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Financial Fitness


South Carolina is proposing that all public school students take a fitness course in personal finance.  A great idea!  Since public schools are teaching so little these days and the colleges have become training schools, it seems a natural that the public school should teach at least one practical skill – beyond reading poorly, writing poorly, and with little ability at math.  At least, our youngsters will begin to understand finance charges, interest rates, and payment costs.
Personally, in high school, I took a business math course, and it was among those courses I still remember many years later. It took me years to educate my college educated daughter about the huge cost difference of just one-half a percentage point meant on a house loan.  Kids are not born with this knowledge!
In years of teaching math, it is rare that students...
  • Know how to compute interest, or even understand interest.
  • Know how to compute a mortgage payment, have even a clue how much a small change in interest may cost.
  • Know what a future value is. 

A financial fitness course covers these topics, and they are most important in life.

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