Testing the Hypothesis

1. The opportunity I want to pursue is that Colleges and Highschools fail to teach students the importance of investing because they focus too much time on teaching other things that have less value in the real world.

2. Who: Colleges and Highschools, students
    What: They do not teach students about investing
    Why: They spend too much time teaching other subjects with less importance

3. Hypothesis: I believe that teaching students about investing will have a larger impact on their future then subjects such as foreign language and history. Although those subjects are important and have their place in the curriculum, investing is relevant for all people.

Testing the who: There are a select amount of highschools that teach financial literacy however the vast amount do not. The same could be said about colleges. All students should have the benefit of knowing about investment so they are prepared later in life.

Testing the what: High schools do not talk about equity or debt at all unless they offer a financial literacy course. Colleges offer courses about equity and debt however most of them don't go past basic definitions and concepts. It would be more helpful if they offered advice and walked students through how they could actually begin investing.

Testing the why: Educational institutions have always focused on the 4 basic subjects of learning. Math, Social Studies, English, and Science have always dominated school. These provide a well-rounded view of the world but they do not offer much real life value unless you work in one of these fields. These subjects should continue to be taught, but room should be made for more practical subjects such as investing.

4. After interviewing five people about this subject, I found that the results were very consistent. All five people agreed that there is a lack of teaching about investment in High school and College. They also agreed that educational institutions focus too much on the core 4 subjects. While these are important, there are missed opportunities to teach more useful things. Two of the five people had financial literacy class in highschool but it was only for one half of one year. It seems everybody i talked to is in agreement that this is an opportunity.

5. The interviews reinforced my beliefs about this opportunity. Investment should be a bigger topic in education as it has the power to change people's lives for the better.