Junior Achievement: Teaching Financial Literacy to School Children

When it comes to the necessary components of a modern education there is much debate on what is a school's responsibility and what should be left to parents.  Much of the debate in the past has been around teaching sex education.  Today the debate has shifted to financial literacy.  With many people (and governments) deeply in debt today it seems appropriate to give young persons some knowledge about finances before they go down the wrong roads.  Starting with college debt many young people find themselves digging out of a "a deep hole in debt."

Junior Achievement has developed an innovative program that provides young students some hands on experience with finances.  By developing a "Finance Park" Junior Achievement teaches students from Howard County and other jurisdictions,

"Credit and Debt, Saving and Investing, Taxes, Income and Social Security, Pricing Research, Planning: Budgeting and Money Management and Career Goals.After 19 teacher-led sessions, the program culminates in an online personal finance simulation where students apply learned concepts in a life-like “virtual” community. Upon entering JA Finance Park:Virtual, students are assigned a unique “life situation,” which details their adult persona, including marital status, number of children (if any), education, employment and income."

"Teachers, parents and local business people mentor students as they use bank services; contribute to charities; purchase housing, transportation, furnishings, food, health care and other expenses; make investment decisions, create a spending plan, and balance their personal budgets. Through these activities, students begin to understand the value of money, and make the connection between hard work, education and their future earnings."

"JA Finance Park™ enables students to build foundations for making intelligent lifelong personal finance decisions, in a program correlated to Maryland Skills Standards for 8th and 9th grades. In 19 teacher-led lessons, combined with a 4.5 hour simulation, students learn about the many pieces of a personal budget, such as rent/mortgage, car payments, insurance, savings, entertainment, groceries, and more! As students strive to create a balanced budget, they begin to understand the value of money, and make the connection between hard work, education, and their future earnings."
For more information about JA Finance Parkor details on additional sponsorship opportunities, including a presenting sponsorship opportunity, contact JACMD Development Vice President Kaitlin Bowman at kbowman@jamaryland.org, or call 443-394-7211