Financial Literacy in School

I attended a Boot Camp last week. No, it was not an exercise camp (although that’s much needed). It was a financial boot camp for educators! It was sponsored by the NJ Coalition for Financial Education ( NJCFE ).

It was a very interesting two days for me. First, I was the only “non-teacher” in attendance. I discovered that for a large majority of the teachers, they were going to be teaching personal finance for the first time this fall. This Boot Camp was their primary training on “personal finance” curriculum.

Did you know that the New Jersey State Board of Education added “at least 2.5 credits in financial, economic, business, and entrepreneurial literacy, effective with the 2010-2011 grade nine class” as a requirement for graduation? 

While this is an admirable policy (and a much needed life skill), a few of the teachers I spoke to at the Boot Camp felt like the requirements for students to graduate are becoming overwhelming. Some teachers spoke about all the other pressures of AP classes, standardized tests, and extracurricular activities such as sports, jobs or volunteering.

The good news is that the Boot Camp was informative and full of resources for the teachers to develop great curriculum on financial literacy. I plan to incorporate many of the materials into my workshops.

I’d like to hear from you:

What “financial literacy” courses are offered in your school district?