# Can someone please tell me why Fiscal Responsibility



## ashin1 (Mar 22, 2014)

Can someone please tell me why Fiscal Responsibility isn't a mandatory course in our public educational system. Like really they say time is the most valuable thing for any investor, so realistically why aren't we teaching the ones who have the most of it(our children and youth) about the profound affects of compound interest and delayed gratification? You could argue until you turn blue, but at the end of the day money matters. It may not be as important as our health, but seriously money is something that has caused so much problems and tension between people in our society, why not break those barriers. The lack of fiscal knowledge student have graduating high school is scary. My mind is blown as to why the educational system is not properly educating our children. Almost tempted to just home school my child(god forbid i get anyone pregnant anytime soon lol)


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## Guban (Jul 5, 2011)

Ha ha ha.
If they taught fiscal responsibility, then maybe all the voters would recognize how irresponsible our governments are!


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## Beaver101 (Nov 14, 2011)

^ lol!


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## LBCfan (Jan 13, 2011)

ashin1 said:


> .................
> The lack of fiscal knowledge student have graduating high school is scary. ...............


Who would teach it? to modify you comment "The lack of fiscal knowledge *teachers display* is scary.".

Naturally, the teachers unions would strike rather than have a course taught by anyone other than a "qualified, professional teacher".


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## cainvest (May 1, 2013)

How about just start off teaching common sense, like don't spend more than you make ... sounds simple enough.


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## Guban (Jul 5, 2011)

Officiallly, it is already there.

"Financial literacy is integrated into the existing Ontario curriculum"
https://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/surveyLiteracy.html

Of course, this means that no one teacher is responsible for teaching it, so it doesn't get done.


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## Guban (Jul 5, 2011)

LBCfan said:


> Who would teach it? to modify you comment "The lack of fiscal knowledge *teachers display* is scary.".


Are teachers different in this regard compared to the average person? I haven't seen a specific study to this aspect. There are all kinds of stories out there, but I am unsure about the facts.


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## pwm (Jan 19, 2012)

There are some things that you need to teach your children at home; by example.


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## RBull (Jan 20, 2013)

Teachers are not the problem. Provincial education departments determine what is to be taught. Without a specific curriculum developed by the various provincial boards financial literacy will be at best something given a cursory mention in some courses. 

I too would like to see information on teachers having a lack of fiscal knowledge. Tell that to Andrew Hallam. Most of the ones I know have better fiscal skills and spending control than the average person I know. They are definitely more frugal than average. 

Parents of children are role models and are also responsible for educating their own children about finances. While it is a good idea for schools to teach personal finances it seems to me to be another one of the many issues society/families want to push off as someone else's responsibility.


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## My Own Advisor (Sep 24, 2012)

I wish we had more stock in our school system...my take:
http://www.myownadvisor.ca/wish-stock-school-system/


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## tygrus (Mar 13, 2012)

Some of the people in our top professions are financially illiterate like doctors, lawyers, teachers, engineers. But CEOs and business owners have it down pat usually.

And if our kids were told the truth about finances and how they work, they would be less susceptible to the advertising drivel they are bombarded with every day. It pays to have mindless spending sheep.


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## nathan79 (Feb 21, 2011)

tygrus said:


> It pays to have mindless spending sheep.


There's the answer to the why of this thread.


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## Woz (Sep 5, 2013)

I don't think it would make much of a difference if more of an emphasis was put on personal finance in schools. It's not something you really absorb until you have real world experiences and the mistakes people make tend to be due to impulsiveness/not thinking things through, not because of a lack of knowledge (i.e. everyone knows credit card debt is bad but people still accumulate it).


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## Rusty O'Toole (Feb 1, 2012)

Schools tend to avoid subjects that could be of use. I know I learned practically nothing about saving, investing, managing money and what I did learn in school was wrong.

These skills we use every day, and can make a huge difference in our lives. They should be taught in school or somewhere.


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## CPA Candidate (Dec 15, 2013)

The current public school system is not about education, but indoctrination into so-called progressive left. Even when I was in school in the 80s, we learned more about saving whales and the evils of plastic bags and polution than real skills that are required for life. It's much worse in elementary schools than high schools. Thankfully I can have a personal impact on my daughter to emphasize the real skills and attitudes that will garner success in the world.


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