Chances are pretty good that if you're reading this blog, you believe as I do that students need to understand the economy and their role in it. This includes how to handle their personal finances as well as how to understand the larger national and world economic stage and how it impacts them.
I ran across a video interview (link no longer operative) with Carrie Schwab-Pomerantz, chief strategist for consumer education at Charles Schwab, talking about the 2008 Schwab Parents and Money Survey. For the most part, there's little new here and, unless my media-player hiccupped, there's a portion of the interview that's repeated. But one thing did jump out at me. According the survey, boys and girls are frequently taught differently when it comes to personal finance. With boys, the focus tends to be on investing and the stock market. With girls, the focus tends to be on budgeting and saving. I've not seen the study. (If anybody can provide a link, I'd appreciate it.) I do suspect it is correct. I've read elsewhere that, as adults, women tend to be less confident about their ability to invest than men. That does not translate to men are better at investing than women, by the way -- just more confident.
I would say that if the data is correct, we do need to do a better job at making sure the messages to both boys and girls are consistent when it comes to personal finance. Both parts of the personal finance curriculum are important, and budgeting is as important a skill for men as it is for women.
By the way, if you're looking for a comprehensive story covering the Survey, check out this story at CNBC.
I look forward to any comments you may wish to share.
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1 comment:
I agree that boys are taught different skills than girls. Given the chance though, both boys and girls need to learn both to save and invest, plus learn how to budget so they can. Economic and financial literacy is very important for our country as a whole.
The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis has written lesson plans for elementary through high school teachers. A Basket of Bangles is one of many on our website atwww.stlouisfed.org/education. Inside the Vault comes out twice a year and has excellent lessons on economic and financial literacy. You can access these lessons through that site as well.
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