I didn’t know about a Careers course being taught in grade 10. While that’s great that something is being taught, I think you’re right in that it needs to be brought up again. I was lucky enough to recognize from a young age that I wanted to be involved in technology somehow or some way, and even my brief dive into sales mostly led me to technologically-oriented companies.

It also sounds like you and I are both fortunate enough to have parents who are smart with money. I think we all need to recognize that not everyone is so fortunate, or not inquisitive enough even to talk to their parents about money. That’s how we end up with students leaving school with mountains of debt (bank loans, OSAP, credit cards, etc.) left to work for the next 10-15 years just to pay for the education they got that may not have led them to a career they’re happy with.

Like I said – what I think should be taught, at least, is the basics. How to setup a budget, tips to stick to it, why it’s important. Done. You don’t need an entire course on budgeting, but a project/game could make it more fun to learn about. That’s something I’ve been looking at a lot lately – games that supposedly make learning more fun. It’s a part of the School of One system and several others.

Regardless, it’ll be interesting to see how the next few years play out with so many disruptive factors at play.

As you mentioned, the only personal education seems to happen outside of the classroom, with guidance counsellors, with your gym coach (if sports are your thing), or during the time you take as a student to learn with a teacher one-on-one. You could argue that this is the right approach. The students that need the help and want it have chances to get it, and the school stays out of the personal lives of the students by teaching them ‘applicable’ knowledge, like all of the stuff on Wikipedia that the average student probably wouldn’t browse through on a weekday evening.

All the financial knowledge I’ve had to acquire came through my father, and I think in hindsight it worked out OK. I was very inquisitive about things and was fortunate to have support from my parents, so that ‘s something to take into account if you’re proposing to introduce a basic finances course. Every student’s situation is different, and as soon as a teacher introduces concepts that deal with personal finances you’re bound to start engaging in some sticky discussions.

I think the Careers course in the 10th grade needs to be extended, or have some equivalent in the senior years. I’m looking at the curriculum (since it’s been a while..) and it goes all the way up to the interview, but nothing after that. Many of the skills that you say you wish you had learned seem to happen _after_ the job. I think you can teach some basics if you take a path like this, like how to handle a paycheque, what a pension plan is, how to respectfully disagree with your boss, etc. A lot of students in high school already have jobs, so you wouldn’t want to spend too much time on the mundane topics, but ones that deal with preparedness for the decades of work after high school should definitely be addressed to everyone.