The Post is correct that all students should be taught solid financial education as part of the school curriculum. However, the June 13 editorial “A worthwhile requirement” missed a critical point. Many students want financial literacy that teaches them to be cautious, not impulsive, spenders. And in D.C, a group of fourth- and fifth-graders asked for a curriculum that teaches these skills.
On May 25, the fourth- and fifth-grade students at St. Francis Xavier School in D.C. experienced an unusual financial literacy curriculum developed years ago by Walter Cronkite and a group of young consumer advocates. Mr. Cronkite’s dictum “In seeking truth you have to get both sides of a story,” drove the development of this resource. The free curriculum is called FoolProof. It teaches kids to be healthy skeptics when it comes to decisions about their money and their well-being.
Unlike much of what is taught in schools, students at this D.C. school are asking for this curriculum. And, as the editorial pointed out, there is a critical need for it. What a win-win opportunity for our kids and our school systems.
Roberta Baskin, Lake Jackson
The writer is a founding member of the FoolProof Foundation’s Board of Directors.