by Kevin Katz

Created on: February 03, 2007   Last Updated: May 06, 2007

As a High School Economic teacher and can tell you that I'm sometimes shocked by the lack of knowledge students have about simple personal finance. On the other hand, I've also been surprised with the number of students who are familiar with the best practices.

Often times I'll come across a kid who had no idea what a savings account was and was excited to learn that his money could earn money. Put simply, this comes from a lack of emphasis from the parents. Many of the misinformed have heard of CDs and the stock market and some even bonds, but were not sure what they were or how they were to be used. Fortunately for them, the Economics class they take is a credit needed for graduation.

It is also an encouraging sign that the Economics credit needed to graduate from High School in Georgia has been modified from a 9 week course shared with 9 weeks of Government, to a full 18 week course. The downfall of this is that the state is now relying on 9 weeks of Civics in 9th grade to be the ONLY Government course required for graduation. Government, in my opinion is much better suited for Seniors, and though it is a natural mix with Economics, unfortunately now is separated completely from the course. Though a good teacher can implement plenty of Government into the Economics curriculum.

I think you'd be happy to read that the Economics curriculum for Georgia is divided into 5 domains.

1. Economic Fundamentals
2. Personal Finance
3. Micro Economics
4. Macro Economics
5. International Economics

The Economic Fundamentals portion is an introduction into the basics of economics. It introduces the students to the concepts of Supply and Demand and scarcity, it familiarizes them with charts and graphs. And sets the stage for what's to come.

Micro Economics allows the students to see their role in the entire Micro-Economic process. In other words, how they, as consumers fit into the community economically speaking.

Macro Economics, discusses the Federal Reserve bank, interest rates, and key economic indicators like the GDP, inflation and Consumer Price Index. It basically takes their knowledge of micro-economics a step furthers. This one is pretty important.

The Personal Finance domain teaches students about how to invest their money, how to avoid credit card debt, what to look for when applying for car loans, house loans, and credit cards. The investment portion is what kids enjoy the most. They learn about savings accounts, CDs, stocks, bonds, mutual funds, 401Ks, and basic habits of how to live smart.

Lastly, the International domain of economics is an overview of developing nations, the United States' role in world economics with the discussion of trade and imports and exports.

In conclusion, the foundation has been laid for the students of today to be able to invest their money wisely, spend their money intelligently and live a comfortable life. It should be up to the schools and the counties to find teachers who are qualified to teach this class and have an enthusiasm for his subject in order to get the students excited about it. Students always ask the question; "When am I going to use this information after high school." As an economics teacher, it is easy to say "Every day." There is no curriculum in the schools more important than economics. I'm hoping that every state adopts economics into their mandated curriculum. The world will be a better place for it.

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