What Are We Teaching Our Children

No doubt education is important—it's the difference between giving yourself choices in life or being tied down to a particular type of work. But what kind of education is required to breed success? Is the education we are providing for our children equipping them with the necessary tools to survive in the real world, a world without the protective wall of parents to fall back on? No, it doesn't.

Granted, today's education provides the tools to succeed in the workforce, but it really does not provide the knowledge or wisdom needed to provide for one's family. What I mean is, yes, having an understanding of history, English, and math will definitely get you a good job or even a career, but will it put you in a position to gain generational wealth, the type of income needed to provide for those in your family long after you're gone? The type of income only investing and entrepreneurship can provide. No, this type of education is not being taught in schools, but it should be. By the time a teenager graduates high school, he should know about investing, penny stocks, stocks and bonds, interest, portfolios, how to write a resume, how to write a business plan, how to request a loan, how to advertise, how to budget, and how to develop a plan that will ensure a steady flow of income for years to come. Let's change our curriculum to teach investing and entrepreneurship to our children and watch them grow. When I was in school we were taught economics, focusing on facts and figures and how to do taxes. This is excellent but it needs to go further. Economics should teach the ins and outs financial literacy, and how to make money work for you. Giving a child the proper knowledge of how money works will give them the confidence needed to develop a strategy that will ensure a steady flow of income throughout their living years. Learning it's not how much you make but what you do with what you make will be important if they ever come into a situation where they are without work. Certain classes in high school like Art, Home Economics, IT, Industrial courses, and Cosmetology should not only teach the fundamentals of the industry but also how to generate residual income using the skills learned. While still in school, they should take on real life projects that will better equip them for success in the years to come.

Educating our children on financial independence will not only lift the economy but it will generate better jobs and more careers. America has an epidemic, a financial climate change that see thousands laid off of work each year. These individuals need financial assistance and unemployment benefits that increase taxes and lower salaries. But with a proper education, a person that may lose his or her job will be better equipped to deal with the storm to come. They will have savings and interest bearing accounts that will soften the hardships of losing employment. The more money people earn, the more they spend. The more they spend, the more jobs are kept and created. But this starts in school. We have to get them on the road to financial literacy early, not only teaching them how to be employable but how to be financially independent. An individual who is financially independent will less likely live with depression over having to live check to check, and they will less likely live with the fear of being fired or laid off, always wondering what they will do if that would happen. Of course, this means happier people.