To the editor: A bill introduced in November forced lawmakers to pass AB 2927, which requires financial planning to be taught before high school graduation. Presumably, they didn’t want to be shamed by the public for such an obvious need. AB 984, last year’s law with similar requirements, didn’t go very far.
The public is right. Nearly two-thirds of respondents to a 2020 Charles Schwab survey felt that financial planning should be taught in school and was the most important graduation requirement to complement math, English, and science. High school students already have a leadership elective, so will graduates become managers of a company right away? No! They typically enter the workforce for two to five years, learn the ropes a bit, and then enter MBA programs where leadership courses are taught.
Hopefully these financial planning courses will go far beyond budgeting and checking account management. That's nice to know, but do they really help 401(k) plan participants know what to invest in? Surveys indicate that most 401(k) plan participants did not know what to invest in even though the service provider had a website to teach them how to invest. When half of them don't know what to do, the system is broken.
David Bach, Sacramento
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To the editor: From 1960 to 1964, I taught a one-semester course on pocket economics, “general business,” offered in LAUSD high schools. It covered how to balance a checkbook, manage credit, and much more. It had been offered for several decades.
What happened with this? LAUSD got the message: all students should focus on “college readiness.”
I later became a school counselor for two other Southern California school districts. To say that there isn't enough room for a pocket economics course in a college-bound student's schedule is a false statement. There is plenty of room.
Wendell H. Jones, Ojai
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To the editor: While the Legislature is at it, how about making it a requirement that all high school students pass the U.S. citizenship test, which assesses a naturalization applicant's knowledge of U.S. government, history and geography?
John Beckman, Chino Hills
