Cache High School Finance Class is a hit, students praise its real-world applications

CACHE, Okla. (TNN) - Erik Scott says he always wanted to be a teacher and was always interested in solving real life problems. It wasn’t until after he retired from the Navy, married, entered the work force and raised three children of his own though that he realized his high school home economics class didn’t quite prepare him for all that life had to offer.

“It was just traditional you know - the algebra pre-calculus textbooks and it was the chalkboard that we took notes from. We did our homework and turned it in the next day,” he said.

It was nothing like the financial mathematics class, Financial Life Cycle Education, he teaches seniors at Cache High School. The schools’ principal, Christy Taylor, ushered the elective into the school last year after a chance encounter with a local banker left her wondering if students could learn more about personal finance.

“It was actually Eddy Dabney here at the local bank that introduced me to these people that started this fi cycle program and they’re out in New York City,” she said. “We didn’t know what to expect, we didn’t know how the kids would respond to the math class but we’ve received nothing but positive feedback so far.”

The elective, focuses on income, compound interest, assets and liabilities. It’s a hit in Scotts class where students say they’re already using lessons to plan for their future.

Eighteen-year-old Financial Life Cycle Education Student, Lauren Green expects to graduate from high school in just a few days and to begin college in the fall at Cameron University. She said she plans on studying to become a psychologist. Unlike most psychology majors, however, she said, she has a business plan ready to help her own her own practice thanks to Scotts’ class.

”He’s taught us the best ways to save your money, the best things to invest in ... so it’s stuff I feel like everyone can take from, especially when you’re going out the door next week.”

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