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Essay about financial literacy classes
Essay about financial literacy classes
Importance of ‘financial literacy’ among teachers, staff, parents and students
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A major way to improve personal finance education in the United States is motivating students by showing them that this content will help them in their lives, with emphasis on the need for it in the real world. After all, “since financial education is not a requirement…it is important to provide other sources of financial information…which might stimulate the teen’s interest” (Varcoe et al. 70). Personal finance classes are not made a requirement in many states, however, those that do have these classes have seen positive results from increased student motivation. For example, after the 2008 financial crisis in the United States, “15% [of personal finance classes] indicated that enrollment had increased since the start of the recession” (Hite …show more content…
High school students are more likely to be concerned with certain financial situations such as choosing to attend university. For example, “students bound for a four-year college, a professional job, or a higher starting salary consistently outscore students who are less highly motivated” (Mandell and Klein 106). Those students with plans to attend a four-year college had an average score of 54.9% on the personal finance test, whereas those who had no further plans only had an average of 37.9% on the same test (111). The motivation for these students to perform well in personal finance class comes from their “expectations and goal setting” (106). Therefore, while college bound students have these goals naturally, those students who are going directly into the work force should be encouraged to see the benefits of personal finance for themselves. For students who do wish to attend university, the need to understand college finances also extends to debt because “most college students borrow to finance their education, yet often do so without fully understanding how much debt is appropriate for their education” (Pelletier 1). From these results, it is clearly very important that students are motivated to learn about their personal finance, “stressing the importance of the subject matter to the students’ own lives” (Mandell 275). Therefore, by increasing student motivation, the results of personal finance classes will be more effective and help students understand the material even after high
Once high school ends, most students progress to college after a year or two from graduation. Due to all of the expenses for textbooks and etc., the student might realize that they don’t comprehend what to conserve or spend their money on to get through their years of college which will leave them clueless on what to do next. With situations like this that might occur, all high school students should take a financial literacy class as part of the mandatory course in order to get a diploma. With a numerous amount of students not having enough knowledge about how to manage their money carefully, presumably they’ll have trouble living their life as an adult. Taking a financial literacy class would help students stay out of debt, they’ll be prepared for their future, and they would recognize the discrepancies between wants and needs.
Most kids that have graduated high school have never been educated on the subject of personal finance, so they don’t know things like how to pay bills, or even how to do something as simple as applying for a job. According to a family friend of mine, Ron Hart; who happens to also be an award-wining author and TV/radio commentator, believes that students in high school don’t learn anything about how to get a job or get prepared financially. He states that, “ Students should prepare for a job. Maybe, instead of taking a fifth field trip to the Trail of Tears site, do one to learn about real jobs in an area they might want.” Hart believes that most basic high schools aren’t teaching students how to become financially stable for their future, which can cause major issues. He claims that “few schools teach about the value of hard work, ingenuity, gumption and entrepreneurship. Those lessons are as rare as Donald Trump bumper stickers in the faculty parking lot.” Hart also goes on to talk about how high school does not prepare you for life the same way college will. There are so many more lessons to learn there that people are missing out on. College is very important due to the fact that it will teach students more skills about finance and job seeking that most high schools don’t. In college, kids will learn how to save and budget their money, pay for their own expenses, and prioritize their needs verses their wants. Learning financial responsibility is also something that kids will carry with them throughout their jobs and their life. Having more freedom to understand the concepts of person finance will allow students to make mature decisions while easing their way into real world
Over the past decade, it has become evident to the students of the United States that in order to attain a well paying job they must seek a higher education. The higher education, usually a college or university, is practically required in order to succeed. To be able to attend these schools and receive a degree in a specific field it means money, and often a lot of it. For students, the need for a degree is strong, but the cost of going to college may stand in the way of a successful future. Each year the expense of college rises, resulting in the need for students to take out loans. Many students expect to immediately get a job after graduation, however, in more recent years the chances for college graduates to get a well paying job isn’t nearly as high as it used to be. Because students can no longer depend on getting a job fresh out of college, it has become harder to repay the loans. Without a steady income, these individuals have gone into debt and frequently default loans. If nothing is done to stop colleges and universities from increasing the cost of attending their school, the amount of time it takes for students to pay off their loans will become longer and longer. The extreme expenses to attend a college or university may leave a student in financial distress: which may ultimately lead to hardship in creating a living for them and affect the country’s economy.
Although a college education grows more and more expensive every year. People begin to question whether college is a good idea to invest in or not. “As college costs continue to rise, students and their families are looking more carefully at what they are getting for their money. Increasingly, they are finding that the college experience falls short of their expectations”(Cooper. H Mary). Many people believe that the cost of a college degree has outstripped the value of a degree.Studies show that a college degree will increase your earning power. A lot of people say that a college degree now is worth what a high school diploma was wor...
Public education could have done a better job promoting what happens at 17 or 18 when graduating. We were briefly advised to go to college or go into the workforce to become employees. As students, we had been told college makes you more money, and that we were all encouraged to apply. I doubted the majority of students took the responsibility to look at costs of college, tuition, and housing and understand the loans and how long it would take to pay them off. It felt that we hadn’t been taught the value of money, only that we needed to make a lot of it. I had been fortunate for working in a bank my high school years that I had understood more than others about loans, rates, mortgages, and credit cards. The financial aspect of life after high school was rarely brought
It is a norm and expectation in society today for students to pursue higher education after graduating from high school. College tuition is on the rise, and a lot of students have difficulty paying for their tuitions. To pay for their tuitions, most students have to take out loans and at the end of four years, those students end up in debt. Student loan debts are at an all time high with so many people graduating from college, and having difficulties finding jobs in their career fields, so they have difficulties paying off their student loans and, they also don’t have a full understanding of the term of the loans and their options if they are unable to repay.
Children of the twenty first century spend nearly 13 years in school, preparing for what is college, one of the only ways to achieve the so-called “American Dream”. College is the best way to start an advanced career and go further than one possibly could if college degrees were not available, allowing people to achieve their view of the American Dream; whether it be large houses, shiny cars, multiple kids, or financial comfort, college is the stepping stone to achieve the American Dream. But all great things come with a price, college dragging along debt. Students who attend college struggle to find ways to pay for it, leading to applying for student loans. These loans a great short term, paying for the schooling at the moment but eventually the money adds up
As people of many ages wish to further their education outside of high school, they tend to take out student loans in order to fulfill this wish since the large tuition payment is not in their budget. Paying for an education that presents a degree seems easy to many by taking out large loans to pay for their education. Recently, student loans have challenged the economy of Americans. Education is perceived as a necessary expense to many, in which they do not mind putting a burden on the economy for. Many people believe those loans can be paid off in a matter of a couple years. However, this idea is misguided as many people do not pay their student loans off until their early forties.
To start, one considerable solution to help with student debt is working and saving. At this point in life, saving money is an easy strategy due to limited responsibilities and bills. Since many students are not yet independent in terms of living expenses, they are “reall...
One might say there is a strong argument for the requirement of financial literacy for students in America. Americans continue to have increased balances on their credit cards as well as show a continued increase in bankruptcy filings according to statistics. Even the “baby boomer” generation is no longer exempt from financial hardships, as their generation has recently taken the title of “Fastest Growing Bankruptcy Demographic” from the 25 – 34 year olds (Linfield, 2011). Would it not make sense to say that Americans need to learn how to budget and borrow more wisely? Would not the best place to start be in schools? Well, the answer to that question is not a simple one.
As a result, more and more students are turning to student loans and graduating already in debt. According to Avery and Turner (2012), the total student loan debt in June 2010 increased over $800 billion, surpassing the total credit card debt for the first time. Given the need for highly educated employees in today’s economy, the ideal funding should primarily go to education funds. More and more junior college students are finding themselves taking out loans, without considering the debt their accumulating before even transferring out into a four-year university (McKinney & Burridge,
With college being a social norm and being looked at as the path or key to success, many who walk down that path, face financial nightmares. Most students face the struggles of paying for tuition, text books, food, housing, commute, etc. For this reason, a lot of students have no choice but to take out student loans in order to continue their studies and get a college degree, in hopes for a better future. To get a sense of how many people are struggling financially due to student loans and debt, the United States has an accumulated total of approximately, 1.4 trillion dollars in student loan debt. The vast amount of student debt has created many barriers in many people’s lives, which is why the government should make it easier for individuals
Some schools have little money and few teachers and Matthew Yale said, “[T]he Department of Education’s next step is to work with districts and teachers and help them find the money they need” (Bernard 6). It will take parents to start this movement (Bernard 7) because parents have to be willing to give up more money so that their children know what to do with their money. Financial literacy courses can potentially make students overconfident about their skills and make them do even worse (Burns 8). Harvard Business School performed a study where it was concluded that financial literacy courses “weren’t effective in changing people’s financial decisions” (Burns 10). Thaler stated “A new paper by three business school professors … uses a technique called meta-analysis looking at results from 168 scientific studies of effects to teach people to be financially astute, or at least less clueless. The authors’ conclusions are clear: over all, financial education is laudable, but not particularly helpful” (13). The shows that financial literacy courses are good but they are not helping the youth as of now, so the right combination has not been found to teach the youth how to control their
High school seniors takes deep breaths and parade onto the stage. The beginning of a new chapter awaits as they make the journey from one point of the stage to the end. They reflect on what they have been taught in those many years of high school. The most terrifying fact while graduating high school is the next step: making it on their own. Because they have taken part in the appropriate classes, the students are certain that they have gained the correct knowledge to begin making their mark on the world. In high school, it is crucial to achieve the appropriate classes in order to feel ready to take on the world ahead as an adult. However, many students lack proper education. One key example is financial literacy. Financial literacy is the
Personal Finance is a class I’ve wanted to take for a while now. My major is Finance not because I want a career in finance but more to learn about finance for my own personal situation. This class taught me so much! During this class I was able to evaluate my financial situation and set financial goals for myself. The four topics that helped me the most were emergency savings, buying a car, purchasing a home, retirement, and estate planning. After completing this class I have a better understanding of these topics and how to achieve my financial goals.