At the Park

Financial Literacy Courses are Coming!

Sharod Hodge, Staff Writer

October 14, 2024

Mr. Michaels, teacher of Accounting 1, 2, Entrepreneurship, Business Finance, and Personal Finance, conducts his class in his room.

Next year, upcoming Wheeling Park High School freshmen must take a financial literacy course.

Currently, seniors from the Class of 2025 and through until the class of 2028 go through an EVERFI program on financial literacy in their Civics class. EVERFI is an 11-module course that students are required to pass for graduation.

Even now, a few courses such as personal finance and business finance deal with similar topics. I’ve brought together two teachers who have differing opinions on the courses.

Mr.Micheals, teacher of accounting 1, 2, entrepreneurship, business finance, and personal finance gave his thoughts on the required financial literacy course.

“I am one hundred percent in favor of it being a required class for students to have before graduation.”

As for the EVERFI course in civics, Mr.Micheals explains that the biggest issue with the course isn’t the course itself, but the timeframe it’s given in.

“It’s typically done within a– you know, two-week period. And so, there’s really not enough time dedicated to it.” Said Mr. Micheals. “It’s not that the EVERFI program is bad, but it’s very condensed and very summarized. The topics that will be covered in the mandated class will have more depth and more substance.”

The plans for who will teach the course aren’t set yet, and therefore there’s no way to predict how the addition may affect Mr.Micheals. However, the removal of the EVERFI course does affect the teachers who teach it.

Ms.Mamakos, a teacher of contemporary history and civics gave her thoughts, “I’m okay giving up EVERFI in the civics would because then I’d have more time to teach about civics!”

As for her ideas on the financial literacy course, Mamakos said, “I think it’s a really good idea that they have a financial literacy course, but they haven’t really told us what’s going to be in it.”

Overall the financial literacy course will be a way for students to learn more about the financial world and apply that mindset in the real world. This change will also allow Civics teachers to free up their courses and teach more now that EVERFI will be replaced.

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About the Contributors

Sharod Hodge, Staff Writer

Sharod Hodge is a reader and a writer. Sharod likes to write fantasy and/or, but doesn't mind reading any genre. He has an interest in studies of voice and voicework. Whether it be acting, singing, radio, or audiobooks, Sharod thinks the study of performance is fun, even if it’s sometimes difficult to understand. Sharod loves improving his hobbies of writing and voice acting in Fundamentals of Broadcasting. Sharod believes that even the smallest of improvements are worth being happy about. In the future, Sharod wants to try to be in a commercial or advertisement. He would also like to publish something like a novel or short story.

JoceLynn McFarland, Staff Writer

JoceLynn McFarland is a staff writer at the Park Press, and this is her second year working in the newspaper as a junior. JoceLynn has written numerous articles about the importance of mental health awareness. She enjoys writing articles that have great importance and should be talked about. Call, text, or chat: 1-844-HELP4WV or www.help4wv.com if you or anyone you know is struggling. You are not alone. Outside of the Park Press, JoceLynn is a decade-long Swiftie whose favorite eras include 1989, Reputation, and Folklore. The lyric "Past me, I wanna tell you not to get lost in these petty things, your nemeses will defeat themselves before they get the chance to swing," from "long story short" is her favorite.