School Responsibilities

Interesting comments and experiences above. I suppose I have two main reactions to them all:

I think it's a bit simplified to suggest that "The kids paying attention are already learning these lessons, the kids not paying attention are not going to learn this lesson just because you mandate it to be taught." With all due respect to your teaching experience, I can think of a number of young people in my own extended family who are good students but whose parents don't know squat about budgeting and finance and could/probably would very much benefit from the instruction.

Second, I totally get and agree that the "My kid goes to _________ " phenomenon is a real thing and is pretty ridiculous. But sending your child more than a day's drive away from home for college can be a really great experience for them. I agree that it's not worth going into heavy debt for, but if you're fortunate enough to avoid that through scholarships or being financially blessed, it's a great life experience. I'd say that's especially so in NOLA and Louisiana -- it's perhaps not as bad as it used to be, but the provincialism here can be pretty stifling.