Editorial: A financial challenge

It's hard to find a silver lining in the economic clouds still looming above us, but here's one possible benefit: Weathering the worst period since the Great Depression should motivate people to be better caretakers of their personal economies.

To do so, however, means they'll need to learn better money-management skills, and the earlier the better. Unfortunately, there's not much evidence that's happening now. As several surveys have shown, many students leave high school without an understanding of basic financial concepts or money-management skills. One such study, the 2008 national Jump$tart survey of high-school seniors, found that the financial literacy of high-school students had fallen to its lowest level since the biennial survey began more than a decade ago. More than 6,500 seniors took a 31-question survey and, on average, could only correctly answer 48.3 percent of the questions. If those teens turn into financially dysfunctional adults, it doesn't auger well for the nation's economic future.

That's why we'd encourage teens and high school teachers to take part in the National Financial Capability Challenge, a nationwide program designed to help high school students take control of their financial futures. The challenge is a joint project of the U.S. Departments of Treasury and Education, coordinated through state education departments. The goal is to have 1 million students register for the challenge in March or April. The project is voluntary, but Rowan-Salisbury is among school systems that have distributed information to high school teachers and encouraged participation. (Find more information or sign up at http://challenge.treas.gov or www.ncpublicschools.org/pfl/resources/).

Although North Carolina incorporates some financial lessons in the standard curriculum, they're usually included in other subject areas such as social studies. The challenge offers an opportunity to highlight the importance of financial literacy while giving students a better grasp of the basics of banking, credit, saving and investing. After classroom and independent study, students can take the challenge, a voluntary online exam, with educators and top-scoring students receiving award certificates. Schools and states with the highest participation rates will earn special distinction.

Arguments will continue over who's to blame for this economic crisis, but one thing should be clear: Consumers have to take responsibility for themselves. They can't look to others to protect their financial interests or safeguard their personal economic security. It's never too soon to start learning and practicing that lesson.