Financial Literacy

Financial literacy is necessary to reduce the likelihood that our country will repeat the mistakes that have brought our economy to its knees. Basic consumer education is sorely lacking in our public schools and should be a graduation requirement - not an elective. Sadly, even the smartest consumers and brightest economists were unprepared for the alphabet soup of creative and complex mortgage products such as YSPs (yield spread premiums), CDOs (collateralized debt obligations) and NINAs (no income no asset loans)

Too many Maryland residents know next to nothing about personal finance, and they're passing that dangerous defect along to their children, business and education leaders say. To help solve that problem, they are proposing that students be required to pass a personal finance course to graduate from high school. Only Baltimore County has such a requirement, but if the organizers of the financial literacy effort have their way, districts across the state would begin requiring personal finance courses.

Controversy surrounding the divorce case of the Rev. Jamal-Harrison Bryant - the flashy, influential pastor of the Empowerment Temple - will likely be addressed at the annual conference of the African Methodist Episcopal Church next month. Bishop Adam J. Richardson Jr., who presides over the Second Episcopal District, which includes Maryland, said that although he was not aware of any formal complaints about Bryant's pending divorce and his wife's allegation of adultery, Richardson planned to broach the topic at the conference in Baltimore.

Are you planning to cut back on your holiday spending this year because of the economy? Yes 77% No 20% Not sure 3% (1,345 votes, results not scientific) Next poll: : Should Maryland high school students be required to take a course in "financial literacy" in order to graduate, as state Comptroller Peter Franchot has proposed? Vote at baltimoresun.com/vote

Programs receive grant to improve financial literacy Human Services Programs of Carroll County Inc. has received a $30,000 grant from the American Express Foundation to improve financial literacy. The Economic Independence Fund grant will be used over one to two years to teach financial literacy programs to underserved populations, such as newly employed, young workers, people moving from welfare to work and immigrants. The money also will be used to train program instructors. Director Stephen Mood said the money would allow Human Services Programs to go beyond the limited budget counseling it provides and offer more education in financial planning and money management.

It's still National Financial Literacy Month, and so the Consumer Website of the Week is Learnvest.com . The site offers a budgeting tool to show folks who earn a biweekly paycheck how much you're taking home, how much you're saving and how much discretionary income you have. There's also checklists for many of the life changes that people often experience in the spring: graduation, first job, first independent housing. The site is geared toward young women, though many of the tips could benefit people regardless of their age or gender.

April is Financial Literacy Month. Imagine how different the economic meltdown might have been if every school-aged child were taught some basic economic skills, from learning how to earn, save and budget to investing and donating money. Financial literacy is the intellectual raw material for crafting goals and shaping strategies in the new global economy. It's like learning another language, putting a "D" for "dollars" into the ABCs of education. Twenty years ago the term "financial literacy" was barely in the lexicon.

About 70 Korean parents combed through sample essay questions from the SAT in Centennial High School's media room on a recent evening. Down the hall an additional 60 parents learned about writing techniques for elementary pupils. With the addition of a writing section to the SATs and more and core subjects requiring written explanations, the focus of the seventh annual Korean Education Seminar was writing. The event attracted more than 300 people. "Because the dominant language at home might not be English, there is a large gap in writing," said Young-chan Han, a specialist with the system's International Student and Family Outreach Office.

S.H. Irish appointed executive director of Leadership Howard Stacie Hunt Irish has been appointed executive director of Leadership Howard County. She had served as director of the Howard County Regional Campaign for United Way of Central Maryland since August 2000. A recent graduate of the Class of 2002 of Leadership Howard County, Irish will succeed Shirley M. Burrill, who has been executive director of the organization since its inception 17 years ago. She was instrumental in formulating the group's mission: to strengthen and improve the community by providing knowledgeable, effective leaders for community organizations.

Most high schools don't spend much time teaching financial literacy, which could explain the reason why personal bankruptcy rates among 25-year-olds have been climbing at an alarming rate. To help combat that situation, the National Endowment for Financial Education has created a virtual course for students and teachers on its Web site: www.nefe.org/hsfppportal/index.html. Called the NEFE High School Campus, the program offers a six-part lesson plan that covers the importance of financial planning, having a career, creating a budget, understanding credit and getting insurance.