Before he became a business and information technology teacher at Doss High School in Louisville, Eric Wilson spent six years in the corporate world.
What he experienced working at U.S. Bank NA and First Residential Mortgage Network Inc. is what pushed him to become a teacher.
“When I saw these people in desperate financial situations, (I) saw how easily it could have been avoided if they would have proper planning and proper education,” Wilson said.
Wilson teaches in the Doss business and information technology track, which includes management and finance. He also manages the school’s credit union, a branch of Class Act Credit Union that is staffed by Doss students.
One course Wilson teaches is a financial services class for freshman. It provides students with an overview of banks and other financial services companies based on curriculum developed by the National Academy Foundation, a New York-based developer of industry-focused curriculum.
The financial services course teaches students budgeting, investing and current banking issues, according to the course outline.
After taking the initial financial services course, Wilson said, students can take finance-based courses in business management, business law and accounting.
But that basic finance course is something Wilson said he believes every high school student should have to take.
Ryan Deal, business and IT career theme specialist at Jefferson County Public Schools, said a financial literacy course is required for some career pathways, such as business and technology, but is not a JCPS requirement for graduation.
Wilson said computer courses often teach budgeting with the computer program Excel, but it only goes as in depth as the teacher is willing to take it.
Citing data from the National Academy Foundation, he said that nationwide, only about 10 percent of high school students get any kind of financial education.
“That’s just ridiculous,” he said.
During his student teaching at Fern Creek High School, Wilson said, he developed a project that required students to create a budget using Excel.
Wilson said it forces students to get a job (in theory), and from there, it shows the taxes that are withheld from pay, requires them to pay all of their bills and then shows them how much money they have left over at the end.
“They thought a $10-an-hour job was making good money because they don’t realize, once all these bills come out, just how much you are left over with,” Wilson said.
Wilson explained that students often are consumed with the celebrity and sports culture, so providing them insight about the cost of living allows them to set realistic expectations when it comes to money.
“It’s very eye-opening to these kids,” he said. “They have no idea what it’s like to make enough money to keep the lights on.”
At the end of the finance class, Wilson’s students are asked to address two issues facing the community that could be addressed by financial services.
He said it makes the students think more about what is happening around them, rather than themselves.