the performance we require. That starts with we as a society taking school boards and school management to task and then insisting upon their performance to our community standards. The federal or state governments cannot do that for us....as we have ample evidence. We must either do the nasty chore ourselves or must continue to suffer with, and dither about, the consequences. (El Paso, Texas)

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Having been a Junior Achievement counselor for over twenty years for both Jr. High and High School classes, I can tell you most of our kids don't have much training in tasks as simple as operating a checking account. Few have been taught to save money. Almost all are addicted to the instant gratification of on-demand credit. It could be argued that the training for financial discipline is important enough to be included somewhere in the curriculum, early and often enough to take root before a student is old enough to leave school. It is at least worth consideration. (Longview, Tx)

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Obviously our school systems have a curriculum which is designed and taught by government employees who for the most part have a mind set of job security. While it is comfortable to have a career which is paid for by the tax paying citizens of the U.S., the teachers of America are not programmed to extend teaching to our youth the rudiments of business ownership, accounting, marketing, etc. The teachers of America's school system are programmed to teach the children how to pass a test so the school will keep it's accredidation.
I am extremely interested in the young minds of America. The children need to be challenged to become leaders, creative over achievers, and the innovators of our future.
This can be accomplished if we address the curriculum standards to give the children of America the chance to see the American dream.....business ownership, invention, and innovation. Don't teach our children to be government employees. Teach them the basics of life so they will create jobs, not just have one. Teach them to create a world of prosperity around them, so they can afford to pay taxes, so the teachers of America will be paid what they're worth. Then we might just see where the real money is coming from to employ the teachers. Then the teachers might look outside the box to teach the children to independent instead of being dependent. Isn't that the real problem?
(Dahlonega, Georgia)

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I live in a small town of about 2,500 people with a total county population of about 25,000. I graduated in a class of about 115 students in 1982. I took one business class during high school. It taught me very little.

I learned about money from my parents. When I was old enough, I help dad on his fuel deliver truck and on his farm. I also mowed lawns. I was told and learned very quickly that the money I earned was basically all that I had to spend for my activities. The school cannot teach this.

Today's kids are given just about anything they want from their parents which I believe is completely wrong. The parent's should supply the children's needs but the children should earn their wants. This will teach them that all things come with a cost. They will then appreciate what they have and not be so wasteful.

I also agree the schools are in sad shape. I think part of it is the fault of the education system because they have moved away from good old-fashioned sound teaching principles for more modern methods. But I think the biggest problem today is the parents not taking time to actually parent their children. They want to be their friends and not their parents. In short, if the parents do not give their children the correct guidance, the children cannot be expected to turn out any better than what we see today. (West Union, Ohio)

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Our system is broken. Billions are being spent on public education that does not focus on Math, Science,English, Economics, Constitutional Government an US History. The liberal focus is on teaching students what to thinks instead of how to think. Educators have all the answers and are insulted when it is suggested that they consult business leaders to determine the qualifications for employment in this "flat world". At the same time the establishment blames companies for moving off shore. It is not just for cheap labor but rather for people who don't have an "entitlement" attitude. There is plenty of blame to go around. I favor vouchers to bring competition to public education.
(Ridgefield, CT)

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US EDUCATION IS DOMINATED BY PEOPLE WHO ARE MEMBERS OF LEFT LEANING UNIONS. IN FACT THEY ARE SOCIALISTS OR PRO SOCIALIST AT BEST. THEY HAVE NO USE FOR BUSINESS, CONSTITUTIONAL GOVERNMENT, OR TEACHING KIDS HOW TO THINK. THEIR REAL INTEREST IS TEACHING OUR KIDS WHAT THEY SHOULD THINK WHICH IS WHY WE NEED TO REDISTRIBUTE INCOME, NATIONALIZE MANY INDUSTRIES SUCH AS OIL AND HEALTH CARE,AND FOLLOW POLITICALLY CORRECT GUIDELINES ALWAYS LEST WE INSULT SOME GROUP. tHESE PEOPLE PROMOTE SUCH GUT COURSES AS BLACK HISTORY, WOMEN'S STUDIES WHICH PREPARE OUR KIDS TO DO ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. THERE IS NO INTEREST IN TEACHING KIDS PRACTICAL KNOWLEDGE. BECAUSE OF THIS WE ARE TURNING OUT A BUNCH OF MORONS WHO SIGN ON TO ADJUSTABLE MORTGAGES WITHOUT READING THE SMALL PRINT AND WHO CAN'T PAY THEIR BILLS WHEN THE RATES MOVE UP.i VOTE FOR VOUCHERS OR BETTER YET HOME SCHOOLING FOR THOSE PARENTS WILLING TO TACKLE IT. (silver spring, MD)

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I read this in Time magazine. I think this is part of our schools teaching problems.
"....According to research on teacher efficacy by statistician William Sanders, the higher the grade, the more closely student achievement correlates to a teacher's expertise in her field.
Nationally, that's a problem. Nearly 30% of middle- and high school classes in math, English, science and social studies are taught by teachers who didn't major in a subject closely related to the one they are teaching, according to Richard Ingersoll, professor of education and society at the University of Pennsylvania. In the physical sciences, the figure is 68%. In high-achieving countries like Japan and South Korea, he says, "you have far less of this misassignment going on."

You can read the entire article at this link.

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1713174-2,00.html (topeka, ks)

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Mr. Donohue,
You make very broad opening statements without providing the sources on which you base your assumptions. First, I would like to know the statistical makeup of the people in the groups you referenced: subprime mortgage meltdowns, skyrocketing credit card debt, personal bankruptcies, and low savings. Next, give us the background on the people who manage subprime mortgages & credit card companies. I suspect in the latter 2 groups, you will find many highly educated people. And I'm positive there will be many college grads who have found themselves as members of the first 4 groups. If a person slides through school without the desire to learn who is really to blame? Of the 8760 hours in a year, how many hours does a student spend in a classroom? How many people make the effort to learn (& learn how to learn) but ignore what the school & their family has taught them? (Bettendorf, IA)

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Why blame the schools for the lack of understanding about financal matters. Blame instead the lack of morality that allows a company to charge an intrerest rate of over 20%, we used to call people who lent money as this rate as gangsters,not "credit card companies." It is not the lack of education it is the lack of a minimum wage that has caused many problems, to have the buying power of 30 years ago an individual would have to make $20 an hour today or more. Business want low wages for workers and outrageous salarys for the few. We are creating a corporate enviornment that the antitrust laws were designed to prevent, curruption and political influence have run amok under the Bush administration and the Republician party. They have create a feeling of fear, nationalism, and stupidity, when clear thinking, knowlegde of history,and brillance have been in desperate need. In addition, the No Child Education Act created by Bush is as stupid as he is. (Bridgton, Me)

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I agree that Life 101 would be a valuable course- in addition to financial management, we can add household management, responsible stewardship and many others.

Responsibility for this problem is multi-faceted.... including those credit card companies who extend credit of $60,000 to someone who only makes $25,000 a year, soceity for promoting greed and materialism, and even including individuals who are unwilling to be responsible for themselves and their actions.

Someone made a comment about you can't teach what you don't know... HOW TRUE! I speak from personal experience of having graduated high school having had a course in economics. I then went on to college and racked up 9 credit cards. It took me 3 jobs/moves, 8 years and a lot of work to dig myself out of the majority of the debt and put myself on the road to "financial freedom". It was a lot of work and learning. There was a greater lesson learned in our family as my two sisters also experienced financial troubles of their own sort- the lesson that our parents didn't teach us money management because THEY hadn't learned it! Oh they knew enough to get by but not the value of compound interest, the importance of balancing your credit, etc.

I've now helped my husband get himself on track as well as several friends- other people whose parents ALSO didn't know enough about this particular topic to teach them. As a matter of fact, we are just waiting the day that his mother files bankruptcy because she's unwilling to make changes in her lifestyle necessary to get on track.

And I've taken my new found knowledge a step further offering my 9 year old nephew a lesson in financial management during his annual summer "stay at aunties house and learn cool things".... what a wake up call for him to calculate (yes, using pen and paper not some online tool) how much he and each of his aunties would be worth at their respective retirement ages if they invested X starting at their current age..... I believe his response was "I can have (be worth) HOW much when I retire? That's RICH!" And what a lesson to figure out which method of investment was best- a lump sum or monthly deposits- relative to each aunties situation versus himself.

When my nephew called home the next day, he requested an appointment with a financial advisor and promptly told his mom about the stocks we were watching!

If only I had learned, 20 years ago, what I know now I wouldn't have to work so hard or be worried about my future so much. If only someone had HAD the knowledge to be able to teach me. (Syracuse , Indiana)

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I have read all the comments and think they all have valid points. I personally believe that it is not just the schools that are at fault it is the current American life style. We have become a throw away society. Technology advances have decreased our need for one another. Greed has superceded family and community needs.It is almost close to impossible to have a family where one parent may remain home to teach, supervise, and raise the children in our current economy. Our children are left with babysitters from an early age and then teachers and then employers. We have become a very tolerant society, political correct, don't offend anyone or anything while our morals, values, and children go down the toilet. I wish I knew what the solution will be. I personally think it will get worse before it gets better. It will take a major shakeup before the majority of Americans stand up and take our country back. I do believe the majority of Americans are good, honest, caring people but as in any situation the squeaky wheel gets the attention. I homeschool my third grader because he was not learning in school. With the "Fuzzy Math" being taught and the emphasis being on teaching the children to pass the standardized testing so the school could mantain their funding.He was a great test taker but was learning nothing. He had some great teachers but their hands were tied with crowded classrooms,children that did not behave and only so many hours in a day. Now our school system wants more days and longer hours...... (Northeast, Ok)

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Many of the responses to this article are discouraging. People who uses the word "greed" simply don't understand basic economics and are likely themselves at least partially in the grip of the destructive economic populism that must be countered by reforms in education. (Millsboro, DE)

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Teaching finances and related subjects is fine.
However, starting at the K level going through
grades is rediculous. Can you imagine getting the
interest of 5 to 10 year old children to listen
re: debt, investing, finance etc. They will
quickly forget all about it, because they are
too young to get involved. The time to do this
is in high school when students very quickly will
find the need to utilize such subjects. (Spotswood, NJ)

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Thanks to AD Christian, Jr. whom posted earlier that our Federal Government is spending more than we make. Where is that government money coming from? It is just a few more "trillion" dollars borrowed from China and other countries. The US is in major debt, and we expect our citizens to be good stewards of money. Mortgage companies were approving loans that they should have never approved. And now all of us will be responsible to pay the price for there greediness. In my view, education is only a small part of the problem. American citizens with college educations are losing high paying jobs to lower cost workers in other countries; the prices of milk, bread, gas and basics to live and raise a family are rising while incomes are not. Credit is being used to pay for basic living expenses. It is more than education about finances, credit and building wealth, seems like the wealthy are doing just fine, and corporations are making record breaking profits. US is widening the gap between the wealthy and the middle class because the salaries and wages are not keeping up with the cost of products and services. (Melbourne, FL)

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We have become a walmart world where kids are left on their own so parents can work two jobs to buy china crap. this is the value we are giving our kids. Our minorities are STILL not held accountable for the bahavior of their future criminals. Maybe we should shut down walmart and take the massive tax subsidies we give them to the classrooms. Collect fines from parents who do not take responsibility for their kids and give it to the classrooms also. Punishment like we used to have for studenst who can but don't produce. The dumbing down of America is catching up to us with little action being taken to stop it. Useless excess shool Adminstrators, who spend their time trying to justify their existence with wacko ideas, should also be sent packing and that money saved put into the classroom. (Daytona, FL)

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As a CPA, I have noticed how poor my clients' financial knowledge is. This is lack of knowledge extends to many individuals with postgraduate degrees. When I was in high school in the early 60's, the only business skill I learned was how to balance a checkbook. Although I took an economics course in my senior year, it did not lend itself to learning about personal finance.
Evey school district should have a curriculum on basis personal finance starting with balancing a checkbook and extending to all areas of personal finance including savings, investing, borrowing, annuities, insurance, etc. The average American is a financial disaster waiting to happen. (Cincinnati, Ohio)

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Who on this comment list is a teacher? It is easy to place blame but to change a system we must understand it. Why was our current school system put in place? It all grows from there. We have to shift and agree on what type of society we want to develop and then focus our intent on creating a system that will do just that. There is always a complex reason for why anything evolves. Maybe we as a society have developed but our school system hasn't. This includes politicians, school boards, principles, measurement systems; and especially expectations on certain students to fail or be less than others. We all have to decide what do we want our society to look like and if the answer does not take into account "equal for all" and put resources in appropriate proportions AS NEEDED, there will be no success. Some areas need more it is that simple and not all programs or measurements meet the actual results we desire.
(MD)

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Children in this country must first be taught to save from a young age. When I and my siblings were young, toddlers mind you, we had a piggy bank. Mom gave us her spare change and it went in there, it was fun to clink the coins in the bank and it still is. Saving is a learned behavior that must be learned at a young age not in grade school not in high school, as toddlers. Teenagers in this country should be encouraged to work not play video games and make trouble. They cannot get jobs if illegal aliens and welfare taxes prevent this economy from making jobs for them. If teens have jobs they don't have as much time to get in trouble and they have an incentive not too. If we want our students to learn math, then take the calculators and computers out of math class and teach MATH WITH REAL WORLD CONTEXT. Before you can worry about IRA's and investments lets start with making change without a calculator. (IL)

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Each of us can be a part of the solution.

Contact your local school administration and let them know that excellent materials are available free of charge from NEFE (National Endowment for Financial Education). The teachers will need help though and are not often open to this. (However some ARE teaching this with age appropriate materials they are developing for themselves!)

Additionally professionals can sponsor development of moneyclubs(tm)--see moneyclubs.com sponsored by wife.org (Women's Institute for Financial Education) where folks gather to invite speakers or individuals or pairs of members "host" a meeting by doing research on an agreed upon topic and sharing with the entire group.

Let's not whine, bad as the situation is. Let's DO something to help.

(Mary Esther , Florida)

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There are programs in most states teaching financial and economic literacy as non-profit organizations; check out the www.bizkids.biz website for information in your area. And please support these up to 32 year-old programs.
As our federally mandated school curriculums have become more abc focused and teachers and students are tested and outcomed to the max we have lost the personal components that the creative teachers used to provide. Creativity, innovation and common sense have been replaced by the needs of greater technology yet we are replacing our manufacturing where education is lower in standards than ours. What's wrong with this picture? There is an easy answer folks! (Boise, Idaho)

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Kudos to Steve Seater, Silver Springs MD, Edward H - CPA, & Jeff Welch. If the Education Gods allowed a proper curriculum to be taught, which will never happen, they would be open to exposing themselves as thieving mis-managers of the public thrust. We have allowed our educational system to be strategically manipulated into dummy down our children.

(Easton, Pennsylvania)

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One part of the equation we often ignore in this conversation is the student’s role in their own success. If kids aren’t motivated to learn…if they don’t understand the connection between school and their future…if they don’t realize they have the ability and power to take charge of their lives, what hope is there for them to learn any of the basics of education, much less how to balance a checkbook, understand credit and interest, or prepare a budget? For 22 years our nonprofit, CHOICES Education Group, has been addressing kids directly at the middle school and high school level on these very points. I’m not advertising here, but just letting you know that there are over 2,000 business volunteers, including members of more than 60 Chambers of Commerce nationwide, who are giving of their time and caring to help teens stay in school by presenting our CHOICES workshop, currently to 190,000 teens in 47 states each year. I believe it will take this kind of grass roots effort by all of us as individuals to show kids that they can have hope for success in their futures, and that they are responsible for their decisions – including how they earn, save, invest and borrow money. (Seattle, WA)

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A work colleague reported that his daughter, a recent graduate from a prestigious college, emailed him asking why her monthly savings account statement did not increase by 5% each month since it was advertised as a 5% savings account. Kind of scary, especially since the daughter has a fairly responsible position working for a Democratic politician. (St. Peter, MN)

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I believe it is a stretch to connect the current mortgage mess to education. There are other forces at work like unscrupulous lending practices, greedy loan officers who make their bucks based on "sales" volume (so what if they default), corrupt real estate sales persons (their commissions are based on volume), etc.

But, I do have strong opinions about government education. Anytime Government gets involved in anything it is more inefficient, expensive and wasteful of resources. Government education is a joke. PEOPLE, WE NEED TO GET RID OF THE GOVERNMENT MONOPOLY ON EDUCATION. Give parents a choice through vouchers, etc. and that will in turn make quality education a priority. This is not politically correct, but some things should be decided on the basis of their value to society and not what seems politically correct at the time. Sure, some kids might suffer in the short run, but more kids will excell. We must do what is best for this generation. What worked for society during the de-segregation era does not work as "education" for children of this generation. We must allow market competition to enter the arena of education. (Sevierville, TN)

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I took an economics class in high school. It was an elective. My teacher was exceptional in preparing us for the real world. I have used the knowledge gained in that class more often than some of my college courses. My economics teacher firmly believed that Economics should be required for every student. As a high school student I thought it was rubbish. As an adult, I have to say I wholeheartedly agree with him. (Derby, Kansas)

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I believe that the world is changing by the second, so does our economy. The quetion is, how will a 1st grade student work in workforce2020? I will leave the answer for the 21st century tecnology. (Rochester , MN)

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I taught Economics & Introduction to Business as a
High School teacher for 33 years. I retired in 2001 as a result of the antics and manipulations of the Virginia "powers-that-be"! (I will explain
if asked). A portion of my final exam each year was a main problem with 12 checks,2 deposit slips & accompanying bank statement to balance as if 2 checks hadn't cleared. My students had to put their knowledge to work! None of mine went out not knowing about investments(s&b all the way up to commodities),insurance, the market economy & business organization.
I will ask the major question. "When were YOU
actually in a high school classroom?" I was last
week! Since my retirement, I have chosen to go back in "My" high school 50+ days a year. 3 weeks
back , I taught 6 periods of 40+ seniors each
how to do 1040EZ, 760(Virginia) with W4,W2,
1099INT,1099 DIV,and 1099 MISC. The "young adults"
were responsive & quick to inquire. I challenge you to get into your local schools and help change the situation ,as you perceive it! (Lynchburg, VA)

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General business math is not considered knowledge needed for SAT/ACT success, therefore receives less emphasis than higher math/science time. Add to this the idea that society has that any problem or poor decision made is the result of someone else, (failing to take responsibility for your own mistakes) adds to the problem of not making sound business decisions. (Waterloo, IL)

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Educators today are more worried about how little Johnny FEELS about flunking or not learning than the fact that he is flunking or not learning. This is a tragedy since Johnny will grow up dependent upon others to take care of him since he will not have developed the ability to take care of himself. The real world does not really care how Johnny FEELS about being a failure. The real world just wants Johnny to have the skills to get the mission accomplished. It truly comes down to a difference in basic philosophy, liberals feel their way into thinking and conservatives think their way into feeling. Only the latter is truly based in reality and from what I can tell, the world it real.

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