My school introduced new financial literacy courses targeting “high-risk” freshmen. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t the one clamoring for more useful courses. Do students really need Algebra 1, Algebra 2, Geometry, and Statistics? I don’t think so.
Receiving diverse experiences in school is important, and understanding the basics is necessary. However, practical classes that prepare them for the adult world are helpful. Although some parents opt out of it, Health is one of the most important classes we offer. Students learn about STDs, pregnancy, and the cost of raising children. Yes, they know all of this in the abstract by the time they reach high school, but few of them truly understand the reality. Every year, I have kids coming to me in awe of what they learned in health class.
So, my district is working to rectify this, and I am mostly on board. Of course, I can’t help but take note of the “high-risk” label. This isn’t a mandatory class for all students, and it isn’t an elective in the strictest sense. Instead, kids are placed in these classes based on school performance and family history.
At my school, this usually leads to a class of Black and brown kids. I can’t help but think of a Zoom meeting I recently attended, hosted by Black Men Build. In it, they discussed how financial literacy is used to blame Black people for their economic failures rather than looking at systemic racism.
It is a a necessary conversation when discussing financial literacy, and we should take the time to consider what is important, what is intentional, and how to navigate going forward.
Importance of financial literacy
In the meeting, the importance of financial literacy was mostly dismissed. They admitted it was important, but also argued poor people get financial literacy. We know how to budget. It is necessary when you know your next meal is not guaranteed. There is truth to this.
Their real point is that financial literacy isn’t going to save Black people, but by dismissing the importance of financial literacy, they open themselves up to criticism.
For example, I’ve always considered myself fairly frugal. I started working around 12 and consistently by 15. All of my money went to my mother, outside of some comics or the very rare video game. Nevertheless, going into college, I had no idea how loans truly worked. I understood that my mother would get loans and struggle to pay them back, but I was assured if I worked hard, my student loans would not be an issue.
Well, yeah, turns out student loans have interest rates so horrible that anyone with any sense would avoid them, or at the very least take on a career that can effectively pay them back in a timely manner. When I went to college, I loved writing and learning. I had no idea what career path I would take. I also chose the most expensive school that accepted me because that’s what I was supposed to do, right?
Even after graduating and deciding to teach, I again went to an expensive school, this time across the country, because I believed that was a better decision than doing something more affordable. It is truly baffling decision-making now that I look back. A single class that dove into the nuance of student loans could have lead me down a more beneficial route.
If kids don’t receive financial guidance and support from their parents, it takes a while to figure that stuff out. Trial and error in late-stage capitalism leads to debt and bad credit.
Furthermore, if we are keeping it one hundred, some adults are just really bad with money. I’ve watched people go through thousands of dollars like water, and then beg for help paying rent a month later.
I worked at a bank for years and watched people struggle to understand how spending their money meant they were out of money. I remember one case in particular where a customer received an $8,000 tax refund. She opened up an account, put $500 in it, and took the other $7500 in cash.
She returned, maybe a couple of weeks later, accusing the bank of stealing her money. I sat down with her and showed her the math on what she had spent. She still couldn’t comprehend how all of her money was gone, even though simple math showed she spent it. Perhaps those extra Math classes are necessary.
In short, financial literacy is important for everyone before entering the real world.
The intentions of financial literacy
Pull yourself up by the bootstraps has been “advice” hurled toward Black people for decades. It posits that if Black people work extremely hard, they will be rewarded. As an individual, I agree with this. Yes, it will be unfair. You will hit roadblocks and ceilings and enemies who constantly tear you down. If you build a city, be ready for America to burn it, drown it, smash it. However, yes, it is still possible.
I came from a world where breakfast was toothpaste, lunch was coffee, and dinner was sleep. Now, I don’t have to worry about eating. I’m far from rich, but this is the financial dream for me.
However, just because I can put food in my mouth doesn’t mean racism is solved. In 2025, it is easy to see that racism is alive and well. Those roadblocks and ceilings are forms of systemic racism.
We have plenty of rich Black people in America. Did they solve systemic racism? Did Obama? Did the Black excellence movement? Sadly, many of them achieve wealth and pull the ladder up behind them. They will preach the same insulting rhetoric. “Pull yourself up by the bootstraps.”
Even if we look at something simple like obtaining a job, racial bias plays a major part. Even AI tools used to rank applications show bias against Black names.
It is important to note that financial literacy is rarely stated as a problem in the white community, and this is the major issue. Financial literacy is important for everyone, but is most often cited as a problem for Black people. Some people say it from ignorance, but some people say it with the insidious knowledge of how it shifts the discussion from systemic change to individual responsibility.
What now?
I can’t talk about financial literacy in America without mentioning how the orange guy is making things more difficult for most normal Americans. Living from paycheck to paycheck is going to become even more common for the average person. It almost feels silly to teach financial literacy when rich people will constantly change the rules.
Nevertheless, financial literacy is important. I think it should be a necessary class for everyone instead of targeting a small group of kids. We have classes like art and computer science as requirements, so shifting things around a bit shouldn’t be too difficult.
Financial literacy isn’t just important for one high-risk group, and this is how we change the conversation. Financial literacy is important for everyone.
This post originally appeared on Medium and is edited and republished with author's permission. Read more of LG Ware's work on Medium.