H&R Block Promotes Financial Fitness

H&R Block is donating more than $1 million to high schools nationwide for financial education curriculum.

H&R Block's Dollars and Sense program is partnering with Knowledge Matters, a provider of simulation-based educational software, and DECA, an international student organization that works to improve education, to promote financial fitness among teens.

The University of Kansas apparently administered a financial knowledge test to high school seniors. The end result: more than 50 percent of the seniors failed. One would think that perhaps their parents should be teaching them more about money. Actually, when the parents were tested about their personal finance management, a whopping 77 percent failed.

It's not clear how H&R Block plans to ration out the shy sum, but hopefully in the near future one can expect to see curriculum that "allows teens to experience real-life situations without real-life consequences."

H&R Block Dollars & Sense will also offer college scholarships and online advice from a financial psychologist.

Although H&R Block's efforts are warranted due to the recession and credit crisis, I'm not sure how big of a difference can be made with $1 million dollars. Either there will be a few American high schools with financially savvy students, or there will be many high schools with finance 101 as their newest blow-off class.

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