Show me the money by Roshni

Show me the money by Roshni - October 2016 Scholarship Essay

If the roles were reversed, which academic subject would you teach and why?

I would like to teach the subject of ‘personal finance’.
‘Whether you like it or not, you are a money manager’ said William Bernstein, financial theorist and author. I would be happy in spreading love to the world but reality is money makes the world go round and round, they say. Knowing how to not only earn a living but understand the impact of money, personally and globally is of prime importance for survival today. This subject not only impacts kids but our whole lives and I feel the schools need to start teaching this. Unfortunately, there aren’t many schools doing that, including mine.
When I was little, I thought the ATM was a money vending machine. When I watched movies like ‘Jerry Maguire’ ‘The big short’ about the housing market, Enron and heard words like recession or stock market crash, I couldn’t fully comprehend them. I thought my parents would be willing to teach me soon, since I’ll be off to college and will be living independently in the dorms. I’m also trying to understanding the financial packages and tuition calculation of various schools, I’m applying to and hearing the words FAFSA, loans, grants etc. I see my parents discussing annual taxes, credit card statements, FICO score, mortgages, insurance premiums, retirements, 529 plans and 401K etc. They are uncomfortable discussing too much about it with me but I know they wish I could be informed about them for the future.
I have studied higher level math including algebra, trigonometry, calculus and statistics but the practicality of using them is still muddling to me. I feel the practicality of teaching personal finance will not only be useful but a knowledge that the child can use in future to make good financial decisions and actually use it for the rest of their lives, every day. Learning about personal finance will not only teach up about saving, responsibility, money management and thinking of the common good to help charities.
I suggest starting a curriculum in junior high school to teach kids about the concept of saving. They can emphasize the need the do so with examples which they can understand easily and relate to. Teaching basic banking, checking and saving’s account, writing a check, balancing your account and discussing a small budget plan like vacation and using Monopoly to do so would be fun. Discussing about loans and interest rate would be ideal entering high school, since many kids will be excited about driving and looking into car purchases. Talking about credit cards, including debit cards that students usually get from their parents would teach them not to blindly overspend than just swiping at purchases. Loans and debt can be explained together as you enter junior and senior years. For entrepreneurs, investment and stocks could be learnt by the tutorials from Khan Academy and Morningstar. I also suggest a competency test for high school graduation.
Isn’t high school supposed to prepare a child for college, career and be your stepping stone towards the future. I strongly believe that this foundation of ‘personal finance’ will prepare a child to think about money more seriously and plan for the future better.