Some time, way back when, for just the briefest of moments, each of us understood “cosine”:
“The trigonometric function that is equal to the ratio of the side adjacent to an acute angle (in a right-angled triangle) to the hypotenuse”
Being able to leave school somewhat depended on us vaguely knowing this and other such mathematical curiosities, even if only for the briefest of moments.
Weeks were spent on trigonometry; since leaving school my guess is that less than 1% of us have used this knowledge in any meaningful way.
What’s the relevance to financial planning?
How much time was spent on loans and mortgages? Or how compound interest / growth works? Or pensions and investments?
And ask yourself which has meant more to you?
Regrettably, I have no doubt that my sons, Benjy (6) and Tommy (4), will go through the same. We have been teaching in the same way for the last 130 years (READ THIS from Seth Godin for more on this) and it’s not been fit for purpose for a very long time.
Would that sort of stagnation be acceptable in our health service? Transport? Technology? Entertainment? Food?
Of course not, they are barely recognisable with just a generation ago. Their advancement has been spectacular.
Unless and until there’s a radical change in how we school our children, it’s on us to help them understand the very real world of money and finance.
In the same way as we would have them eat healthily and exercise, so they should not grow up ignorant of money matters.
As things stand it’s entirely on us parents – if you’d like our help with this, we’re ready and waiting.