Why don’t they teach things like taxes, budgeting etc in school?

[Soubriquet]

Don’t say it’s because it’s the parents job because my parents were terrible and are in a lot of debt, so is dh’s so we haven’t learnt from them at all and because of that, we are mildly in debt but no where near as much

Why don’t schools teach these sort of things?

@Soubriquet

Algebra, trigonometry and stuff like that are never really used by the everyday person though I understand why it’s taught in maths

I had a whole topic on citizenship once. Can’t remember a thing about it, had GCSE about it and it seems a bit pointless now. Why not change citizenship for adult learning of things like taxes, budgeting and maintaining a home

But how do you teach that when budgeting or managing a home can be done in such a in a variety of ways? I also agree that budgeting in terms of not spending more than you earn and having enough to pay for bills is just maths. Food tech covers food and nutrition. The concept of taxes and which organisations are responsible for collecting them is covered in citizenship. What specifically do you think should be covered in terms of household management, taxes and budgeting?

I feel pretty strongly about this too. Have done for a while. Discovered budgeting at the ripe old age of 35 it was a huge game changer.

@Soubriquet

Don’t say it’s because it’s the parents job because my parents were terrible and are in a lot of debt, so is dh’s so we haven’t learnt from them at all and because of that, we are mildly in debt but no where near as much

Why don’t schools teach these sort of things?

I'm sorry but your initial premise is flawed here and seems to look to others as the source of your problems. The reason for your debt isn't because neither your parents nor your schools taught you about budgetting and debt management. You're in debt either because somehow, somewhere you either lived outside of your means or you had an unexpected expense that you'd not saved for. I'm sorry if that's cold but it's reality: debt doesn't just suddenly appear and surprise you.

PPs are right when they say you are taught the Maths skills to manage debt. In fact, in my class, we use credit cards, overdrafts, loans, savings accounts, etc. in order to teach Maths in a real world context. We even look at calculating your own taxes as it essentially boils down to subtraction and percentages once you've got the rates. (even though the vast majority of the children will never need to do this). This is in Y6 at primary school.

I’m not entirely sure but the basics on how to run a home would be a start

Mortgages, savings, making sure you save for retirement etc etc. I know a lot of it won’t go through a young mind as they will think they have plenty of time, but even the basics would stick and it would hopefully help many people stay out of debt

I guess because school is generally for academia not life skills.

They usually also don't teach cooking, cleaning, ironing, driving, taking out insurance, mother work etc anymore.

I think it would be good to include some brief things about eg, how tax vs NI works or how to write to an MP. But some of this is covered in citizenship.

Savings and bank accounts, interest, budgeting, mortgages, managing debt, student finance, tax and national insurance, gambling, investments, pensions ... just a few things off the top of my head.

I learnt all that, and more, in school. Mind you, that was back when Adam was a lad, and it was still perfectly normal and legal for the girls to do childcare and cooking, while the boys did woodwork.

@storkstalk

Because they’re skills you should be able to learn based on what you are actually taught at school I.e. maths. It’s very easy to learn these things yourself once you’re out of school

That is just not true, how does a maths GCSE help a child whose parents can't help them to know how to open a bank account, apply for a loan, work out a household budget, organise regular bill payments, apply for benefits etc

Those things all involve numbers but that's the only tenuous connection with what is taught in a maths lesson.

I absolutely agree that life skills should be taught in schools and think that cutting the current content of some subjects is a sacrifice well worth making

And I think the maths stuff is missing the point. It's not about having the maths skills to calculate things; it's about learning practical finance skills to be able apply that to daily life and understand how to manage money.

Personally speaking I learned a load of shite in maths classes that I've never used. Practical finances affect everyone.

@SylvanasWindrunner

Savings and bank accounts, interest, budgeting, mortgages, managing debt, student finance, tax and national insurance, gambling, investments, pensions ... just a few things off the top of my head.

they could easily do this as part of maths. I think of the hours wasted trying to figure out algebra...could definitely fit that in there.

Jesus what do parents teach kids? Let's just pack them off.to school and have them sent home once they've been trained.

Partly because budgeting as much a mindset as a thing you can teach, and that comes from examples. And just being an adult rather than a teenager. And the people who need it most are probably those least good at maths and least engaged in the education system.

Partly because things like the benefits system, the tax system, types of available savings accounts change constantly.

Partly because it’s widely available on the internet.

Partly because schools cannot be responsible for every last flipping thing - if it’s not budgeting it’s sex, drugs, mental health, contraception, healthy eating, cooking, sewing, basic diy, friendships, relationships, anti bullying, anti …. At some point I’d like children and teachers allowed to get on with actual academic education. Maybe “life skills courses” could be available as holiday clubs or something if parents want that.

As for the person saying you can’t see the point in trigonometry while simultaneously suggesting teaching home maintenance - you really can’t see how angles and lengths might be used in DIY?!

The internet is a wonderful resource if you want to learn.
I think with mortgages and tax there is a benefit to you not understanding.

I agree it should be taught not necessarily schools though I would prefer them to continue to teach the curriculum and parents aren't always knowledgable enough to teach. (I'm
One of them ) But community groups /centres / youth clubs/ - yes I know there are 4 or 5 still left I think. Or online courses aimed at kids
The government could create a syllabus and hand it to voluntary groups to teach -
Maybe aligned with all the key stages - including student finance / loans grants etc and the tax and NI system . And you learn more in-depth at each key stage. Hmmm I like the the sound of this - it should be treated as a life skill like swimming / some people think it is basic common sense but interest rates on credit cards / loans -/ different basic investment / types of mortgages etc is not common sense and it would be really useful if all children had a more than a basic understanding of some of these areas,

We do teach it in my school (Scotland)

If you aren't talking about the Maths of budgetting and debt then you're talking about the reasons for budgetting and debt which is a much larger topic.

That would be teaching the children how to resist temptation in a capitalist society where everything is geared to encourage them to spend money they don't have on things they don't actually need but have been manipulated into thinking they do. Schools do teach elements of this, certainly, but they can't expect a series of lessons to combat the model that our entire society is based on.

I got about 2 lessons on taxes and mortgages at 15, I was way to young to have any of it stick. I think if they had waited until I was out of high school and in college/sixth form it would have felt far more useful. At that point you’re thinking about jobs, uni, adult life, and it’s completely overwhelming. We used to have form classes for an hour a week in my sixth form college, it would have been a good use of time for us to learn that stuff then. Plus with education now being mandatory until 18 it’s the perfect time to help young people transition.

I’m also in favour of having a state photo ID that isn’t a driving license or passport, with a small fee of something like £10 attached that gets given to everyone at 16. Everyone wants photo ID for bank accounts and ISAs so it seems fair we help people along with it.

Because they only teach you how to pass exams.
School curriculum is very limited and outdated.
But with the technology available now, no reason why kids can't learn this themselves.

God only knows why not. I remember my daughter at 17 asking me about mortgages and loans etc etc and wondering why she'd been taught trigonometry and latin and not taught about the law and budgeting. I still think it's ridiculous.

My DC’s school did a bit of financial education in 6th form as part of their PSE. It was sponsored by or even taught by Barclays - not sure if it was a pilot. But covered some financial basics and pointed them in the direction of where/how to learn more.

I think they should introduce lessons on teamwork etc.

I learnt budgeting in high school (Scotland). To be honest though, it didn't help me budget. By the time I needed to budget, a couple of years had gone by and I'd forgotten it!
I learned to budget by subtracting expenses from income and not spending more. Not tricky.

Some of the other things mentioned on this thread, like pensions, credit cards etc... I don't think schools need to teach these specific things, but they do need to teach kids how to do their own online research. How to assess whether a website is reliable or not. What search terms to use. How/who to ask for help with stuff. Etc. Learning how to learn, essentially.

I agree just 30 mins a week teaching about savings , mortgages , insurance , budgeting. Yes it is life skills but what about the parents who really don't have a clue and therefore can't pass any knowledge onto their kids .

I had a whole topic on citizenship once. Can’t remember a thing about it, had GCSE about it and it seems a bit pointless now. Why not change citizenship for adult learning of things like taxes, budgeting and maintaining a home

There is one of the (many) problems - by the time the kids had need of what they learned in lessons on tax etc, they will have forgotten it all!

They do in my daughter's school. It's part of the Personal and Life Skills lesson and she loves it.

The lessons cover everything from healthy relationships to the realities of what it's like to manage your own stuff as an adult - including how to book trips, pay bills, work out taxes etc. I think it's brilliant - only 1 hour a week but very worth it.

Admittedly the lessons may be filed away in the "don't need to remember right now section of the brain" but at least when they do need to approach these things as an adult they'll have one step in the right direction and know what sort of things to look out for/look into again.