Harnessing the Power of Parents

It’s that time of year – back to school. With the abundance of “teachable moments” these days, will this be the year when parents step up and insist that schools include financial education as part of the school curriculum? In light of the current economic condition, can we agree that a financially educated populace would have mitigated some of the devastating results of the current recession?

It might surprise you to know that New Hampshire is the only state in New England that has a graduation requirement for economics. Embedded in the curriculum framework for that requirement is a standard for personal finance.

Yet exactly how this requirement is met is left to the discretion of each school district. In many cases, since economics falls under the social studies discipline, this curriculum is often taught by history teachers with little training in economics. Compound this with a lack of assessment testing for social studies and we’re left with a wide disparity on how our children are taught any elements of money management.

Parents hold the key to this. If parents want a higher emphasis on personal finance in the classroom, then they need to tell their school board. Their role is to manage and allocate resources to accomplish the desires of the community.

Resources: this word is often used as the argument explaining why we can’t do something. However, when it comes to the topic of personal finance, the argument is weak. There are vast amounts of personal finance curricula available to educators and school districts that are either no cost or low cost. At the Jump$tart Coalition Clearinghouse, there are well over 700 types of curricula and teaching materials, 45 percent of which can be downloaded for free.

We at NH Jump$tart know from direct experience that teachers want to teach this valuable life skill to their students. We train over 150 teachers each year at our annual teacher conference. So if teachers want to teach personal finance and there are plenty of available teaching materials to accomplish that, what is the problem?

Kids are facing a more financially complex world than we ever could have imagined. Having a strong understanding of personal finance is critical to their future. Parents: the power to make a difference is in your hands.

Daniel Hebert, a former lender with over 23 years of banking experience, is president of the NH Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy. For more information, visit nhjumpstart.org.

Financial Education – a Global Perspective

Continuing social, economic and political change over the last five years has meant that the need for financial capability in young people is even more pressing. In many western counties issues surrounding increasing levels of personal debt, crashing markets and their effect on pensions mean that there is a greater need for individuals to take a more active and informed interest in their own financial future.

This article looks at various initiatives for teaching children about money around the world.

In South Africa, Teach Children to Save (TCTS) is a one-day initiative designed to spotlight the importance of teaching the country's youth about saving money. The objectives of the project include:
To raise awareness about the benefits of savings, financial planning and foster a culture of saving. To demonstrate the important role that the financial services sector can play in creating a financially literate nation. To initiate a national program that encourages a collaborative, industry-wide effort to increase financial literacy.

Teach Children to Save South Africa (TCTS SA) was launched during July Savings Month on the 25th July 2008. On this day, volunteer bankers and financial professionals became teachers for a day and delivered a one hour savings lesson to learners in grades 4 to 7. This pilot initiative laid the groundwork for an annual event that spotlights the important role that financial service providers can play in educating the nation's youth about saving. While modelled on the U.S. program, TCTS SA was customized to align with South African culture, financial education needs and the school curriculum especially Economic Management Science.

Scotland was the first part of the UK to publish guidance for schools in this area, back in 1999 Learning and Teaching Scotland, published Financial Education in Scottish Schools – A Statement of Position. This document describes managing money is “one of the most important and challenging features of everyday living” while outlining a minimum entitlement within the school curriculum. Their aims are for young people to understand key financial and economic ideas; be skilled in managing their financial affairs; recognise the importance of using financial resources responsibly and be able to operate in a confident and enterprising manner.

The Scottish programme as part of the 3-18 Curriculum for Excellence is under-pinned by the expectation that every teacher is a teacher of Numeracy, Literacy and Health and Well-being. A thematic / topic framework is suggested which schools may adapt to their particular needs. The four main elements of Financial Education in Scotland include: Financial Understanding, Financial Competence, Financial Responsibility and Financial Enterprise

An Australian report, ‘Financial Literacy - Australians Understanding Money’, found that young people are particularly interested in learning more about issues such as budgeting, saving, managing debt and avoiding financial scams.
Australian schools have introduced a nationally agreed Framework that provides an integrated cross- curriculum approach for all students from Kindergarten to Year 10.
Consumer and financial literacy will be integrated in programs across English, Mathematics, Science, Humanities - (Business, Commerce, Economics, Technology and Enterprise) Civics and Citizenship and ICT. This will allow all Australian students in their compulsory years of schooling to develop knowledge and understanding, skills and values in consumer and financial literacy.

An example of a Chinese approach to financial education is a theatre program for children aged between 8 and 12 years old in the cities of Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen.

The program is based on a comic book, entitled "Agent Penny and Will Power in Operation Finance". Scenes are based on stories of daily life and present students with commonly-used financial tools and concepts, including budgeting and compound interest, as well as the formation of healthy financial habits.
According to schedules of the program, the Cheeky Monkey Theatre, presenting itself as the world's first ‘Chinglish’ Theatre Company, will visit between 40 and 50 schools in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen over the next ten months, and this play is expected to be seen by around 20,000 children.

In summary, financial literacy is regarded in many countries as a key life skill. The financial world is characterised by a wide range of choices and often high complexity, and as consumers we all need to take advantage of this dynamic environment. Young people are being targeted as consumers at an increasingly early age and may face complex financial choices. As 18 year olds, they are likely to have access to credit and loans in a way that would have been unheard of 20 years ago. Providing young people with good financial literacy skills helps to establish responsible attitudes and good habits from an early age. It helps foster an attitude to managing money that can enhance their long-term financial security and lifestyle.