Like many people, I have been thinking and thinking about our country’s economic mess. The more I think, the more I look at my three kids and hope that I am teaching them the right way to handle money. And then the more I think, the more I know that my husband and I can’t be the only people who teach our children about money. After all, we are limited by our own experiences - and they aren’t always stellar examples. So, that made me wonder what Kitsap County schools teach kids about money. And that resulted in a story (copied below) about financial education at local schools.

Just a day later I was thrilled to find that USA Today had published a story complementing the story I had written. The USA Today story identifies a trend among students who have become much more attentive in financial and economic classes as they try to unravel and understand the mess we adults have created. Let’s hope they are getting the kind of information that will draw us out of these problems in the future. Read the USA Today story here: http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2008-11-24-economics-classes_N.htm.

And my story:

Creating a Generation of Saavy Spenders - And Savers 

By Marietta Nelson

For The Sun

Seventeen-year-old Teagan Burns can’t figure out why the American economy is in such a mess.

“I’ve asked and asked and nobody can answer my questions,” said Burns, a North Kitsap High School student.

Burns takes Personal Finance, taught at NKHS by Mary Anne Alexander. When the school year began, Burns said, “I literally knew nothing” about money.

In the months since, the precocious Burns determined that a lack of knowledge “seems to be why our economy and our government are in so much trouble.”

Personal Finance should be required for everyone before they leave high school, she said. Alexander helps kids decide the difference between needs and wants and teaches everything from balancing a checkbook to investing.

“So many people leave high school knowing so much about math and history, but nothing about money,” said Burns. “If they can make me learn to run in gym, they can certainly teach me and everyone else how to balance a checkbook.”

The current economic crisis worries Kitsap County teens and they are talking about it in financial management classes at local high schools. By learning to budget, invest, buy insurance, use credit cards and more, teens hope to avoid the problems of so many adults around them.

“I want to be able financially to know what I am doing when I graduate,” said Adrianna Burgonoi, a junior at Central Kitsap High School.

State leaders recognize the importance of financial literacy, too. A task force studying financial education in public schools will report to Governor Gregoire in December with new ways to teach kids to handle money properly. Cathy Brorson serves on the task force and coordinates Kitsap Community Credit Union’s education program. KCCU employees visit Kitsap County schools dozens of times each year, reaching thousands of students, with information about money management.

“We’re just trying to open students’ eyes to all aspects of managing their finances. It’s the best thing we can do for this generation and generations to come,” said Brorson.

At CKHS, Cynthia Blinkinsop’s Money Management class began the year watching “Affluenza,” a PBS documentary exploring America’s culture of over consumption. Blinkinsop’s students have tracked expenses, including extrapolating the costs of things like electricity and house payments from their own families’ finances. Using that information, the students built personal budgets. They’ve also learned to establish credit and use credit cards wisely.

Seventeen-year-old Derrick Brillhart learned to balance his checkbook, which has been overdrawn. Brillhart works at Safeway and used to spend most of his paycheck on expensive food, like $2 energy drinks, during his breaks. Now he opts for vending machine fare that “costs like 50 cents,” he said.

Classmate Ally Holtzinger learned to read credit card offers carefully. The most recent offer she received from American Express offered her $500 just to sign up. She shredded it instead.

Sidebar:

Kitsap Community Credit Union staff members spend hundreds of hours in Kitsap County schools each year spreading information about good money management. It is part of the credit union’s “people helping people philosophy,” said Cathy Brorson, KCCU’s outreach coordinator. The classes and programs are free.

Money education from KCCU begins as early as fifth and sixth grade with a mock checking account program. Students keep checking registers, learn to write checks and fill out deposit slips. Teachers often get involved in the program too, charging desk rental fees to help students experience real-life expenses.

At junior highs and high schools, KCCU employees give lectures on budgeting, saving and investing, credit cards, insurance, identity theft and car buying. All the classes are based on curriculum from the National Endowment for Financial Education, said Brorson.

In 2006, KCCU began testing students before and after they participated in the educational programs to determine the effectiveness. Brorson said test results showed an 18 percent increase in students’ financial knowledge.

KCCU also operates mini branches at Bremerton and South Kitsap high schools. The student-run branches offer most of the services found at regular branches.

Tags: Curriculum

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