For many high school students, independence is rapidly approaching—alongside it, the financial obligations that come with leaving home.
FHC’s Personal Finance teacher Kristen O’Brien believes her class prepares everyone who takes it to tackle these new responsibilities with ease.
“I think it’s probably the most practical class that you can take in high school because everything that we do is something that you’ll see in the future,” O’Brien said. “It helps prepare you even if you don’t necessarily understand all of the minutiae of everything we study.”
Personal Finance is offered as a semester-long course. Unlike other semester-long classes, the curriculum varies depending on when you take it.
During the first semester, students study behavioral economics as well as subjects relating to post-graduation life, like learning about loans and FAFSA, creating resumes, and other related topics. The second semester focuses on investing and budgeting, insurance, credit cards, debt, and more.
Since the two semesters have differing content, the district also offers a full-year option for Personal Finance. O’Brien prefers for students to take the class for the entire year, should their schedule permit it.
“I really like having the full-year option,” O’Brien said. “A lot of seniors take it for their senior-level math, because, again, they see how practical it is.”
I really like having the full-year option. A lot of seniors take it for their senior-level math, because, again, they see how practical it is.
— Kristin O'Brien
Since the class is quite essential to students’ futures, FHC has decided to make it a graduation requirement for the class of 2028.
Unfortunately, adding yet another requirement further limits the classes students can take; with so many extracurricular activities in our school, these freshmen may be inclined to only take one semester if a full-year credit isn’t required.
Still, O’Brien isn’t worried. The class used to fit a full year’s worth of information within one semester, and she believes that can happen again.
“I want to keep that structure but I also understand that there are some people that can’t do a full year,” O’Brien said. “[We can] do a fast-paced semester class like what we used to do.”
While there are often poor stereotypes associated with requisite classes, Senior Alayna Gschwind, who is currently taking Personal Finance, believes that this class will be fundamental for student success.
“I know, later on in the class, we are going to start working more on budgeting, and I think that can be really helpful for everyone,” Alayna said. “Also, I know when I was younger, I did not make the best money decisions, so I think that it will really help.”
Learning how to budget is one of many spending habits that students improve in Personal Finance. Hopefully, in combination with other lessons, the class will create a financially responsible generation out of the incoming freshmen.
Personal Finance isn’t just a preparatory class for the world outside of school; it is also an engaging class that many students enjoy. Senior Amelia DiBenidetto returned for another semester of Personal Finance after taking it sophomore year and continues to praise its charming environment.
“It’s a really fun atmosphere,” Amelia said. “It’s really laid back—we mostly do activities or games as a way to learn, so it’s not just a sit-in lecture, it’s more of an activity-based class. I think it’s nice.”
Arguably, one of the better elements of the curriculum is that it’s applicable to daily life. Finances are dealt with every day post-graduation, and some students are already dealing with money now.
Whether it is the curriculum of the class or the teaching style, Personal Finance is more than just a class that claims to be beneficial; O’Brien herself has heard outside of her classroom how Personal Finance has influenced students’ lives positively.
“I still see former students,” O’Brien said. “I’ll bump into them at Meijer, and they’ll be like, ‘I just bought my first car, and I remember talking about it in your class.’”
O’Brien recalls many other times when one of her past students shared how the class affected them, proving that it’s not just a requirement—it’s a class that will lead students to success.
“You don’t know what you don’t know,” O’Brien said. “Once you take this class, even if you don’t know all of it, you at least know, ‘I need to pay attention to this.’”
