It’s not high finance |

Back when I went to school, we had to learn about the stock market and family budgets.

We were provided $ 1000 in funny money. And, we could buy stocks, puts, or calls. (Back when I went to school, you had to buy stock in lots of 100, which is why we were given that quantity of funny money. Nowadays, we can buy a single share of stock.) The contest revolved about the person with the highest balance after two months would win.

It was a pretty cool game. We all learned about stocks and options.

The next game in which we engaged was more involved. We all were provided $400 a month for the six month curricula (remember, this was decades ago, too) and had to cover rent, food (for our hypothetical family of four), clothing, books, etc. And, we had to justify the purchases we made. (Do we opt for a Carvel Ice Cream treat or a book; clothes bought from Gertz or Abraham & Strauss?) And, the teacher would present a new challenge every week or so (kid fell down and ripped his pants; a doctor or dental visit; etc.), which we had to accommodate and explain our choices.

This is the sort of instruction that we need to provide all our kids. Maybe that way we won’t have half of America (actually, it was 68%) unable to handle an emergency $400 expense. It’s not just high school graduates that have to discern how to pay their bills and taxes, manage a bank account and credit cards, or find a place to live. Because many a student has to help their families before they graduate- assuming they ever do.

Too many school systems mistakenly believe that basic math – and maybe compound interest- are the only requirements students need to survive as adults in this world. But, kids need to know how to navigate paperwork, choose among bank accounts- with their dizzying array of fee structures- or deal with pay-day loan sharks. Not to mention what these ‘buy now, pay later’ schemes really involve. Or, ensuring that our kids don’t get inveigled into cryptocurrencies or bitcoin schemes.

When I taught at a local college (filling in for a friend), I was asked to cover a remedial math program. To ensure that the kids would be able to begin regular math programs the next year. I could hardly get them engaged. (They didn’t see why they needed such math skills.) Until I stopped using the text book and switched the examples for how to buy clothes- covering sales tax with the money in their pocket. Or, how much change to expect when they paid the bill.

This is also why another of my friends has been trying to convince his alma mater (a private high school) to offer programs like this as part of their curriculum.

Maybe he will achieve better success as more and more states are realizing this is not an hypothetical need for our kids. As a matter of fact, until recently there were just 13 states that mandated a stand-alone course in personal finance, as a prerequisite to graduation.

And, the situation seems to be worse when the school is predominantly non-White. According to Next-Gen-Personal-Finance, only 1 in 4 high school kids were required to master personal finance. But, if the child attends a school that is not predominantly White, that drops to 1 in 20.

This past month, Michigan has added that requirement for graduation.

Only 36 more to go.