Mr. Klimczak is ready to teach Personal Finance to upperclassmen. photo by Ta’Shiaia Box
Going out into the world without knowing how to manage finances isn’t ideal, but fear not, Klimczak is here to fix that!
As of 2024, Thomas Jefferson High School revised its graduation requirements for all classes, starting with the class of 2027. The revision of graduation requirements includes new required classes, including Health, Civics, and Personal Finance.
Out of all of the new required classes, both students and parents have questioned how useful Personal Finance is. It may seem like a very broad subject to some people, leading them to question its necessity in class time. However, according to Jason Klimczak, one of TJ’s personal finance teachers, the class has major benefits.
“I believe that personal finance is an important class for students to take because it applies to every student and isn’t necessarily taught in any other subject,” Klimczak explained. He continued, “Kids are getting ready for college and as a junior level class, students will be managing money, education, and the more information they can get now, will make them better off in the next 5, 10 years down the line and hopefully for the rest of their lives.”
Klimczak has taughtPersonal Finance for two years as a full course, but he’s taught Economics for the past 9 years, incorporating a personal finance lesson into those classes. Klimczak claimed, “I do believe it should be a required class and I do think there are people who are skeptical about it being required because it’s a broad topic that is being covered. Personal Finance holds the most life based topics outside of the other required classes.”
Klimczak knows better than anyone how important personal finance is. He has taught for 12 years, but before that he was a teenager who didn’t know how to manage his finances. Klimczak stated, “When I was a teen, I was not good at managing my finances! I was one of those people who would get their paycheck on a Friday, spend it all by the end of that week and then have to pinch pennies just for gas money and other things. I really wish I had a little more financial education growing up.” He worked multiple jobs throughout his teen and young adult years as well, including at a movie theater, Blockbuster Video, and Sports Authority. Klimczak goes further to claim, “All of those places have closed now, so I feel old,” Klimczak
In Personal Finance, multiple topics are taught to students, and those in the class explore how teens value money and different biases that come with managing money in everyday life. The class progresses into teaching students about checking accounts, banking fees, managing mobile banking, and learning the options they have when it comes to managing money and saving money. The reason Personal Finance is a required class is because it’s something everyone has to use in their lives. It’s better to learn the important skills now so students aren’t confused as they grow into adulthood.
Money management doesn’t have to be difficult, and TJ’s Personal Finance classes represent that. Upperclassmen are preparing to start new lives outside of high school, and money will be the center of that. Junior year and senior year happen faster than some students may think and it’s best to be prepared. Seniors already have a lot on their minds, and the worry of not knowing how to manage money, how to pay taxes, and all of the other complications kids have experienced fresh out of high school can be decreased with the help of Personal Finance classes. Rather than learning money management while grappling with other obstacles in life, students will have multiple skills related to money under their belts that are likely to make lives easier as time goes on. So, Spartans, don’t be nervous about taking Personal Finance and just know that life will feel lighter with the knowledge of managing money.
