Why don't we teach "Credit" as a highschool course?

My school does. We have several classes dealing with credit, stocks, taxes, etc. You’re required to take at least one in order to graduate.

You’re right. More schools should offer it.

Wow that is nice to hear. I’ve never heard of a highschool offering, much less requiring, such a course!

There is a class at my daughters high school that teaches about practical math in everyday life (I can’t remember the name of it though). It addresses these things, and sounds like a great course. Sadly, it isn’t a required class but one of many options to get a math credit. It’s not even really encouraged, as it’s seen as an alternative to higher math, not an addition to it. I think every high school student should have some of this type of education before graduation. I know I wish I had.

@augustlan I agree!

I would have benefited much more from a Credit course than I did Mississippi Studies, Geometry, Algebra, and P.E. !!!!

Our schools do, but I doubt it does much good, because by the time students get to that level, they hate school, and barely learn anything.

My school covered it.
It’s a good idea to teach it but people will still act irresponsibly with their credit. People who get into credit trouble know what’s happening. They see bills show up in the mail and the know they have to pay it but they make a conscious decision not to. Any rational person recognizes that this is not a cycle that can be perpetuated without consequence.

It was required at my High School. A year of it. First half of the year was Stuff like credit cards and taxes. Second half was econ stuff. Mostly macro.

Ahhh…we didn’t have anything like that but I think a basic personal finance and business class should be required.

Economics is a required course in California. My students have been learning a lot this year about Credit as the current events component of the class. My final is a project on personal economics where they have to write about credit choices among other things. They find out that a family of four can barely make it in our city on $50,000/yr.

Econ was one of my favorite high school classes because it did go over credit. So many kids had credit cards with their names but under parental accts. and had no idea how they really worked. I see that as an example of a young person getting in over their head when they start receiving offers for credit in their names only. Credit card companies hit up students on campuses all the time, at least they did.

@YARNLADY: That’s an incredibly sad view of students. I don’t know anyone who hated school by senior year. The kids who struggled through learning disabilities, family troubles or other personal problems might have, but most students I knew enjoyed learning.

In general the schools in California are graduating students that are so poorly educated that the secondary schools put them in remedial classes for the first year, and companies are actually forming “fifth year” classses for their prospective employees.

@YARNLADY Well they are great at multiple choice tests thanks to the time spent preparing them for standardized tests, thanks to NCLB & CAHSEE. The best thing about teaching Srs is no standardized testing.

My school offered something in high school. My college offered a “financial fitness” non-credit course.

@galileogirl Do you mean Seniors in High School, or seniors as in senior citizens. High School seniors in California have the dreaded CHSPE, and also the SAT and the ACT.

@YARNLADY CAHSEE=California High School Exit Exam, which most students pass in the 10th grade (it is basically 10th grade level ie math up to Algebra 1). If they don’t pass the CAHSEE in 10th grade they get several chances in 11th and 12th grade to pass. In our school only about 20 of the 450 srs haven’t passed it. There is 1 more opportunity in May and those who fail that can take a summer school class and graduate from summer school.

The standardized testing I was referring to comes up next week when grades 2–11 have up to 18 hours of multiple choice test sessions. The schools must show improvement on these scores every year or be identified as failing. A school can also fail if every ethnic subgroup does not show improved scores even when the school as a whole improves.

For the other Srs, the exit exam is done by a DR, no heartbeat-you’ve “graduated”

@galileogirl I homeschooled my two sons, and my 3 (now adult) grandsons, so I was not aware of that. PS, I passed my DR exam ***YAY***

thats a good idea. Good credit is just as important, if not more so, as career.