Ont. schools expand financial literacy lessons
Last Updated: Monday, November 2, 2009 | 3:07 PM ET
CBC News
Ontario schools will soon teach students as early as Grade 4 how to use and manage money, a move that the Education Ministry says is especially important in light of the global economic crisis.
Starting in September 2011, Ontario will introduce financial literacy into school curriculums, the ministry announced Monday.
"We have made an assumption for many years that that information is information that children will get in their homes, and I think we have to be realistic that that doesn't always happen," Education Minister Kathleen Wynne told CBC News.
Personal finance is already being taught in some math, business and humanities classes in the province for students in Grades 9 through 12. But Wynne said there is inconsistency in what is being taught.
"To a large extent it depends on the teacher that a student comes across, who might have a particular bent and might know how to bring that to the classroom. But that's random," she said.
"We need this to be much more systematic."
The Education Ministry has set up a working group to prepare a report on the specifics of the plan, which will be ready by the next summer.
The working group will consult with educators and financial experts to identify key concepts for understanding money, Wynne said.
Alex Muro, who has two kids ages six and 10, said she's thrilled with the province's proposal.
"It's always a struggle with the kids, right? Because they don't know where the money comes from, they just know that parents have money — and they don't know how much or how little, so they just ask for things. That's the problem," she said.
