Financial Literacy and True History by Calía

Financial Literacy and True History by Calía - July 2022 Scholarship Essay

Over the next ten years, the educational system in America must make changes to ensure children grow into financially intelligent adults who know the true history of their country.
The American education system houses students who are not taught fundamental knowledge about money that they will need to possess in their adult lives. Because of this, young adults will either be required to learn this on their own during adulthood or be completely clueless when it comes to being financially intelligent.
There are several people around the world who have very low financial literacy or do not have it at all. Therefore, most Americans are living paycheck to paycheck or overspending their hard-earned money. These people are probably also not able to pay their bills on time or are in a lot of debt. Of course, gatekeeping what should be financial knowledge for all Americans, allows only a very small fraction of Americans to fall into the wealthy one percent.
If financial literacy classes were taught in public schools, there would be fewer people in these terrible, unwarranted situations. It would also allow the students learning about it to pass their knowledge down to future generations because humans learn many things in their households. This small effort to insert financial literacy classes into curriculums across America would vastly change the way most Americans handle their money.
Earlier this year, Governor Brian Kemp of Georgia recently signed a bill into law that will require high school students to take a financial literacy class in order to graduate. This allows students to gain some knowledge on how to handle their money once they’re on their own, which is a lot more than what previous graduating classes have been able to leave with.
Schools decide to teach the Pythagorean theorem and the slope-intercept form in classes across the nation, which is completely useless to most students. We have always heard the phrase “When am I going to use this in real life?” in a majority of classrooms in America. This is why America needs to start teaching students information they will be able to carry into their adult lives. However, the absence of financial literacy classes is only one of the shortcomings of the education system in the United States.
A majority of the American population does not know the true history of America. We are taught what the government deems is important and not the truth. Today, several people in the United States are gathering new knowledge on historical information that should have been taught to them while in grade school. They learn this information through their own free will, college courses, or family knowledge.
Most new information Americans learn comes as a shock. People cannot believe these very important subjects are not being discussed in the classroom. Not knowing the entire truth about one’s own country develops blind patriots. This is unfair to everyone nationwide because people should be allowed to know the truth behind their country and then decide on their patriotism.
There has always been a debate on teaching students about slavery in school. This should not be a debate. Everyone in America has the right to know the truth behind the foundation of this country. This is just one of many topics that should automatically be taught in history classes with no question.
At a young age, we were taught that Christopher Columbus was a great explorer who found the Americas when truthfully, he was not. We learned rhymes about him sailing the ocean blue and recognize his arrival in the Americas as a federal holiday. In reality, he is no real hero and was not the first person in America, therefore he did not find it. Students were taught to glorify Columbus as if he was a Saint when he was far from it. This is again one of the many topics in history that is not taught correctly.
These are just a couple of things I hope change in education within the next ten years. Students, teachers, and America deserve a lot more than what they are receiving.