Teaching
Law and Personal Finance in Public Schools
by
B. Dear
I
am
a product of
the Public School System. Although my educational background differ
from many of you, I have some doubts about my
education,
and whether it was effective in teaching me the basic information
that I needed to know in life. There were a number of subjects
I
had to relearn after graduation. Specifically, I don't think
they
taught me anything useful about the law or personal finance.
I think it is interesting that these subjects where totally
omitted in my educational curriculum since they are probably two of the
most important subjects to receive training in. Law is a subject that
you are responsible for being quite familiar with (since ignorance of
the law is never a
defense) and a misstep, could land you in a lot of
trouble. Personal Finance is equally as important. Many people first
start learning about how to manage their money after they have a job
and are trying to make a living. This seems very late in the game for
me. Knowing something about these subjects
would certainly help a lot.
Now, some of you might say that your parents should teach you these
things. I think this is an assumption that shouldn't necessarily be
made. If you
went to public school like I did, chances are that your parents still
probably don't have a strong command of these subjects. Wealthy parents
send their children to private schools and use private
tutors.This
isn't a knock on public schools, just stating a fact that should be
considered.
So what subjects should be considered? I would recommend the following:
- Basic Business Law
- Basic Personal Accounting
- Investing
- Insurance
- Real Estate
These
classes don't need to be detailed college level courses. They
simply need to teach you enough to function effectively as a
responsible citizen. At some point, everyone needs to buy a house, plan
for retirement, insure their car, pay their bills. These classes would
teach that information. |
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