By Brianna Cash
The goal of the Department of Education is to promote student achievement and prepare students for the global market. The United States (U.S.) is not fulfilling that goal. Although the U.S. is esteemed for their educational institutions across the nation, recently, it has become apparent that the nation’s educational system is failing students for preparation in the marketplace. Notable individuals like Kieron Sweeney, has addressed this pressing issue facing Americans today in his TED Talk titled, “Financial illiteracy in the school curriculum”. Sweeney has been in the entrepreneurial field for 30 years and has helped other entrepreneurs save their businesses and increase their wealth through innovative marketing techniques and has publicly spoken in regard to increasing wealth across many different countries. In his presentation, he discusses the consequences, both to the individual and to the country, surrounding the lack of education in finance. Sweeney underlines the key notion that financial principles are not taught in public education and the financial burdens that most of the population are facing are clear evidence that there needs to be a change. Sweeney is a successful businessman who aims to see parents and children begin creating a better financial future for themselves and introduces his simple solutions to begin learning financial literacy. The striking statistics of how many people are struggling with their finances is a catastrophic issue that will only be resolved with the movement to include financial education to the public, and Sweeney presents one solution that could help in achieving a better educated populous.
Due to public education failing to reach this critical aspect of education in the core curriculum most of the population is living paycheck to paycheck with little to no knowledge regarding their finances and its impact is evident in our current economy. As young adults, it is a great dishonor to never be taught how to manage our finances or what decisions will financially stunt us before being acclimated into the workforce. The age group of teens to young adults has influential buying power ranging from personal purchases to loans yet they have the smallest experience and education when it comes to finances. To have great access to a variety of payment options, education in how these monetary decisions will impact you are substantially important to one’s success especially for young people. Therefore, until the time comes where this vital piece of a well-rounded education is incorporated into public education, it is important to navigate online educational platforms, like that of Kieron Sweeney’s and educate ourselves so that we will not repeat the pattern of financial instability.
Kieron Sweeney is an entrepreneur that has trained business owners on five continents and is recognized as an inspirational keynote speaker, author, and mentor. In his Talk, he discusses his journey of making his money work best for him. Like many people, Sweeney excelled at his job and provided his main source of income. However, at the age of 31, he was forced to start over and move in with his parents. Hence, Sweeney recognizes the financial struggle that most people battle with in handling their finances because he, himself has lived through it. Fortunately, he met a mentor that helped him out of a financial hole and sent him on his way to financial security and to where he is today. Describing his own struggles and personal experiences to gain the trust of his audience is an example of employing ethos. In his presentation the connection that he builds with the crowd through sharing the obstacles he has overcome and lessons he learned formed a network of trust among the audience. This in turn, will help people actively listen to his message and ultimately act on the message he’s presenting.
Sweeney describes his past experiences to gain the audience’s trust, however, he furthers a connection to the audience by appealing to their emotions. He explains to the audience that he too is a father and wants the very best for his children and for them to never suffer the fate of financial instability. This strategy targets the large majority of the room and introduces a shared goal among himself and his audience. Sweeney utilizes pathos in his speech by describing the heartache that is attached to lacking a financial education for their children’s sake and joins the crowd in yearning for their future success. Additionally, he touches upon the fact that parents are their child’s first teacher and practicing good financial habits will positively impact themselves as well as their children. He notes that it is a parent’s responsibility to educate their children in such areas that public education fails in doing so. Therefore, by equating himself to the crowd and informing them of the importance of educating their children in areas that are neglected, Sweeney prompts his audience to listen to his recommendations and act on it.
Moreover, Sweeney introduces an abundance of facts and information to fortify the severity of this issue. As previously discussed, Sweeney is an established entrepreneur that has mentored those in the business world globally and has witnessed this particular struggle across multiple continents. People do not know how to manage money and the cause of this is that people typically are never taught simple financial management principles. The statistics that he presents make known that this is a glaring issue for most of the population. For instance, less than 20% of the population will retire financially secure; the average person will have $6,200 in assets when they die; and the comparison of credit card debt in America which is 8.25 billion dollars to the student loan debt which is 1.3 trillion dollars and finally, the global government debt which is 62 trillion dollars (all of which are subject to change due to time). Sweeney argues that as a society, we debt finance everything which results in most individuals struggling with their personal finances and retiring with little to nothing to survive on. He highlights that this is a global issue that will impact generations to follow and the cycle of being a slave to money will continue if educating the youth in financial principles does not ensue.
By the end of Sweeney’s TED Talk, he introduces the goal that he aims to achieve: to create an influential movement through an online platform that he created to educate youth on money management principles and provide the opportunity for people to take charge of their financial future. He subtly gains his audience’s trust by providing his credibility in finances, relating to them through shared experiences; fears; and goals, as well as turning their focus on the stark statistics facing people today in the economy. Sweeney strategically established trust among the crowd using these methods so that the audience can consider the solution that Sweeney was offering. By introducing his solution at the end of his Talk, he allowed time for a relationship to build between himself and the audience so that when he detailed his solution, the audience is more prone to accept and practice these financial habits. He then concluded with a challenge to all the parents in the room: to teach their children the foundational concepts of money management and ensure that their future is financially secure.
The financial burdens that most Americans face is prominent from the state of the economy, the level of stress, and even the quality of their overall health. Sweeney does an excellent job of describing the severity surrounding this problem and attracting his audience’s attention. Although his solution is small and has a purpose of gaining more people to use his personal platform, it is a start to educating more people in this subject and will help others thrive financially and personally.
"Financial illiteracy in the school curriculum." YouTube, uploaded by TEDx Talks, 16 Jun. 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?v=l6MxdDvk8QY&t=626s.
