MSE News: MPs' financial education in schools debate next week

Oldernotwiser

Person_one wrote: »

I'm pretty sure they still teach percentages, I can remember them and I only left school in 2001.

50% of 300 = 50/100 X 300 and all that!

It sounds like your issue is actually with quality of teaching (as always!) and your general poor opinion of everybody under 40 rather than the curriculum itself.

If you'd taught large numbers of students on A level equivalent courses (all with at least GCSE grade C in Maths) and seen the majority of them calculate 50% by using a calculator and look perplexed when it was suggested that dividing by two was simpler, perhaps you'd understand what I mean.

Oldernotwiser

springboarder wrote: »

I KNOW!!

Many, many Congratulation to you and your team! This is an incredibly important and long overdue thing that will now be discussed next week by the people who can make it happen.

That alone is a important first step. What do the miserable ones want? Just to ignore the current situation and 'hope' things get better on their own?

Our children need us to get them all the assistance we can to help them figure their future financial lives out. Of course, everyone is entitled to their own opinion but please don't just dismiss those that are trying to do just that.

You (and Martin for that matter) seem to have missed the point that this thread is started with the words, "This is the discussion thread for the following MSE News Story:"

That's exactly what some of us are doing, you know, discussing the issue. If we were all saying "wow, amazing, congratulations!", it wouldn't be much of a discussion.

Person_one

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

If you'd taught large numbers of students on A level equivalent courses (all with at least GCSE grade C in Maths) and seen the majority of them calculate 50% by using a calculator and look perplexed when it was suggested that dividing by two was simpler, perhaps you'd understand what I mean.

You have such a downer on all young people, I don't understand why you punish yourself by hanging around on the student boards.

I have known and currently know many young people who are lovely, bright, sensible and a pleasure to be around. We were all young once and your unending despair at 'the youth of today' is of no use to anyone.

Has it even occurred to you that if you had a lengthy career the first few teenagers you were involved with are heading towards middle age now, do you still believe them to be useless and illiterate or are a lot of your opinions merely ageism?

springboarder

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

You (and Martin for that matter) seem to have missed the point that this thread is started with the words, "This is the discussion thread for the following MSE News Story:"

.

That's why I included the fact that 'everyone is entitled to their own opinion' in my post.

I was giving you mine, you're giving us yours. That is a discussion, I reckon:)

amiehall

I had some "financial education" at school which tbh was a total waste of time.... I didn't learn anything useful, we had to pick out cards with different jobs and salaries on and shade in how much you earned, shading in the tax and showing how much you had left. Literally colouring in bar charts is all we did.... I agree with those that say the specifics of the curriculum are the important thing.

True_Mister_Six

The_One_Who wrote: »

I think most people (myself included) wanting something more substantial than just the idea of financial education. We wanted specifics like who would be teaching it, when would it be taught, who would it be taught to, how many schooling hours would be taken up with this, etc.

I think the concept of financial education is fine, but in practice it might not be. I know from my own classes that it wasn't done brilliantly and took up an hour that could have been spent elsewhere. The fact is that there are children leaving school with little or no grasp of the English language or of basic numeracy. If they cannot read and cannot do basic maths then no amount of financial education (such as interest rates or a commonsense "read the T&Cs) is going to help.

A lot of this practical stuff is learned in the home anyway, and it will be different for each person's circumstances. Some people hate budgeting, some people can't live without it. Trying to force these things on people doesn't help. Some people will only learn by going through things the hard way.

Use all of your self professed knowledge & experience to contribute practical ideas and solutions to the debate as to how a workable program can be reached rather than dismiss the idea and only highlight the challenges & problems in such a miserable, defeatist manner.

The_One_Who

True_Mister_Six wrote: »

Use all of your self professed knowledge & experience to contribute practical ideas and solutions to the debate as to how a workable program can be reached rather than dismiss the idea and only highlight the challenges & problems in such a miserable, defeatist manner.

I wasn't the one touting the idea, I think those sorts of things should have been included with the initial proposal. I find I get my ideas implemented a lot more successfully if I include such things with my initial proposals.

But since you are berating me for it, where are your ideas? Rather than posting a "miserable, defeatist" post maybe you could also throw your hat in to the ring and come up with something?

True_Mister_Six

The_One_Who wrote: »

I wasn't the one touting the idea, I think those sorts of things should have been included with the initial proposal. I find I get my ideas implemented a lot more successfully if I include such things with my initial proposals.

But since you are berating me for it, where are your ideas? Rather than posting a "miserable, defeatist" post maybe you could also throw your hat in to the ring and come up with something?

I signed the petition to express my support for the idea.

I am active in the debate as an attendee of a number of conferences and discussion groups in the finance industry and a recent visit by my local MP at my church; where I again expressed my support and ideas to the idea. I also have an expansive network on my LinkedIn who I have debated this topic with and developed ideas with; some of whom are deeply involved in the political process.

I am not, however, an educator, and therefor defer to educators knowledge & skills as to how to make the program work. That is why I ask that you put your complaining to one side and offer some solutions to the challenges that you are obviously talented at identifying & vocalising in an un constructive manner.

The_One_Who

True_Mister_Six wrote: »

I signed the petition to express my support for the idea.

I am active in the debate as an attendee of a number of conferences and discussion groups in the finance industry and a recent visit by my local MP at my church; where I again expressed my support and ideas to the idea. I also have an expansive network on my LinkedIn who I have debated this topic with and developed ideas with; some of whom are deeply involved in the political process.

I am not, however, an educator, and therefor defer to educators knowledge & skills as to how to make the program work. That is why I ask that you put your complaining to one side and offer some solutions to the challenges that you are obviously talented at identifying & vocalising in an un constructive manner.

Well, good for you. I did not sign the petition because I didn't think it was thought out well enough for me to support it.

I am not an educator, and nor is Martin Lewis or from the looks of it anyone who helped create this proposal. It seems that you are only allowing one side of the discussion to be heard, trying to stifle the other as simply complaining or as not being constructive.

I have asked fairly simple questions about this idea, ones that I imagine would be the first to be asked by anyone who would be involved in having to implement this. If they cannot be answered by the team who promoted this, then why should it be left up to everyone else to do it for them?

Person_one

The_One_Who wrote: »

Well, good for you. I did not sign the petition because I didn't think it was thought out well enough for me to support it.

I am not an educator, and nor is Martin Lewis or from the looks of it anyone who helped create this proposal. It seems that you are only allowing one side of the discussion to be heard, trying to stifle the other as simply complaining or as not being constructive.

I have asked fairly simple questions about this idea, ones that I imagine would be the first to be asked by anyone who would be involved in having to implement this. If they cannot be answered by the team who promoted this, then why should it be left up to everyone else to do it for them?

Martin Lewis not an educator?

How many people have learnt incredibly valuable info and skills from this site? I know I have.

You don't need to stand at the front of a classroom to be an educator.