Financial Education – at what age?

In the New York Times best seller book Rich Dad Poor Dad the author Robert Kiyosaki talks about his two fathers one rich and the other poor. He talks about how the rich teach their children about money at a very early age, so they know how to manage money and not to earn money.

Rafe Esquith the award winning American teacher narrates in his books about his vision for teaching life skills to his 5th grade students. He cleverly teaches the importance of money to his fifth graders through his unique financial program where students use money designed by Rafe to survive in school everyday, like paying for their seat etc, they also get bonuses of for several challenging things they perform daily. The best thing is at the end of the year there is an auction and the student can get his/her favourite item with the money they have saved that year. Rafe explains in his book that is important to teach students about money because it is one life skill which will make a difference in the childrens lives, depending upon the way they decide to save their money. Please read the book “There are No-shortcuts” and “Teach Like your Hairs on Fire” to know about the details of his program.

In India also the awareness amongst parents and teachers about teaching kids about money is picking up. Banks like ING Vyasa, ICICI and HDFC bank have special kids and students account where the parents and teachers can help them learn about money in a fun way. Some banks also have cool animations to teach the kids about banking.

I remember my parents had forced me to go and deposit money in a bank at a very young age, and I was very afraid of going alone but their force helped me overcome my fear. However today this can be taught to the kids in a fun way in their own comfort zone with the help of information and technology. Please read the following article which was published in Times of India Mumbai Edition on what Indian banks have to offer and how the parents are helping (They are never too Young to Learn about Money).

Favor, Color, Labor – Indian schools and International Boards now accept American Spellings at Par with "The English – Oxford Spellings"

Yea, I was surprised too when I read about it, but it good to hear that the Indians are now beginning to see the change that the world has become flatter. That nothing is right or wrong per say people depending upon their region can decide the way they write in English.

There is an article in the Times of India – Mumbai edition today, highlighting the fact that a lot of schools across India have accepted the fact that it is ok for the students to drop a letter from a word and still not get reprimanded from their teachers for their spelling error unless it changes the meaning of the word.

Even an ICSE spokesperson says that they allow American spelling and do not cut marks for its use. However they are penalized if the meaning of the word changes.

I think this a very bold step and a good change, as the article truly says with the computer and the internet today’s youth is more familiar with the American way.

Hey, if you need to learn more modern slang keep visiting www.urbandictionary.com may be one day that will too be allowed in schools.

Creating Emotionally Safe Schools


Educationalists around the world are talking about Knowledge Economy but we still follow the Industrial Age Thinking in our teaching. We still want the students to be punctual, obedient and to be able to do rote and repetitive work.

We almost tend to forget that the world has become flat. The most important thing that needs to be taught in the class is not content but 21st Century Skills.

Educationalists around the world are trying their best to educate today’s teachers about the knowledge age and about the changes that are required in their teaching today’s youth. The title of this post is from a book written by Jane Bluestein “Creating Emotionally Safe Schools”. She has written a couple books on current education and travels around the world training teachers. She has website www.janebluestein.com which has a lot of valuable information on teaching today’s kids.

We might have a lot of resources, but can’t really work on them or improvise upon them unless we put them into practice. Please browse through her website and share, if you find something useful that we can put into practice.