Personal finance is a missing link in Minnesota students' education and should be required under proposed graduation standards, several people testified Thursday before an administrative law judge.
Financial illiteracy is as much a detriment to society as the inability to read and write.
Sharon Danes, a professor of family economics at the University, agreed, saying that parents generally don't talk about or teach finances at home. Sen. Steve Dille, R-Daschle, has introduced a bill that would make personal finance a requirement. But he testified Thursday that he would rather the Minnesota Board of Education adopt the mandate than the Legislature. The proposed graduation standards, also called the profile of learning, would require students to prove their knowledge in several areas, including culture, composition, applied math and resource management. Finance management would not be a requirement under the plan.