It was a means to an end, and the end couldn’t come soon enough. The means was the skills required to get out into the world and get on with it.
One of the things it did help with was economics. I found it genuinely interesting and did quite well in it.
They taught me compounding interest. If you don’t know about compounding interest, you don’t know about life.
Economics is life and its lack of understanding is why so many people have so many difficulties with money.
As of 2027 financial education, it has been announced, will be compulsory in school in Years 1-10. I'd make it Years 1-13 but praise the Lord.
This is education you can use.
Geography, Latin, and physics are about career pathways and ideas you may, or may not, find interesting. As a result, you may, or may not, ever use them.
But finance is about life, about success and about navigating the world.
People who know what money, currency, interest, dividends, investment and returns are, do better in the world than those who don’t.
It raises the question as to what education is about. Is it about a pathway to university, to skills, or to understanding, or the power and value of learning, or the basics of life?
They used to do home economics, still do under different names. Is that a pathway to work with Alain Ducasse, or to make some scones on a rainy Sunday?
I figure if nothing else school should be useful. A lot of people don’t use a lot of what we got at school. Things like nomadic tribes of Africa in geography didn’t serve me all that well, but compound interest has.
Economics opened a door for me – a useful, beneficial and financially fruitful door.
The idea that all kids will get that going forward is no bad thing.
Mike Hosking is a New Zealand television and radio broadcaster. He currently hosts The Mike Hosking Breakfast show on NewstalkZB on weekday mornings - where this article was sourced.
Economics is life and its lack of understanding is why so many people have so many difficulties with money.
As of 2027 financial education, it has been announced, will be compulsory in school in Years 1-10. I'd make it Years 1-13 but praise the Lord.
This is education you can use.
Geography, Latin, and physics are about career pathways and ideas you may, or may not, find interesting. As a result, you may, or may not, ever use them.
But finance is about life, about success and about navigating the world.
People who know what money, currency, interest, dividends, investment and returns are, do better in the world than those who don’t.
It raises the question as to what education is about. Is it about a pathway to university, to skills, or to understanding, or the power and value of learning, or the basics of life?
They used to do home economics, still do under different names. Is that a pathway to work with Alain Ducasse, or to make some scones on a rainy Sunday?
I figure if nothing else school should be useful. A lot of people don’t use a lot of what we got at school. Things like nomadic tribes of Africa in geography didn’t serve me all that well, but compound interest has.
Economics opened a door for me – a useful, beneficial and financially fruitful door.
The idea that all kids will get that going forward is no bad thing.
Mike Hosking is a New Zealand television and radio broadcaster. He currently hosts The Mike Hosking Breakfast show on NewstalkZB on weekday mornings - where this article was sourced.
4 comments:
A few things that economics should teach. 1. If you want to spend money you have to get it from somewhere (preferably earn it). 2. If you borrow money you have to pay it back. 3. If you earn $500 per week and spend $1000 per week you will be in trouble.
But you can't teach that, because that completely contradicts the economics of Labour, Greens, TPM, our universities, and the truth according to the mainstream media.
Postscript- I didn't think they taught Latin anymore. It's a shame because it was very useful. It taught all the things that English should have taught but didn't. It could teach journalists how to construct a sentence.
>"It raises the question as to what education is about. Is it about a pathway to university, to skills, or to understanding, or the power and value of learning, or the basics of life?"
Tick 'All of the above'. But it's a poorly designed question as the options are not mutually exclusive, so there can't be a single correct answer. Nor is the list exhaustive.
The term 'basic education' as used by UNESCO covers the first 9 or 10 years of schooling depending on the system. It is supposed to instil basic life skills, especially literacy and numeracy, and expose pupils to the range of subject areas (including vocational) so that they can make informed choices about their future pathways.
After basic education comes upper secondary schooling usually of 2 or 3 years duration during which time students may pursue general programmes with a mix of subjects or specialised programmes such as science-intensive which lead to places in specific university programmes.
The way to make schooling relevant is to keep an eye on its outcomes in the 'real world'. Mike makes a good case here for 'financial education' as money and asset management affect us all after we leave school. But after basic education, we need to stop thinking along the lines of 'one size fits all' and move towards planning individual student programmes based on post-school outcomes in the world of work.
Sounding proud about being disinterested at school impresses nobody. Some of us liked geography, physics and languages.
But I do agree that economics is the science of those "forces" by which our lives are most effected.
Most people struggle with the concept of a budget with no idea how to balance their income with expenses. Mathematically illiterate and not knowing the number of weeks in the year.
But at least those nomadic tribal folk know when to crack on with H&G activities to maintain the balance of their resources.
Back in the 60s this boomers cohort received minimal financial education, and it would have made a huge difference to many of my colleagues.
It's interesting how some have progressed through life making basic mistakes, which have impacted on their retirement.
Bring it on for the next generation.
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