Bulls and bears: School promotes financial literacy
I find creative ideas for accomplishing typical & atypical goals, pretty darn attractive.
Now, how attractive is this story from the Chicago Tribune, about giving 1st graders $20K to invest in the stock market?
The Ariel school is an experiment in financial literacy with real-life oomph: Each incoming first-grade class gets $20,000 that the children ultimately get to pick stocks for and manage. The goal is to add an I -- investing -- to the three R's, according John Rogers Jr., chairman and CEO of Ariel Capital Management, the Chicago-based money management firm that established the school in 1996.At a time when pensions are being phased out and people must rely more on their own investment smarts, Rogers thinks saving and investment should be an integral part of the curriculum at schools across the country.
Experts say easy credit, aggressive marketing and the dizzying array of financial products and cashless spending options have led many American consumers astray, making it more essential than ever for kids to learn about money.
Iowa State University professor Tahira Hira, a member of the newly formed President's Advisory Council on Financial Literacy, is among those advocating that personal finance be required teaching at every elementary school.
Suddenly, HIlary's $5,000 baby bond is so much more attractive.....Give it to the kids (not the parents) and in 1st grade, let them learn how to manage it. Interesting....