Filling the Education Gaps (by Jerry Muelver)

If you can’t do financial math, you’re in for a life of financial
disaster. Kids who can’t calculate percentages don’t understand APRs,
and they grow up to be victimized by payday and title loan operations,
credit card “introductory offers”, and sale items at the supermarket
that are actually more expensive than the regular price different
sized items.

Kids are exposed to math, even to personal finance, in schools, but
for many it just doesn’t stick. What’s the problem? A failure in
teaching? Maybe. Inadequate parenting? Maybe. Eager willingness of
marketing forces to take advantage of consumer ignorance and
educational gaps? Definitely. Inadequate motivation to learn and use
academic skills? Absolutely.

What can be done to improve the odds for our kids? Here’s one approach
- https://www.covantagecu.org/Young%20Members.html

This is CoVantage Credit Union’s “Money Mission” online virtual
reality game for teaching financial skills and responsibility. If you
have kids, or know anyone how has kids, or were ever a kid yourself,
you really have to check this out. And get your kids’ teachers to
check it out, too, because it can be a great classroom tool.

Kudos to CoVantage for an imaginative, brilliant contribution to
motivate and inspire kids, and their parents, to develop solid skills
for lifelong financial responsibility.

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