I am just beginning the process of thinking about buying a home (no sooner than a year from now). I have been scouring the Internet for information on everything from when to buy to how mortgages work. This site and a couple others have been wonderful sources of information and I finally feel like I have something to contribute.
Marion brings up a good point about the CA state standards. It is extremely difficult for a public school teacher to teach something that is not in the standards.
The class that would be the most logical place for instruction about personal finance would be the 12th grade Economics class. However, there is nothing in their standards about that – http://www.cde.ca.gov/be/st/ss/hstgrade12.asp (scroll about halfway down for the econ section). The focus is on economics on a national level not a personal one.
I am about to finish my 7th year teaching in San Diego. I have in worked in several schools (including 3 years in a San Dieguito District high school) and the only thing close to a finance class was called “Business Math.” However, I don’t think it was a very rigorous course because the students who took it needed an easy math class. Granted, it may be different now.
I currently teach in a private high school and we don’t offer such a course. Neither do two other private high schools I looked at.
