3 ms·

>Granted there’s a certain amount of discipline that every student has to bring to the table to start. And that is your answer as to why teaching financial lit

>Granted there’s a certain amount of discipline that every student has to bring to the table to start. And that is your answer as to why teaching financial literacy is as worthless as teaching Calculus to a kid going to be a welder. Discipline is a learned skill; a trained behavior. It is not ingrained in people naturally. Telling kids how a checking account works still is not going to stop people who think they can "beat the bank" waiting for checks to clear. I've worked in banking for about 5 years and teaching financial literacy isn't going to help kids one damn bit. Kids who are prone to jealousy and status will be more likely to prone to breaking their discipline to deal with FOMO or display some sort of status that they have money (even though they don't cause they bought some worthless expensive item). It's straight up sociological at this point. Men do what men do for money, power, women, or complete self interest. Straight up evolutionary science at this point, they compete for resources by expending other resources for a risk. It doesn't matter how much you teach people about saving money, if they personally feel like blowing every dime at the bar will garner them the rewards they think they can get, they will do it. You cannot tell them otherwise because then you are saying people cannot have free will in choice of how they spend their money. >But the best we can do with education is arm people with the right skills and knowledge to at least have a fighting chance. If you give a dolphin a pencil, it's still not going to learn how to write. Likewise, if you give a financially illiterate person the "knowledge" of how not to blow your whole check and cut costs, they still will figure out something they "need" to spend it all. I mean when we file our taxes every year, they are essentially a forced savings account at the end of the year put on hold for people like this basically. And go figure, they blow it all away on a new toy now that it wasn't budget funds originally! Or worse, they're in a situation that they cannot save because they keep getting dealt shitty hands that incur massive expenses putting them in financial serfdom. No amount of "just save your money" or Dave Ramsey bs can fix this.

mixmastamyk 5y ago
And? The goal of education should not be to force people to conform. Necessary but not sufficient, is a well known phrase that applies to the situation.
arisAlexis 5y ago
I disagree. You need to know what an interest rate is and what wealth generation from owning part of companies (stocks) is and what inflation is and then decided to do or not to do anything. Not teaching is surely incorrect. What's the logic I can't follow it at all. Since people are going to smoke anyway let's not tell them smoking is bad since they will still smoke? That's outright dangerous thinking.
- MeinBlutIstBlau 5y ago
  If you somehow failed out of at least 8th grade math where you handle fractions, no you don't. Most loan docs give you a amortization schedule that shows you the payments for the life of the loan with how much goes to interest and how much goes toward principal. If you don't get one you can certainly request it. >what wealth generation from owning part of companies (stocks) is The average person figures out how businesses are set up when they actually do it, not in high school when they have 0 capital and 0 connections to actually form a legitimate business. On top of that, telling kids to get into stocks is ludicrous. It's essentially telling teaching them about gambling early on. Tell them "Max your 401k to your employers match and if you got more leftover, add more to it." That is like 80% of Americans retirement right there. >Not teaching is surely incorrect So should we teach our kids how to survive in a bar brawl or in a shootout too? What about doomsday prepping for when a major catastrophe occurs like a tornado/hurricane/earthquake? All of these scenarios are just as likely to be beneficial and life saving. My main argument is, it's gonna fall on deaf ears and only those that care will learn over time as they need to. Many students, especially young men, do not care whatsoever about concepts they haven't even had an opportunity to be engaged with, let alone had a first job at that point. >What's the logic I can't follow it at all. Since people are going to smoke anyway let's not tell them smoking is bad since they will still smoke? That's outright dangerous thinking. Well...seeing as economies and people have gotten along just fine without teaching these things for what..4-6 millennia now? I think it hardly bears on the realm of "essential" education.
  - arisAlexis 5y ago
    > So should we teach our kids how to survive in a bar brawl or in a shootout too? What about doomsday prepping for when a major catastrophe occurs like a tornado/hurricane/earthquake? All of these scenarios are just as likely to be beneficial and life saving. Obviously it's a yes,yes and yes. And it's being actively done when all USA schools have preparations for active shooters. > . Many students, especially young men, do not care whatsoever about concepts they In the same argument why teach kids anything? The smart ones will figure out themselves by reading books and the rest will perish and become cab drivers.

mixmastamyk 5y ago

And? The goal of education should not be to force people to conform. Necessary but not sufficient, is a well known phrase that applies to the situation.

arisAlexis 5y ago

I disagree. You need to know what an interest rate is and what wealth generation from owning part of companies (stocks) is and what inflation is and then decided to do or not to do anything. Not teaching is surely incorrect. What's the logic I can't follow it at all. Since people are going to smoke anyway let's not tell them smoking is bad since they will still smoke? That's outright dangerous thinking.

MeinBlutIstBlau 5y ago
If you somehow failed out of at least 8th grade math where you handle fractions, no you don't. Most loan docs give you a amortization schedule that shows you the payments for the life of the loan with how much goes to interest and how much goes toward principal. If you don't get one you can certainly request it. >what wealth generation from owning part of companies (stocks) is The average person figures out how businesses are set up when they actually do it, not in high school when they have 0 capital and 0 connections to actually form a legitimate business. On top of that, telling kids to get into stocks is ludicrous. It's essentially telling teaching them about gambling early on. Tell them "Max your 401k to your employers match and if you got more leftover, add more to it." That is like 80% of Americans retirement right there. >Not teaching is surely incorrect So should we teach our kids how to survive in a bar brawl or in a shootout too? What about doomsday prepping for when a major catastrophe occurs like a tornado/hurricane/earthquake? All of these scenarios are just as likely to be beneficial and life saving. My main argument is, it's gonna fall on deaf ears and only those that care will learn over time as they need to. Many students, especially young men, do not care whatsoever about concepts they haven't even had an opportunity to be engaged with, let alone had a first job at that point. >What's the logic I can't follow it at all. Since people are going to smoke anyway let's not tell them smoking is bad since they will still smoke? That's outright dangerous thinking. Well...seeing as economies and people have gotten along just fine without teaching these things for what..4-6 millennia now? I think it hardly bears on the realm of "essential" education.
- arisAlexis 5y ago
  > So should we teach our kids how to survive in a bar brawl or in a shootout too? What about doomsday prepping for when a major catastrophe occurs like a tornado/hurricane/earthquake? All of these scenarios are just as likely to be beneficial and life saving. Obviously it's a yes,yes and yes. And it's being actively done when all USA schools have preparations for active shooters. > . Many students, especially young men, do not care whatsoever about concepts they In the same argument why teach kids anything? The smart ones will figure out themselves by reading books and the rest will perish and become cab drivers.