School Responsibilities (2 Viewers)

[St. Widge]

Now you know 2 kids.

Well, 1 minus the 3.9 and perfect ACT//SAT scores....LOLOL.

Let me be clear that those scores were not for my kid. She's really smart and had good ACT/SAT and GPA, but not those numbers.

 

[mjcouvi]

I think the problem with teaching how money works and really citizenship or Civics is that all have competing ideologies that will ultimately lead to biases in how they are taught. So, unfortunately, whatever is taught will need to be something very neutral like why it's bad to take on debt, why it's good to save money, why you want to invest over the long term, etc.

Right, and maybe this should just be for smart kids, I don't know, but if the kids become too curious then you'll ultimately have to do all of that debt/savings talk while simultaneously explaining how their government, which supposedly decides upon their education, does the complete opposite of logical money management, yet thrives.

 

[HoustonSaint68]

We offered the same "deal" to them....in state we pay for everything....out of state we pay what we would have paid in state and they borrow the rest.....the both went to state schools....zero debt...

Oh, just one other quick point on this "in-state" approach if your kid has good enough grades to be in hailing distance of scholarships, and especially if they have some interesting extra-curriculars that they would apply at the college-level (like they play the flute, or does drama, etc.):

A lot of schools are looking for geographical diversity. So where Ole Miss or Arkansas might not throw any money at your tuba-playing daughter from Louisiana, the University of Iowa or Minnesota or San Diego might. My kid had really good grades and decent extra-curriculars but nothing spectacular -- but he was from Texas and there weren't a whole helluva lot of kids from Texas wanting to go to the University of Oregon. They gave him a scholarship which we ended up cajoling them to increase to equal the out-of-state differential -- all because they wanted more Deep South students for their student body diversity.

But, you do have to be proactive about enaging the school and there are additional costs associated with air travel and the like.

 

[jayd265]

Much needed in schools

 

[mjcouvi]

And for the poor kids whose parents actually are good about the bit of money they earn, and if those kids are capable of just basic understanding, you'll have to explain why it still sucks for them even though, technically, their parents' money management is fairly sound.

They should be taught that, in order to accumulate wealth, one needs an IN -- that could be hard work, a great break, nepotism, luck, inheritance, a spectacular idea, tremendous networking, or a complete lie, whatever -- something along these lines is what it takes to become wealthy and move to the next hierarchy in our society, if you're not where you want to be.

If you don't become wealthy, then you just have to grind day-to-day as the value of what you earn is destroyed by people with more power and influence than you.

The challenges surrounding teaching kids about money is more challenging than I thought.

 

[HoustonSaint68]

I know Rice is one of them, but I didn't know that A&M was like that.

Oh geez, A&M is outrageous with that, especially in the energy field and especially in Houston or Dallas. It's pretty shameless.

 

[porculator]

Right, and maybe this should just be for smart kids, I don't know, but if the kids become too curious then you'll ultimately have to do all of that debt/savings talk while simultaneously explaining how their government, which supposedly decides upon their education, does the complete opposite of logical money management, yet thrives.

I feel like you want to talk about a lot more than high school curriculum.

You're talking about macroeconomics, or some version of it. That's generally a first year college course, and obviously a pre-requisite for business/marketing/economics etc. But maybe it should be expanded to be more universal so its not only taught to the folks who intend to use it to exploit the rest of us

 

[efil4stnias]

Let me be clear that those scores were not for my kid. She's really smart and had good ACT/SAT and GPA, but not those numbers.

let me be clear- i didnt FINISH out my HS career at Ben Franklin LOL

You simply cannot give a 15 year old in the mid 80s, off-campus lunch ( 1 hr ) with Cooter Browns, Daquiri shop ( had the baddest/latest stand up arcade consoles ) and Camellia Grill within 5 min walking distance. Especially one that LOVED to drink, play video games and eat.

LOL What a great 2 years tho...thanks for the memories Carrolton ave.

 

[efil4stnias]

Oh, just one other quick point on this "in-state" approach if your kid has good enough grades to be in hailing distance of scholarships, and especially if they have some interesting extra-curriculars that they would apply at the college-level (like they play the flute, or does drama, etc.):

A lot of schools are looking for geographical diversity. So where Ole Miss or Arkansas might not throw any money at your tuba-playing daughter from Louisiana, the University of Iowa or Minnesota or San Diego might. My kid had really good grades and decent extra-curriculars but nothing spectacular -- but he was from Texas and there weren't a whole helluva lot of kids from Texas wanting to go to the University of Oregon. They gave him a scholarship which we ended up cajoling them to increase to equal the out-of-state differential -- all because they wanted more Deep South students for their student body diversity.

But, you do have to be proactive about enaging the school and there are additional costs associated with air travel and the like.

to add- there are some MS schools ( i know USM is one ) that will accept TOPS. So that plays a role too.

 

[mjcouvi]

I feel like you want to talk about a lot more than high school curriculum.

You're talking about macroeconomics, or some version of it. That's generally a first year college course, and obviously a pre-requisite for business/marketing/economics etc. But maybe it should be expanded to be more universal so its not only taught to the folks who intend to use it to exploit the rest of us

True dat. It’s not explained plainly even in upper level college finance courses. It doesn’t take much thought to understand money is one of the most important resources and those who manipulate the quantity of it, or those who understand how it’s devalued systematically, benefit by design.

Or maybe it is actually too simple, or just too civilized, entrenched, burnt into the mind of the people, how it’s done, and wrapping one’s head around it is too much like trying to understand the reason for your own existence. It’s too basic, too rudimentary, to be changed meaningfully, even though it’s devastating to the masses.

 

[St. Widge]

I feel like you want to talk about a lot more than high school curriculum.

You're talking about macroeconomics, or some version of it. That's generally a first year college course, and obviously a pre-requisite for business/marketing/economics etc. But maybe it should be expanded to be more universal so its not only taught to the folks who intend to use it to exploit the rest of us

There are high schools that teach Macroeconomics. Ben Franklin is one of them, but I suspect that it pretty rare in the State of Louisiana. I know my Catholic High School didn't come close to teaching things like that. Schools probably should offer things like that but, at least in New Orleans, most of the schools are struggling to have the money to teach basic match and grammar skills much less teach finance and macroeconomics. So, while it's feasible at Ben Franklin and maybe a few of the Catholic High schools, it's probably not feasible in the curriculum of most public schools in New Orleans or Louisiana in general.

Although from a post above, we apparently have a law similar to the one Florida is passing, but I'm not sure how well it has been implemented.

 

[St. Widge]

Oh geez, A&M is outrageous with that, especially in the energy field and especially in Houston or Dallas. It's pretty shameless.

Probably shouldn't be surprising the energy field with companies like Shell headquartered in Houston. A mentor for my daughter's robotics team went to A&M and was a Shell Chemical engineer for 30 or so years in Houston. He always encouraged the kids to go to A&M. Especially if they wanted to do Chemical Engineering. I always thought it was just school pride and, since my daughter either wanted Naval Engineering or Electrical Engineering, I didn't explore it more. But, that's probably why he was so big on A&M.

 

[SWJJ]

Which classes taught financial literacy? I guess I didn't pay attention. Everyone, every year, complains they aren't teaching the skills to prepare kids for the "real world". Legislation is passed to teach these skills, but it's feel good.

LOL.

Free Enterprise (Civics) and Business Math both teach these aspects.
We are not teaching kids skills to prep them for the real world, there I agree, but many things people say "aren't taught" are things that were taught to them, they just didn't use it/remember it/forgot it.

 

[sfidc3]

Oh, just one other quick point on this "in-state" approach if your kid has good enough grades to be in hailing distance of scholarships, and especially if they have some interesting extra-curriculars that they would apply at the college-level (like they play the flute, or does drama, etc.):

A lot of schools are looking for geographical diversity. So where Ole Miss or Arkansas might not throw any money at your tuba-playing daughter from Louisiana, the University of Iowa or Minnesota or San Diego might. My kid had really good grades and decent extra-curriculars but nothing spectacular -- but he was from Texas and there weren't a whole helluva lot of kids from Texas wanting to go to the University of Oregon. They gave him a scholarship which we ended up cajoling them to increase to equal the out-of-state differential -- all because they wanted more Deep South students for their student body diversity.

But, you do have to be proactive about enaging the school and there are additional costs associated with air travel and the like.

Great points....my older son had multiple soccer scholarship offers from some Division 1 schools but had no interest in playing college soccer...."They own you dad, I wouldn't have a social life"....most soccer scholarships aren't full but would have easily made up the difference between in and out of state (as you alluded above)....I really wanted him to further his soccer career but it all turned out for the best....

 

[HoustonSaint68]

...even though it’s devastating to the masses.

I really do think I get where you're coming from and perhaps I even agree relative to how much better things theoretically could be. But it always gives me pause when people use phrases like the above which seem to indicate an unwillingness to relate conditions today to pretty much any other sheetty point in the entirety of human history.

Capitalism, (relatively) free markets and, especially, human greed and ambition suck in a ton of ways but there is no denying their positive impact in raising masses and masses of the human race out of abject poverty. Capital markets have and always will need course corrections because human beings are imperfect and also often suck. And I freely acknowledge that: 1) we're currently in a new robber baron era that needs to be trust-busted just as has been done previously in our history; and 2) it is morally bankrupt for the richest country in the world to not provide basic, affordable medical care to each and every one of its citizens.

However, throwing the baby out with the bathwater makes no sense. What's the alternative?? And please, not the Scandanavian model, which is to a great degree built on fossil fuels, draconian immigration policy, and/or an ability to essentially ignore spending on national defense. Frankly, there will be a limit to our own economic system's ability to make things really right so long as maniacs like Putin force so much spending on guns instead of butter, and certainly with the looming climate crisis and no easy path away from fossil fuels.

Sincere apologies if I've misinterpreted your post but I can't figure another explanation of your intent when you use the phrase "devastating to the masses" in the context of a discussion about current macroeconomics.