Lack of tax knowledge affects Colonie students

By: Will Molesky

3/4/22

Tax season has started and the students at Colonie High School are beginning the process of filing taxes. With some having jobs and others becoming legal adults, some students will need to learn financial literacy.

Students who have jobs and make over $12,550 will need to file taxes. Students will also need help with student loan debt when they go to college and how to pay it off and avoid getting into debt as much as possible.

According to Lauren Diaz of the Daily Titan “Only 12 percent of elementary and high school classes currently teach forms of financial education”.

Although financial literacy is taught in the high school it is not required for a high school student to graduate. According to the Colonie Schools website only three math credits are required to graduate.

Although financial advice is taught about in Colonie it is not required or a part of the main curriculum; it is taught through a separate class called financial algebra. other regular math classes do not teach anything about finances and a class that teaches you about economics doesn't teach you anything about finance advice or taxes.

When asked if a class like financial algebra should be taught Metin Demelli stated that “I think a class like that should be taught because high school students have no idea how to do financial stuff”.

When asked if classes like economics should be taught in school Liam Keane said “Yes because incentives and disincentives are important but being fiscally responsible is more important”.

Metin Demelli stated that “I do wish some of my other classes would teach me more about financial stuff”. They then went on to say that “I am going to be out of high school and I still have no idea what I'm going to have to do in the future”.

According to Everfi, an education website, it states that sixty three percent of students believe that parents should teach their children about money management and eighty three percent of students believe that “personal finance should be mandatory in school”.

A student that had been interviewed, when asked if parents or schools should teach about taxes, stated that “I believe that schools should because I feel that in a school it would be a better environment for learning”.