Recent years have witnessed a growing number of students leaving high school without money management skills. This essay attempts to shed light on the underlying reasons behind this phenomenon before proposing some workable solutions to address it.
There are two main explanations as to why students do not have money management skills after leaving high school. Foremost among these is the fact that many schools, nowadays, focus too much on teaching academic knowledge instead of teaching valuable life skills. The curriculum with theory learning, such as maths, english, literature is overloaded; thus, schools do not have much time to allocate to teaching practical skills. This can be seen in Vietnam, where students in high school are likely to spend twenty to thirty hours each week to study theoretical knowledge, and fewer high schools in this country organize practical lessons. Adding to the complexity of this issue is the lack of attention from family. Families, especially parents, are often too occupied with work to supervise and guide their children in essential life skills, particularly how to manage money wisely, which is really crucial in their future. Although many people argue that financial education should primarily be provided by high schools, parents remain children’s first role models when it comes to spending and saving habits. As children observe their parents’ financial behaviour on a daily basis, they naturally imitate the way adults earn, spend, and save money. Furthermore, it is parents who entrust their children with the ownership and use of money; therefore, they have a responsibility to teach their kids money management skills.
In order to address the aforementioned problem, the following steps should be taken. Chief among these is the changing teaching methods of many high schools. High schools should integrate financial education into the compulsory curriculum. Instead of concentrating too much on theoretical knowledge, schools should offer more courses and clubs about practical skills to encourage students to understand more about these, such as creating monthly budgets or planning savings goals. For instance, the high school system in Utah, America, requires that students complete a specialized course on personal finance as a mandatory condition for high school graduation, helping them develop essential money management skills before entering adulthood. Beyond that, parents can involve their children in daily financial decisions by providing a fixed allowance and guiding them on how to spend money on only necessary items and save money for their future. Ultimately, implementing this dual strategy could hold considerable promise in managing money wisely in the younger generation.
In conclusion, the lack of financial education in high schools and parental guidance are the main reasons why students leave high schools without money management skills. However, this issue can be resolved by a combination of modernizing school programs and practical guidance at home; as a result, the younger generation can be well-equipped to manage their finances effectively.