FACS Spotlight:

Update on Financial Literacy

Few would argue the need for financial literacy for our middle and secondary students. However, just how to meet that need is a point of discussion among today's educators. Thomas D. Rutan, Associate Director of the Office of Curriculum and Instruction at the Ohio Department of Education, and veteran Social Studies teacher, has been instrumental in the national effort to provide young people with an economics education. Not surprisingly, and as Classroom Solutions soon learned, he is passionate on the subject.

Q: What brought you to your current role-and to your commitment to financial literacy?

A: I taught American history, world history, and American government in high-performing high schools located in affluent suburban communities for 13 years before moving into administration. I then served for 18 years as a principal in a suburban, comprehensive high school of 2,000 students. I retired in 1996 and became Executive Director of the Ohio Business Week Foundation, which teaches high school juniors and seniors the fundamentals of the American free enterprise system through a business planning simulation that takes place in the summer months on a university campus.

In 1999, I became President of Jr. Achievement of Central Ohio, the largest, oldest and fastest-growing economic education support program in the world. So, in a sense, I ran programs that taught financial literacy and entrepreneurship to students for nine years. In 2006, I came to the Ohio Department of Education and was appointed to the Ohio Commission for Personal Finance Education representing our agency on that State Treasurer-led initiative. Today I oversee Social Studies, Fine Arts, Foreign Language, Physical Education, and Financial Literacy.

Timely Legislation

Q: It seems as though financial literacy has received greater attention recently. Is this a sign of the times?

A: Over the years, there have been several attempts in the Ohio General Assembly to pass state-mandated legislation requiring the teaching of financial literacy in Ohio's schools. In 2006, the Ohio Core legislation was passed that required that "...instruction in economics and personal finance be provided to every student as expressed in the social studies academic content standards..."

That said, it would appear that support for this effort at this time was influenced by record numbers of home foreclosures, a world-wide financial system crisis, a housing industry collapse, record credit card debt, and a record number of bankruptcy filings. I would definitely say passage of this legislation was related to today's economic turmoil.

Q: What do you think are the most important, perhaps long-overlooked, aspects of these standards?

A: The simple fact that students now receive instruction in this area speaks to the importance of educating our young people to be engaged and functionally literate. For too long a time personal finance was taught to students by their parents. In today's technical world, that is no longer always possible. Sometimes the reverse occurs: The younger generation who is more tech-savvy introduces new financial concepts to parents and grandparents.

Adjustments in the Classroom

Q: What adjustments will teachers-especially FACS teachers-need to make to accommodate updated financial literacy standards?

A: Teachers of financial literacy in all areas need to make this content come to life and make it an exercise in relevancy as well as in comprehension. They need to introduce to students the technical side of financial literacy from marketing themselves for jobs to earning, investing, saving, and spending wisely. They need to help students recognize the perils of poor financial decision-making and realize that a "live now pay tomorrow" attitude leads to personal disaster. This attitude can, and often does, carry over into college, when freshmen tend to make poor financial decisions and soon find themselves deep in credit card debt.

Teachers need to make certain they use "living standards" that can adjust as conditions warrant. Simply teaching students how to balance their checkbooks is no longer adequate, because simply "paying yourself first" and putting a few dollars in your savings account in a commercial bank is no longer adequate. Even simply paying off your revolving loans on time is no longer adequate. Instruction must be relevant, current, and engaging for students to understand, embrace and accept.

Finding a Place for Finance

Q: Given the Ohio State Board of Education's new legislation regarding financial literacy requirements (see New Ohio Standard, below), how do schools determine in which disciplines it should be taught?

A: In Ohio, FACS and Business Education remain largely electives in most schools. However, Ohio legislation requires that instruction in personal finance be delivered to all students. Hence, school officials are tasked with the responsibility of requiring an elective course that includes this instruction, establishing a stand-alone course focusing on personal finance (see New FACS Courses, below), or embedding personal finance in an existing required course. The bottom line is that every child must receive this instruction by the time the graduation class of 2014 exits school.

back to top