High school students take a course on economics

[This essay was written by Lin Qiu using British English]

There is no such thing as a free lunch, as the saying goes. But many students leave school without any idea of how to manage their money. They arrive at college or start a job with the clear belief that the world does owe them a living; in other words, a lunch for free. From my perspective, it is without dispute that schools should teach basic economics at high school.

To begin with, there can surely be no argument that ‘money makes the world go round.’ Therefore, to leave high school students ignorant of the basic facts of everyday life is a negative measure in this modern world. For example, they need to know about how to handle simple, but essential things like paying for their rent, travel, and living expenses.

Equally important, young people leaving school ought to be equipped with an understanding of how insurance, mortgages, pensions, and investments work, and how they affect all of our lives directly. For the most part, today’s young people enter the real world largely ignorant of these fundamentals. As a result, many blunder into debt difficulties which could have been avoided.

Conversely, it is argued that teaching economics should be left until college years. However, what of those who do not progress to college? For another thing, even many professors concede that college economics focuses mostly on theory, and not the required practical elements of everyday personal finance. Consequently, many would miss out on the early learning of handling their money in an efficient manner.

Overall, it is my contention that a basic understanding of personal finance cannot be ignored at high school. Are we to leave our young people blundering in the dark, and ** sometimes serious mistakes, all because our schools have ignored a basic element of everyday life? Adults should take responsibility, through school life, of equipping our young people with the essentials to survive, let alone prosper in this globalised world.