Finance as pre-requisite grants effective motivator

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(VIKTORIA BARR/EYE OF THE TIGER)

KALE JIBSON and KALE JIBSON

Roseville High School administration recently decided that juniors looking to become a teacher’s assistant or hoping to take a fourth period off have to complete the personal finance course in order to become eligible to do so.

This is a huge step in the right direction for a number of reasons, the main one being it incentivises students to complete the course earlier rather than waiting until senior year to get it done.

As a senior who still doesn’t have the finance course done, I wish that this policy would have gone into effect when I was a junior.

I find it so hard to get the motivation to actually sit down and complete the course, and I know I’m not the only one. I always say that I’m going to get it done, which usually means that I’m not completing it anytime soon.

When it comes to RHS administration making policy changes on student education and course selections, I’m usually against it. However, this one takes a step in the right direction.
RHS will see immediate results as more and more students will complete this course and the percentage for completion will be through the roof.

However, I understand that current freshman, sophomores, and juniors might not like this policy change for establishing a new requirement.

If I can say one thing to them it would be this: it will be worth it in the future. When underclassmen become seniors and they get the infamous “senioritis,” they will be glad that they don’t have to worry about getting the finance course out of the way because they will have already completed it. My advice to them is to get it done and learn as much as they can from it because it will help them later on in life.

While this new policy provides helpful incentive, taking the course just to be a teacher’s assistant or taking it just to have a fourth period off is not the right motivation.

I have fourth period off, and while it is nice to go home at 12:33 everyday, I wish I had taken a class that would have challenged me, such as AP Environmental Science or AP Human Geography.
Do everything in your power to try and further your education, both in regular classes and in the personal finance course, because before you know it, you are going to be in college and then you will start your career. It goes by fast.

There are amazing classes offered by RHS that are fun and innovative with great teachers to teach them. Use that to your advantage.