Financial education – luxury or necessity?

Released December 2003

Readin,’ writin’ and ‘rithmetic. When it comes to education, no one values the basics more than I. But I don’t think they end there.

We might add a fourth element to the three R’s – finances. With today’s financial environment becoming more and more complex, it has never been more important that our children have some understanding of basic money concepts as they progress through school.

To that end, my administration has aggressively pursued financial education for West Virginia’s students, starting at the elementary level and continuing into adulthood. Our “Bank at School” program furnishes schoolteachers with financial instruction lesson plans.

I routinely appear at schools to kick off such programs, with a small presentation on the value and importance of money. We give the children plastic piggy banks to start them on the way to saving.

We also conduct adult financial education programs, such as brown bag seminars and the popular “Women & Money” conference series. Five such dates dot the calendar for 2004, beginning in Huntington in March. These conferences are tailored to women and the unique circumstances they often face in handling their money.

But we can and should do more. Let’s hope that in this legislative session a bill will emerge to make financial education mandatory for our state’s high school students.

Our treasury colleagues in Louisiana succeeded in getting a similar measure passed there. It provides for teaching high school students the principles of finance, just as they would learn biology, English or mathematics.

There, the burden doesn’t entirely fall on already busy teachers. Members of the private financial community have volunteered to take part.

There is no good reason why we can’t do the same here. Research nationwide has shown that high school and college students have minimal understanding of money, beyond spending it.

They have little knowledge of the perils of debt, such as out-of-control credit card spending, which can cripple a young adult just as he or she is trying to gain a toehold on a professional career.

Financial education is particularly important in our state, where many children don’t have the blessings of wealth and the accompanying exposure to financial principles, such as investments, borrowing and taxation.

So I ask you to support any such measure that emerges. Lobby your legislator to sponsor such a bill. The sooner we act the better.

We certainly need to get back to the three R’s. But let’s add an F – for finances – while we’re at it.