America’s economy has been slowly crumbling before our very eyes. The nation has gone from a frivolous society to one of ever increasing frugality in the past decade alone. It has been said numerous times that the current generation of high school and college students may be compared to their predecessors who lived through the Great Depression. The focus on Algebra in high school is beneficial to a meager portion of the student population but, after college it is rarely used on the level in which it is taught. Although mathematics is essential learning material for any pupil, mandatory Consumer Economics classes would better suit graduates of this era by assisting in living in the real world, keeping their finances in order and preventing scholars from drowning in an increasing sea of debt. Consumer economics is widely known now as just another Home Economics class. It is based mostly on the microeconomics within a family unit and the instruction of consumers in areas such as banking and financial planning. Classes like this were once a staple in American education and helped students learn how to manage their finances, live on a budget and balance a checkbook. Increasingly, many public high schools, including the one I graduated from, are cutting out classes like consumer economics on the basis that the math contained therein is not advanced enough and that students should be more on par with other countries who are excelling in math and sciences; Algebra, Calculus, Chemistry and Physics to be more precise. All in all, this sounds like a great idea, however, even while learning advanced mathematics the average student in the U.S.A. has somehow managed to graduate without knowing how to balance a checkbook, still needs hel... ... middle of paper ... ... and “low” APR then even those who are doubtful are probably going to sign up, too. Credit scores can be ruined in a heartbeat, take years to heal and during the Freshman year of college this student is only beginning the road to creditworthiness. It will eventually affect the ability to buy a house, car and in some states employment opportunities. Mathematics is important subject matter for every student in the United States of America. However, with the implication of more advanced mathematics courses and the destruction of consumer directed economics classes there are increasingly less and less students who know how to make it in the jungle known as the “real world.” The ability to learn essential information like balancing a checkbook or creating a budget have been lost and as a result the entire nation is experiencing an ever-growing economic decline.
Once high school ends, most students progress to college after a year or two from graduation. Due to all of the expenses for textbooks and etc., the student might realize that they don’t comprehend what to conserve or spend their money on to get through their years of college which will leave them clueless on what to do next. With situations like this that might occur, all high school students should take a financial literacy class as part of the mandatory course in order to get a diploma. With a numerous amount of students not having enough knowledge about how to manage their money carefully, presumably they’ll have trouble living their life as an adult. Taking a financial literacy class would help students stay out of debt, they’ll be prepared for their future, and they would recognize the discrepancies between wants and needs.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, college tuition and relevant fees have increased by 893 percent (“College costs and the CPI”). 893 percent is a very daunting percentage considering that it has surpassed the rise in the costs of Medicare, food, and housing. As America is trying to pull out of a recession, many students are looking for higher education so they can attain a gratified job. However, their vision is being stained by the dreadful rise in college costs. College tuition is rising beyond inflation. Such an immense rise in tuition has many serious implications for students; for example, fewer students are attending private colleges, fewer students are staying enrolled in college, and fewer students are working in the fields in which they majored in.
Ask any college student to state one of their largest expenses and it would be safe to bet the response would be “Textbook prices!” The cost of purchasing required materials for courses has reached numbers high enough to cause many students to take out second loans. Information released this year by the American Enterprise Institute shows that “College textbook prices have increased faster than tuition, health care costs and housing prices, all of which have risen faster than inflation” (Kingkade, 2013). This information equates to an 812% increase in the cost of college textbooks over what they were just over thirty years ago (Kingkade, 2013). The figure here shows an unusually large increase that has far outpaced that of average inflation. Combine this information with the equally troubling information released by Bloomberg stating “college tuition and fees have increased 1,120 percent since records began in 1978” and a serious financial problem for students emerges(Huffington Post, 2012). One thing should be clear given these statistics: something must be done to help lessen the financial burden being placed on today’s students. Considering the implications of these two figures, the University of Delaware should attempt to remedy the increasing cost of textbooks as soon as possible before they overwhelm students any more than they already have. In order to help reduce these runaway costs, this institution should pursue a policy similar to those high schools and elementary schools practice, namely a sort of loan program.
High school seniors need to be taught economic responsibility. Economic responsibility should not only be taught in the schools, but in the home as well. As we have discussed in prior chapters, some of the reason we are in the mess we find ourselves in is due to the overspending not only by individuals, but the government as well. Arthur MacEwan states, “U.S. consumers have a reliance on credit and fail to look beyond the present” (2012, p. 6) As a consumer the high school senior needs to be taught how to look beyond what they see. How are they going to pay for the credit they have taken out, if our country hits another recession and they are left without employment?
Although a college education grows more and more expensive every year. People begin to question whether college is a good idea to invest in or not. “As college costs continue to rise, students and their families are looking more carefully at what they are getting for their money. Increasingly, they are finding that the college experience falls short of their expectations”(Cooper. H Mary). Many people believe that the cost of a college degree has outstripped the value of a degree.Studies show that a college degree will increase your earning power. A lot of people say that a college degree now is worth what a high school diploma was wor...
A college education has become the expectation for most youth in the United States. Children need a college education to succeed in the global economy. Unfortunately for the majority of Americans the price of an education has become the equivalent to a small house. The steep tuition of a college education has made it an intimidating financial hurdle for middle class families. In 1986-1987 school year the average tuition at a private university was $20,566 (adjusted to 2011 dollars) while in 2011 the average cost was $28,500 for an increase of 38.6%. Similarly in public universities there has been an increase in tuition: in the 1986-1987 school year the average tuition at a public university was $8,454 (adjusted to 2011 dollars) while in 2011 the average cost was actually $20,770 for an increase of 145.7%. Most families who are able to save for college try to do so, therefore their children are not left with large amounts of debt due to loans. Nevertheless, families are only able to save on average around $10,000, which is not enough to pay for a full educ...
I also learned that mathematics was more than merely an intellectual activity: it was a necessary tool for getting a grip on all sorts of problems in science and engineering. Without mathematics there is no progress. However, mathematics could also show its nasty face during periods in which problems that seemed so simple at first sight refused to be solved for a long time. Every math student will recognize these periods of frustration and helplessness.
One might say there is a strong argument for the requirement of financial literacy for students in America. Americans continue to have increased balances on their credit cards as well as show a continued increase in bankruptcy filings according to statistics. Even the “baby boomer” generation is no longer exempt from financial hardships, as their generation has recently taken the title of “Fastest Growing Bankruptcy Demographic” from the 25 – 34 year olds (Linfield, 2011). Would it not make sense to say that Americans need to learn how to budget and borrow more wisely? Would not the best place to start be in schools? Well, the answer to that question is not a simple one.
High school seniors takes deep breaths and parade onto the stage. The beginning of a new chapter awaits as they make the journey from one point of the stage to the end. They reflect on what they have been taught in those many years of high school. The most terrifying fact while graduating high school is the next step: making it on their own. Because they have taken part in the appropriate classes, the students are certain that they have gained the correct knowledge to begin making their mark on the world. In high school, it is crucial to achieve the appropriate classes in order to feel ready to take on the world ahead as an adult. However, many students lack proper education. One key example is financial literacy. Financial literacy is the
High school students across America are being sent out into the world without the skills they need to succeed. Admittedly, students learn the basic academics to move onto the next level, but the basic skills they need in life are being put aside and forgotten. Today, high achieving seniors go off into the world knowing how to find the definite integral of a function and preform electrophoresis, but they don’t know everyday skills like how to file their taxes. In order to succeed in the real world, high schools need to equip students with the tools for everyday life.
Using literacy strategies in the mathematics classroom leads to successful students. “The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM, 1989) define mathematical literacy as an “individual's ability to explore, to conjecture, and to reason logically, as well as to use a variety of mathematical methods effectively to solve problems." Exploring, making conjectures, and being able to reason logically, all stem from the early roots of literacy. Authors Matthews and Rainer (2001) discusses how teachers have questioned the system of incorporating literacy with mathematics in the last couple of years. It started from the need to develop a specific framework, which combines both literacy and mathematics together. Research was conducted through
...it comes to providing students with the best education possible to make them successful. Even though mathematics is a hard concept for students of all ages to understand, future educators need to prevent or eliminate the negative thoughts and feelings children have for mathematics. Mathematics is not impossible; it takes time, practice, and patience to be successful in the classroom.
With this promise came serious concerns over education taught students ranked 28th in the United States out of 40 other countries in Mathematics and Sciences. 80% of occupations depend on knowledge of Mathematics and Science (Week and Obama 2009). In order to ensure that educators have enough money to fund the endeavor to be more competitive with the rest of the world in Mathematics and Science, President Obama will increase federal spending in education with an additional 18 billion dollars in k-12 classrooms, guaranteeing educators have the teachers, technology, and professional development to attain highly quali...
As a secondary subject, society often views mathematics a critical subject for students to learn in order to be successful. Often times, mathematics serves as a gatekeeper for higher learning and certain specific careers. Since the times of Plato, “mathematics was virtually the first thing everyone has to learn…common to all arts, science, and forms of thought” (Stinson, 2004). Plato argued that all students should learn arithmetic; the advanced mathematics was reserved for those that would serve as the “philosopher guardians” of the city (Stinson, 2004). By the 1900s in the United States, mathematics found itself as a cornerstone of curriculum for students. National reports throughout the 20th Century solidified the importance of mathematics in the success of our nation and its students (Stinson, 2004). As a mathematics teacher, my role to educate all students in mathematics is an important one. My personal philosophy of mathematics education – including the optimal learning environment and best practices teaching strategies – motivates my teaching strategies in my personal classroom.
O’Dubhslainé, A. 2006. The White Paper On Education: A Failure To Invest. Student Economic Review. 20 p 115