It's no secret, especially on a site like Steemit that opens the door to financial independence, that the school systems have failed SO SO SO many of us when it comes to teaching financial literacy. We get a well-rounded background in knowledge of various things, the most important of which are reading/writing skills and mathematics/analytical thinking, but the least important are those in various biology classes and other classes, where only specialist will need to know that knowledge. Before you jump down my throat, check out the meme, which sums up the fact that students are not taught the fundamentals of the way taxes work and the way that we can achieve financial freedom. Imho, the way that the cells of the body work are just fun facts, unless you're one of the .000001% of people who are going to apply those concepts to breakthrough science. That said, taxes will affect all of us and the fact of the matter is that people who can achieve financial independence will be able to devote themselves fully to their passions, be it science or otherwise. Sure, to a degree we want to expose kids to certain concepts to see if it ignites a spark that will lead them to academic greatness, but beyond the exposure that can foster that growth, it isn't necessary to inundate us with facts like that.
'Rich Dad, Poor Dad' by Robert Kiyosaki is as relevant as it was in the late 90s when it came out as it is today. The opportunities available in the Dot Com Boom are re-emerging during the Blockchain Movement, which makes Robert's teachings more relevant than they've been for the last 10-15 years. The best part about that book is it teaches financial literacy and the simplistic, practical approach for building wealth and gaining financial freedom and it does it in a non-threatening, easy-to-understand way. I'm serious; some of the most in-depth pictures include:
and I think this is a pretty straightforward picture. It points out that the rich buy and earn from assets and that the poor and middle class often purchase liabilities and rely solely on income from their job as their main/only source of income to pay for the expenses that are a result of the liabilities. The entire book gets you thinking in a new way about how to make money, how to see/make opportunities, and it teaches you to not be afraid of money and to make it work for you. If everyone read 'Rich Dad, Poor Dad', I think the economy would be growing faster, I think people would be happier, and every student leaving high school would be better off. We'd have less people in crippling debt, the student loan and banking systems that prey on the poor and the weak through interest/fees would have less of an advantage. The book gives you your power back; if you feel like you're stuck in a bad financial system, that is the book for you. It will really open your eyes if you haven't read it before. I think all high school kids should read it; it's more important than biology (except for the basics of first aid), more important than social studies, and more important even than Civics, which is important to a degree, but needs to touch upon taxes and the way to handle them in modern day.