For Patrick Dwyer Merrill Lynch was a company which he had dreamed of working of since he was a young boy and after we finished studying at the university of Miami, that is exactly what he went on to do. Now if we are to be completely honest it was in fact Patrick Dwyer’s dream to be a starting QB for his beloved Miami Dolphins, but he never quite had the skills. Patrick skills were all centered around mathematics and finance and that is why he has gone on to have the glittering career which he has. We met up last week and I wanted to pick his brains own a recent initiative that he has started, trying to get better financial education into schools and here is why he thinks it is so necessary.
Personal Finance
Personal finance is something which we are expected to learn from our parents rather than the school system but this shouldn’t be the case and Patrick believes that it is the responsibility of the school system to properly educate boys and girls about how to manage their money. WE can see throughout the country that there are so many people in debt which they cannot manage, having racked up personal loans and credit card balances which they simony cannot afford to pay. The consequences of debt can be catastrophic and we must teach young people about responsible lending. Furthermore our young men and women should be taught about money management and how they can make a budget or arrange their monthly bills. If we teach the students then we can help them to become more responsible adults.
Business Finance
It always seems strange that when students study business they will learn about all manner of strategies like the Boston Matrix and beyond, but not about managing a business and its finances. The large majority of businesses who fail, do so because of poor financial management, something which we could certainly help minimize if we do a better job at teaching our young men and women how to properly manage business finance, how to seek investment, understanding tax codes and interest rates and ultimately how to financially manage business. We live in a world were more and more businesses are being created as each year passes and this is exactly why we must prepare our young adults for this competitive world. Setting up a business is very fashionable and as an education system we must make sure that we are doing everything that we can to increase the chances of success for a student.
What are your thoughts on better financial education in the school system? Do you agree with Patrick that more can and should be done? Or do you think that it should be the responsibility of the parents to teach their children about money management and finance? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below this post.
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