Why do we require public schools to teach sex education but not basic money management?

Question

There is an old adage, "It isn't important how you make you money. It's what you do with it that counts."
An ambitious person with common sense, a high school diploma, and basic skills in money management will be much more prosperous in his lifetime than a medical school grad with a drug addiction and an appetite for loose women and fast cars.
Education in the USA is lacking in respect to providing basic skills to our children in how to succeed without becoming a member of the rat race of corporate America. Children who do not have college as a goal in their life, or even those who do, should be taught basic money management, credit management, and long term financial planning.
Imagine if you were going to play a game of Monopoly for the first time. You open the rule book and it says: The rules have been around a long time. Everybody knows the rules already so there's no point in printing them. So, just play the game.

Answer 1

AGREED!

Answer 2

There are plenty of people who believe that this should be taught. However, you will need to get some of the worst management people in the world (Senators and Congressmen) to pass the law. The first hurdle is how will they fund the bill. It will take money to get those classes going and the politicians will not know where to find the money because they spent all they have and borrow like crazy to spend some more.

A lot of people think they know money management, yet they don't. Look at all of the people with so much debt these days. Nobody budgets anymore. Nobody saves. The last year was one of the worst for saving that has happened since the great depression.

I believe that you are right, and making money management not only a required class but a set of required classes, would be better for the economy in the long run. I once read that the average person in China saves close to half of his or her pay. The average person in the gets deeper in debt instead of saving. It will catch up with us one day.

Answer 3

As several people have pointed out, there ARE such classes, and units within more general classes.

I don't see what your point (the importance of learning about money) has to do with whether we teach health adequately.

However, I also think that a lot of parents are failing here -- by protecting thier little darlings from the reality of money they are failing to teach them how to take care of themselves.

But then, a lot of the parents have zero money skills themselves.

Answer 4

That is a very good question. Learning to balance a checkbook and manage your finances is a very useful life skill (at least as useful as sex education). While we require basic arithmetic and usually algebra at the high school level, the connection between the classroom and the real world, how to use the math in your everyday life, is rarely made. Most students see math as just something they do in math class, not something that relates to their daily life. I think it would be beneficial to our young men and women to require a class specifically on financial management, so they can learn about loans, mortgages, credit cards, investing, savings accounts, budgeting, and other important information that they will see in their adult life. This does not negate the need for education about sex, pregnancy, and sexually transmitted diseases, which occurs in sex education.

Answer 5

Firstly, I completely agree with you

Scondly, I am a high School Student. In the town where I have been raised we were required to take sex ed in jr high. We are constantly told that the reason why we are taking it is to help us make positive desicsions regarding our sexual lifes. They are trying to prevent the pread of AIDS and STI's. Half the battle is knowing.

I am in grade 12 now and we mave many many options of taking money and business manageing courses. We also have options to take classes like career exploration and co op so that we can decide on our futures. We ALSO have many many classes based on sex ed and child studies in high school, which a person like me is very thankful for (as I am going into early childhood education). We have many options, butmany would rather choose an easier course.

Answer 6

This is a very good question. Perhaps because many times adults don't know how to manage their money, so if you ahve an adult who has no idea what they are doing teaching a child/teenager, the child/teenager will probably just make the same mistakes. Especially if the adult thinks they know what they are doing.

Answer 7

The high schools are required to teach a basic economics course.

Answer 8

Trust me, the elites in govt and business don't want most people to have good money management. Because then, these people could challenge the elites for supremacy. They would rather have everyone stupid and in debt so as to better control them.

Answer 9

Oh, hell! Do we really want THEM teaching our children basic money management?! LOL

I teach my child both. Just like all decent parents do.

**Disclaimer for the sensitive, this was a slam on the bureaucracy, not the teachers. **

Answer 10

its all part of the communist methods to destroy the society
by over sexualizing it
look at tv , it seems to me awhile back we became the g-string nation. i cant even go to the mall without seeing some 13 year olds mons pubus and her g string poking out
and now the agenda seems to be black guy with white girl, its in nearly every ad or tv show you see,
so people do what the tv says
dont worry about being financially responsible

Answer 11

Teacher's Union.

Just another reason to dissolve the Union or force the government out of the teacher business.
Private School has time and time again proven it is better.