I agree that we're in trouble and that financial literacy is woefully lacking for most folks. Is this really something that we should expect schools to be responsible for, though? If Wenchsenior is right (and I've seen those data elsewhere) and taking financial literacy classes doesn't result in more sound financial decision making, it seems like we'd be better off spending that classroom time on educational fundamentals. We're not doing so hot in those either...
It seems like this is something better taught at home by parents showing their kids the impact of decisions they make. Of course, given the state of the finances of many parents, they may not be the best teachers, but that's another issue.
I think it is something we should expect schools ot be responsible for. Even if our current financial literacy classes haven't resulted in more sound financial decision making, it doesn't mean we should just give up on it entirely. It means we need a better approach and more emphasis (certainly not less).
I don't agree that it would be better taught at home by parents. why? It's not a subject that is as deeply personal as sexual education or religion (though we teach both of those in the public school system), and it arguably has more immediate benefits on society than most other subjects, particualry the social sciences. It's not much of a stretch to say that a person who makes good financial decisions will make a better citizen, a better employee, and have less stress overall than someone who is making payday loans and choosing finance options they can't afford.
Yeah, I really think you’re onto something when you say that informed financial decision-makers would probably be better citizens. Teaching more of this stuff may well have prevented people from getting mortgages they couldn’t afford which could have prevented or shrunk the crash in ’08, and I’m sure there are countless other examples we could point to. If we were smarter about our own budgets, we’d be smarter about how our businesses and governments spent their money too, and we might all be better off.
I’m probably reacting mostly because many of my coworkers seem to think that it’s the schools’ job to teach their children everything. Including things like how to cook, how to recognize a healthy diet, how to balance a checkbook, how to make friends, how to vegetable garden, how to sew, etc. in addition to the regular academic subjects. Doing a little of each of those is GREAT, don’t get me wrong, but it shouldn’t come at the expense of the curriculum staples. They’re all important skills that can easily be incorporated into other lesson plans (budget plans in math, gardening and nutrition in science, etc.)
As a taxpayer and someone who will eventually live in the world run by the kids currently in school, I think you should always push to make schools as good as they can be. However, I don’t think it’s fair to expect or demand that the school to be a one-stop-shop for imparting all the necessary wisdom. That mostly seems like a way to move responsibility from the parents to the schools.
Edited to fix quote nesting problems.