Why financial literacy is vital
Information for building a prosperous future has been scarce for students of color especially
Editor’s note: A new school year brings new hopes. Hope that mental and emotional growth are exponential. That test scores soar. That everything just clicks. Students of color might consider themselves lucky if just one of those items can be checked off the list. In this four-part series, we’ll look at common educational hurdles faced by students of color and shed light on ways some members of the community are overcoming them.
Reading is taught as a fundamental skill — exercised constantly from the days of “Goodnight Moon” through “Great Expectations.” Reading bank statements? Not so much.
Taofeeq Rasaki, 18, from Chicago’s Uptown neighborhood, is headed to the University of Southern California in the fall. He said that as a student at Walter Payton College Prep, he received almost no financial literacy education in school. Classmate Mario Wiggins Jr., 18, said he took a consumer education class, but it wasn’t “super detailed.” Both are African American.
A team from the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign School of Social Work recently analyzed data from the 2016 National Financial Capability Study, which assessed financial knowledge and practices of 3,050 U.S. adults. They found that nearly a third of young adults have poor financial literacy, but the disadvantage may not be equally distributed.
Data showed that college-educated white males are better at planning and managing their money, and participants that had less financial socialization — formal or informal learning about financial concepts and money management — had lower financial aptitude.
If that learning doesn’t happen in the classroom — or at home — it may not happen at all.
The Academy Group (AG) hopes to change that. The educational social enterprise focuses on helping young people of color in underserved Chicago neighborhoods build a financial foundation that leads to entrepreneurship and workplace leadership. From fourth grade through college, the free program provides academic support, mentoring and work experience, so students can acquire the skills required to create wealth for their families and communities; financial literacy is a key component.
“For us, it’s not an either/or; it’s a both,” said Dr. Kathleen Caliento, chief learning and design officer with AG. “You can get kids excited about financial services, but also teach them why it’s important to actually think