The Course That Should Not Be Optional by Emmanuella

The Course That Should Not Be Optional by Emmanuella - June 2025 Scholarship Essay

In the grand playhouse of high school, we are trained to become scholars, scientists, and artists. We dissect, frogs, solve for x, recite Shakespeare—but we graduate not knowing how to file taxes or manage a credit score. It’s like we’re handed the keys to adulthood without learning how to drive. That’s why if I could turn any elective into a required class, it would be Financial Literacy. Not just as a semester-long special or a quick online module, but as a full, mandatory course rooted in real-world survival. Because the truth is, money doesn’t care if you were on the honor roll—it will humble you if you don’t understand it.
Financial Literacy is more than numbers. It’s fluency in a language most of us don’t even realize we’re supposed to speak. It teaches students how to budget, save, invest, build credit, and avoid the black hole of debt. These aren’t just skills—they’re shields. In a world where financial stress is one of the leading causes of anxiety and even broken homes, teaching young people how to manage money is a form of preventative care.
I’ve watched family members struggle with financial decisions not because they lacked intelligence, but because they lacked guidance. Credit cards became traps. Loans became anchors. And dreams were delayed—not from lack of ambition, but from a lack of access to this invisible curriculum. If students learned compound interest the way they learned the Pythagorean Theorem, fewer people would fall into financial quicksand. Imagine a class where every student graduates with a personal budget, a basic understanding of the stock market, and a roadmap for college costs or their first apartment lease. A class that demystifies taxes, introduces Roth IRAs, and explains why that $500 payday loan is a red flag wrapped in glitter. That’s the kind of class that could change the trajectory of a generation.
Some might argue that these lessons belong at home. But what happens when your home has never been taught either? Generational financial literacy doesn’t magically appear—it has to be planted. Schools are in a powerful position to plant those seeds. Financial Literacy also builds agency. It gives students the power to say “no” to fast money and “yes” to long-term growth. It transforms fear into confidence, confusion into clarity. In a sense, it doesn’t just teach you how to handle money—it teaches you how to handle yourself. In a world where student debt balloons like a storm cloud over new graduates, where misinformation about money spreads faster than facts, and where many students will be financially independent the moment they walk across the stage, this class is not a luxury—it’s a lifeline.