It goes without saying that teenagers can be a little stupid. Why wouldn’t they be? As teens break out of the bubble of childhood and start to adapt to the real adult world around them, some missteps and mistakes are inevitable. A common blunder, one that often frustrates parents, is when their children mishandle money. Whether losing money, spending too much money, or splurging on unnecessary items, teenagers seem to waste their parents’ hard-earned dollars on whims and impulses, frustrating adults to their wits’ ends. However, what these adults fail to realize is that their children aren’t simply being careless. They genuinely have no idea how to handle money, and by the way Claremont High teaches, they won’t until senior year, which is far too late.

As children, people are sheltered from the world. Their family provides for food, shelter, clothing, and most wants and desires, meaning that children grow up completely oblivious to the financial aspects of life skills. As they grow into adolescence, adults start providing allowances, and for the first time, teenagers are able to freely spend money without advice from adults. It should not come as a surprise that they make mistakes and waste money when they have no idea how to budget it.

Schools are responsible for students’ education in order to prepare them for life, but Claremont High is neglecting its students’ financial education. Economics is a prerequisite for graduation at Claremont High, but it is not available until senior year, which is far too late after three years of students handling money on their own. The school owes it to its students to make the class mandatory for freshman year so that all students are able to become financially literate at a younger age, avoiding unnecessary trouble on the part of students and their parents alike.