Financial literacy the subject of Turning Points lecture today

Pamela Whalley, director of the Center for Economic and Financial Education at Western Washington University, will present “Nice People Don’t Talk About it” at 5:15 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 16, in Communications Facility Room 110.

The event is free and open to the public and is part of WWU’s Turning Points Faculty Speaker Series, which celebrates and shares the wealth of knowledge and talent on Western’s campus.

Whalley will ask the audience to consider the following:

  • Only 70 percent of children who start ninth grade graduate four years later;
  • Financial difficulties are the number one reason students don’t attend or drop out of college;
  • Financial incompatibility and mismanagement are listed as the number one cause of divorce;
  • Poor financial choices played a role in causing the Great Recession.

The common theme is financial illiteracy. We know students are leaving high school financially illiterate. Scores on financial literacy tests given to high school students nationwide have fallen 16percent since 1998 to an average of 48.3 percent. Recent surveys of college students indicate their level of knowledge isn’t much higher, with average scores in the 60 percent range. Despite the need for financial education, Washington does not require financial education at the K-12 level. So where do our children learn about personal finance? They report that they learn by observation at home or from their peers. More people talk to their children about sex than about money and their peers are apt to be equally uninformed.

Whalley will explore ways to begin the conversation about money in schools and at home so our children will be prepared for the financial world which awaits them. The reality is that our children aren’t failing personal finance – we are failing to provide them with this vital life skill.

Pam Whalley, director of the Center for Economic and Financial Education, also serves as president of the Washington Council for Economic and Financial Education and teaches courses at WWU. As director/president, she presents teacher training workshops and community outreach programs on economics/personal financial topics to educators across the state. She is vice chair of the Financial Education Public/Private Partnership (FEPPP) and chair of its education committee. FEPPP is charged by the legislature with increasing the financial literacy of Washington’s K-12 students. She coordinated the first K-12 district wide rollout of financial education in the state. Her research includes work in financial education. This fall, two of her books were published: “Financial Fitness for Life Parent’s Guide K-5” and “Financial Fitness for Life Parent’s Guide 6-12”.

Whalley received her graduate and undergraduate training in economics at Indiana University, in Bloomington, Ind. Her teaching experience includes service at Indiana University, Whatcom Community College, and Western.

Sponsored by the Western Washington University Foundation, the Turning Points Faculty Speaker Series features one-hour talks by faculty members who are experts in their fields. No tickets are required.

No permit is required to park after 4:30 p.m. in the gravel lots 12A and the C lots south of the Communications Facility, near Fairhaven College. Parking meters require payment all hours.

For more information about the Turning Points faculty speaker series call (360) 650-7545 or visit http//www.wwu.edu/turningpoints.