Florida Just Became the Largest State to Mandate Personal Finance Education in HS

[LevelUP]

Florida just became the largest state to mandate personal finance education in high school
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/03/23/florida-...tion-.html

Any other courses that should be mandated in high school?

[Alpha]

I'm not crazy about Florida but I think this is a good idea.

[rachel83az]

I agree. More schools should teach personal finance, whether or not it's mandated.

[bluebooger]

> Any other courses that should be mandated in high school?

1) home economics:
basic cooking
making shopping lists and buying groceries without wasting food and money
sewing
cleaning

2) home maintenance:
painting
unclogging sinks and toilets
replacing sinks and toilets
hanging sheetrock
grouting bathroom and kitchen tile

3) EMT certification class

4) anatomy & physiology
nothing heavy in chemistry, but a basic disease and body systems focused course
what is a virus, what is a vaccine, what is lung cancer, breast cancer
what are the different types of doctors and medical professionals

5) environmental chemistry
not the high school we probably all took, but something simple -- students don't need to memorize 20 different ions and their charges
just teach the basics of how oil becomes gasoline and what happens what oil spills into the ocean
how does plastic waste affect fresh water sources
smog and air pollution
how is sewage processed
what is composting

[LevelUP]

Some other courses that should be mandated.
1. Touch typing because it's needed for college and in today's world, you're basically illiterate if you can't type (they could test out if learned elsewhere)
2. American government
3. Economics

[Alpha]

> Any other courses that should be mandated in high school?

1) home economics:
basic cooking
making shopping lists and buying groceries without wasting food and money
sewing
cleaning

2) home maintenance:
painting
unclogging sinks and toilets
replacing sinks and toilets
hanging sheetrock
grouting bathroom and kitchen tile

3) EMT certification class

4) anatomy & physiology
nothing heavy in chemistry, but a basic disease and body systems focused course
what is a virus, what is a vaccine, what is lung cancer, breast cancer
what are the different types of doctors and medical professionals

5) environmental chemistry
not the high school we probably all took, but something simple -- students don't need to memorize 20 different ions and their charges
just teach the basics of how oil becomes gasoline and what happens what oil spills into the ocean
how does plastic waste affect fresh water sources
smog and air pollution
how is sewage processed
what is composting

Someone might say that at least a part of that is the rightful responsibility of the parents/family.  I think all of it should be available but I'm not sure that everyone should be required to hang sheetrock, as much fun as that is.

[dfrecore]

When you start requiring students to take more classes, you make it so that it's impossible to get to them all in 4 years. I took 4 years of English (required to graduate), 4 years of Science (required to get into my state colleges), 4 years of Math (required to get into my state colleges), 4 years of History/Social Studies (required to graduate), 2 years of PE (required to graduate), 2 years of a foreign language (required to get into my state colleges), 1 semester of a fine art (required to graduate), 1 semester of Health (required to graduate), and 1 semester of Drivers Ed (required to graduate).

When exactly would they fit in MORE classes? I barely got to take anything that I actually wanted to take!!

BTW - I don't WANT anyone else teaching my kids personal finance. These are the people telling kids the only way to be successful is to go have some "college experience" at a college they can't afford and take on a shit-ton of student loans to pay for it. They would teach them that student loans are "good debt" and to get a credit card while you're at it to build credit, and whatever else they want to tell kids who are too stupid to know whether something is a good idea or not. No thank you.

And, just an FYI, many states require American Government & Economics (both states I've lived in required them for graduation; I took both back in the day, my kid is taking them now).

[bluebooger]

Someone might say that at least a part of that is the rightful responsibility of the parents/family.  I think all of it should be available but I'm not sure that everyone should be required to hang sheetrock, as much fun as that is.

someone might say personal finance is part of the rightful responsibility of the parents and that there is no need for the schools to teach it either   

basic home repair is something everyone should know                 
not only does it make you capable of making your home/apartment nicer, but it makes you employable             
it expands a high school's students opportunities                
students look for jobs as cashiers, dishwashers, busboys, fry cooks -- things that take no skill or can be learned in an hour           
knowing basic construction gives them more opportunities

---

When you start requiring students to take more classes, you make it so that it's impossible to get to them all in 4 years.  I took 4 years of English (required to graduate), 4 years of Science (required to get into my state colleges), 4 years of Math (required to get into my state colleges), 4 years of History/Social Studies (required to graduate), 2 years of PE (required to graduate), 2 years of a foreign language (required to get into my state colleges), 1 semester of a fine art (required to graduate), 1 semester of Health (required to graduate), and 1 semester of Drivers Ed (required to graduate).

When exactly would they fit in MORE classes?  I barely got to take anything that I actually wanted to take!!

BTW - I don't WANT anyone else teaching my kids personal finance.  These are the people telling kids the only way to be successful is to go have some "college experience" at a college they can't afford and take on a shit-ton of student loans to pay for it.  They would teach them that student loans are "good debt" and to get a credit card while you're at it to build credit, and whatever else they want to tell kids who are too stupid to know whether something is a good idea or not.  No thank you.

And, just an FYI, many states require American Government & Economics (both states I've lived in required them for graduation; I took both back in the day, my kid is taking them now).

what state do you live in that all those things are required to get into college

even NYU doesn't require 4 years of science and 4 years of math and 2 years of a foreign language to get in

> When exactly would they fit in MORE classes? 

uh, by cutting out the useless crap           
4 years of English ?
if you can't read and write English by the 11th grade then you may as well quit  
4 years of math ?
calculus is not needed, geometry is not needed, trig is not needed
I bet 95% of employed adults use no more than basic algebra in their job or their life

> These are the people telling kids the only way to be successful is to ... take on a shit-ton of student loans to pay for it.


that's what kids are learning already            
the whole idea of a personal finance course is to teach them to plan for the future, how to invest, how to determine if a loan (car, house, college) is a good loan, teach them about credit card debt and interest rates -- these are the things they are not learning

[carrythenothing]

what state do you live in that all those things are required to get into college

even NYU doesn't require 4 years of science and 4 years of math and 2 years of a foreign language to get in

For NYU: https://cas.nyu.edu/content/nyu-as/cas/a...ssion.html

First-year students who are best prepared to succeed at NYU will have explored the following topics in their high schools: four years of English with heavy emphasis on writing; three to four years of academic mathematics; three to four years of laboratory science; three to four years of social studies; and two to three years of foreign language. Students most competitive for admission will exceed these minimums.

[ss20ts]

To graduate with my Regents diploma which was required for colleges in NY I needed:

4 years of English
4 years of social studies which included economics and American government
3 years of math
3 years of science
3 years of a foreign language
1 year of music/art (I had 4)
4 years of PE
1 semester of health

I had 1 study hall a day until my senior year when I took a cooking class and a couple of business classes. Where else would I have added more classes?

And no I have no interest in EMT. I don't handle blood well. I pass out at the sight of it. I have no interest in home repairs. Many leases state that tenants cannot make repairs and they are subject to financial penalties if they do.

Parents have a responsibility to educate their children as well. Schools are mandated by the state what they must teach. As a taxpayer I pay plenty in school taxes already. I'm not paying more so parents can pass the buck and have someone else teach their children. You want to learn how to be an EMT or nursing in high school? Sign up for BOCES. Want to learn construction? Sign up for BOCES. They can learn it there for free in high school while completing their high school diploma.