Financial Literacy for Kids a Necessity

COMMENTARY | It's rare that I applaud the government. Well, pop the bubbly.

On November 8, Education Secretary Arne Duncan called on a special advisory board to find a way to incorporate financial literacy into core curriculum. Duncan's ambitious goal includes the kindergarten level. Has the lack of financial learning over the years played a role in the current disturbing state of the U.S. economy? I'm confident that many kids know what a command line parameter is about. Do they have a clue what personal-finance means? Should they? I think it's time.

Hearing about Duncan's proposal got me thinking. In high school, I would have traded the Greek Mythology course I had to take in favor of some instruction in managing money. Don't get me wrong: learning about Gods and Goddesses was a lot of fun. However, neither the Titans nor the Olympians could save me from bouncing checks later in life. The old saying, "How can I be overdrawn when I still have checks?" is probably not as comical as it was intended to be. Thank heavens my husband is a money guru.

Every child or young adult in the U.S. was not born to parents who are financial wizards. When it comes to money management, many parents bumble along doing the best they know how. If parents don't know the fundamentals of money responsibility, how will their children learn the nuts and bolts of handling money?

My mom was terrible with money. Clearly, she was unable to be a role model in the money realm. For me, it would have been a fantastic opportunity to become financially literate in school. I learned more than I cared to know about Cronus and Zeus. I could have just as easily learned the life-enhancing process of saving, budgeting, and perhaps some small-scale investing.

Duncan's financial education brainstorm is a worthy proposition. However, I'm grappling with a major concern: With all the stuff already crammed into a typical school day, I have to question how teachers would fit yet another course into their hectic schedule.

Plus, most teachers specialize in a particular subject. Will the burden of adding personal-finance lessons fall on the shoulders of America's math teachers?

More often than not, I stand firm that the government should back off. Let people run their lives as they see fit. Duncan's proposal, though, is a sound one. More than ever, financial literacy seems to be a critical necessity in formal education.

Poor money management has been tearing the U.S. apart for too long. Kids have never been more intelligent than they are right now. Teach them important money skills. In the long run, they may well have the know-how to prevent this country from another financial disaster like the one it's dealing with today.