Are schools preparing children for economic development?

[SallieJo]

It seems to me that there is not enough emphasis on economic development in schools today. I have seen the curriculums of multiple levels of education and I am just not satisfied. While I was in school there was (and still is) a lot of emphasis on science in class rooms and schools. But I really don't remember much of anything about economy. Perhaps this is part of why we are struggling? For those of you who also have access to current school curriculums, what do you think? Maybe you are a teacher, student, or have a child that goes to school? Do you think that an increased push in enomic learning would be highly beneficial? I certainly do. Especially in these tough times!

[jason75]

Fur sure more teaching of economics would help! Let's face it, a huge majority of American's don't know how to manage their finances properly, they were all raised on credit and borrowing, and I don't think they get even close to the education they need.

I know when I was in school no one taught me the differences between renting and having a mortgage. The pros and cons. I was taught how to balance a check book, but I wasn't taught about any sort of retirement planning. I wasn't taught about health insurance. I wasn't taught about investing. I didn't know anything when I came out into the world and I even went to a good school.

I think they assume that college will teach you these things, but the truth is, most people don't even make it to college. And even then, college doesn't usually teach those things either unless you are taking specific related courses. Those things that every person must know to succeed in life should be taught at least before the get out of high school.

[NW Admin]

I couldn't agree more. This is exactly the driving force behind American debt. Kids come out of high school immediately being targeted by companies trying to lure them into their credit agreements. Many of these vulture credit card companies promote "student credit cards". Trying to rope them in before they even get out of school.

The problem with that is that at 16 to 18 we are still very impulsive. We want things and we want them now. At that time in life, unless our parents really put forth the effort to teach us about managing credit... then all we know is what is in the credit card agreement and we have heard around the way from friends and family. And I can almost gaurantee that the majority of people do not read all of the fine print. Or if they do, maybe they don't fully understand it, but accept it anyway. This is especially true for college students who find themselves financially strapped and will do anything to get their rent paid.

Once you get that first line of credit and experience that rush of accomplishing something and having instant money, it's just a downward spiral from there. We are not taught about obtaining credit in moderation. Before you know it, the average teen has 5 credit cards, a car loan, and student loans. They have already dug their own grave and it probably all happened within just a year or two.

And then, once you are caught in that web of debt, getting out is equally a nightmare. You have to worry about all of these "credit repair" companies preying on you, claiming to solve your problems, but really they just want what little money you have left.

That leads me to my next thought. Why don't they teach us about credit repair in high school?? It seems to me like if you knew what you would have to go through to fix it, maybe you wouldn't screw it up in the first place. Or maybe after that first mistake, you could fix it and say... "man, I sure don't want to let that happen again". We just are not educated enough about credit and economy growing up.