Thursday, October 23, 2008

Do Our Schools Add Up?

Very shortly, we will have elected a new President. Our country is faced with many challenges to be sure, but the sagging economy and continuing meltdown of our financial institutions will arguably take priority in the next administration. This is one of the worst economic climates in our lifetime, and yet the concern I see as most alarming is how unprepared most people are to deal
with this type of calamity.

It would be nice to think that money and all the challenges it brings is not the most important part of our lives, but most decisions we make are in fact centered on our finances. Dealing with financial obligations has become so important to our daily lives that not a week goes by when we are not called upon to understand the basic math that should have been learned in high school. But are the schools teaching the correct set of math skills?

Actually, do our schools even offer the math classes that teach our children the way to deal with finances? I know I was never
taught the Rule of 72! No one in high school ever explained that my house would probably be my largest asset. We never learned how credit card companies could increase interest charges without even notifying us. Now, back in the ‘60s, saving for retirement was certainly not the controversial subject it is today. Back then we all believed that Social Security would ease the transition into our later years. Today we cannot even be sure Social Security as we know it will survive. So here we are in 2008, with millions of our citizens being in jeopardy of defaulting on their home mortgages, in part because they couldn’t fully understand the math when they applied for their loans. Now our government needs to come to the rescue! Maybe it’s time to go back to the basics and make sure our children learn how to deal with their own financial future. 

What are your thoughts?