Minnesota high school students must now take a personal finance course to graduate, thanks to a new state law.
5 EYEWITNESS NEWS stopped by Eagan High School on Friday as students got a head start on financial literacy, learning about money management in their classrooms.
“Thanks to my teacher and the knowledge that I have now I would have never thought of doing that before, opening up a Roth IRA, doing all the stuff when you turn 18 that is very crucial for you to do,” said Hailey Santos, a senior.
Malia Fang, a sophomore, added, “I think it’s definitely super helpful for the future.”
The course, previously an elective, is now mandatory and covers topics such as income planning, taxes, debt, insurance, and investing.
“Right now it’s definitely a little overwhelming, like, learning the amount of finances I’m going to have to take care of and organize in the future, but I think it’s preparing me well,” Fang said.
Course engagement
Abby Osborn, who teaches the class, noted her students’ unexpected enthusiasm.
“They engage with the material because they’re like, ‘Wow, that is something I’m going to actually use,’” she said. “I wouldn’t have thought that kids would be super excited about health insurance, but they got really into what is a copay, what is a deductible, how much is this going to cost me if I go to the hospital for this incident.”
Students find the course relevant as it applies to real-life situations.
“We recently did a simulation of types of insurance and types of things that can happen like your car breaks down and you need to pay $600, and that’s very realistic,” Fang said.
The importance of financial literacy
Staff at Eagan High School believe that early financial education is beneficial for any career path.
“They generally realize that it’s going to be important for them in the future,” Osborn said.
Santos emphasized, “If you set yourself up for a certain plan, a certain outcome will come out of it, so just got to stay on track with that.”