An increasing number of American states are requiring that students receive personal finance education in order to complete high school. At the same time, states are hoping to improve math skills among students in the United States.
美国越来越多州要求学生接受个人理财教育才能完成高中学业。与此同时，各州希望提高美国学生的数学技能。
Capital City Public Charter School in Washington, D.C. has a course called Advanced Algebra with Financial Applications. The school has offered the math class for more than 10 years. The class provides students with basic knowledge about money management and helps them sharpen their math skills. Classes discuss credit, investments, and loans, for example, and connect these ideas with methods of math for calculating interest, budgeting and more.
华盛顿特区首都公立特许学校开设了一门名为“高级代数与金融应用”的课程。这所学校开设这门数学课程已有10多年了。该课程为学生提供有关资金管理的基本知识，并帮助他们提高数学技能。例如，课程讨论信贷、投资和贷款，并将这些想法与计算利息、预算等的数学方法联系起来。
The high school may be a leader in providing financial education, but in recent years, many others have offered similar courses.
这所高中可能是提供金融教育的领导者，但近年来，许多其他学校也开设了类似的课程。
Since 2020, nine U.S. states have passed laws or policies requiring schools to provide personal finance education before students can graduate from high school. The U.S. non-profit organization, Council for Economic Education, says 30 states now have such policies in place.
自2020年以来，美国九个州通过了法律或政策，要求学校在学生高中毕业前提供个人理财教育。美国非营利组织经济教育委员会表示，目前已有30个州制定了此类政策。
The increase comes as educators are trying to improve students' math skills, which dropped during the pandemic and have not fully recovered. At the same time, a general dislike or disinterest for math remains a barrier among young people.
这一增长正值教育工作者试图提高学生的数学技能之际，数学技能在疫情期间有所下降并且尚未完全恢复。与此同时，对数学的普遍厌恶或不感兴趣仍然是年轻人的一个障碍。
Tonica Tatum-Gormes teaches the course at the Washington school. She said students get more interested in math when they see how it connects with their future financial well-being.
托尼卡·泰特姆-戈麦斯这所华盛顿学校教授这门课程。她说，当学生们看到数学与他们未来的经济状况之间的联系时，他们会对数学更感兴趣。
Students begin to understand that "‘yes, I need to learn decimals, and I need to learn fractions, and I need to learn percentages because I have to manage my money and I have to take out a loan,'" Tatum-Gormes said.
泰特姆-戈麦斯说：“学生们开始明白，‘是的，我需要学习小数，我需要学会分数，我需要学百分比，因为我必须管理我的资金，我必须取得贷款。’”
Supporters say personal finance courses help students learn how to make smart money decisions and develop an interest in math as a result.
支持者表示，个人理财课程有助于学生学习如何做出明智的理财决策，并因此培养对数学的兴趣。
The Council for Economic Education says financial education should include exploring subjects like earning, budgeting, saving, investing, and managing credit and financial risk. Experts say the class does not have to be taught by a traditional math teacher.
经济教育委员会表示，金融教育应包括探索诸如收入、预算、储蓄、投资以及信贷和金融风险管理等科目。专家表示，这门课不必由传统数学老师来教。
Idaho is one of the states where a new financial literacy requirement is in place.
爱达荷州是实施新的金融知识要求的州之一。
The new program will give students the chance to use skills from their algebra, calculus, and economics classes in real life. In the class, they will calculate their future student loans, rent payments, and income requirements.
新课程将让学生有机会在现实生活中运用代数、微积分和经济学课程中的技能。在课堂上，他们将计算未来的学生贷款、租金和收入要求。
Experts say the 2007-2008 financial crisis, pandemic-linked economic insecurity and current high inflation may have increased Americans' desire for stronger financial knowledge. Less than one-fourth of millennials show basic financial literacy, the Council for Economic Education says.
专家表示，2007-2008年的金融危机、与疫情相关的经济不安全以及当前的高通胀可能增加了美国人对更强大金融知识的渴望。经济教育委员会表示，只有不到四分之一的千禧一代具备基本的金融知识。
In 2020, the American civil rights group, NAACP, released a resolution calling for more financial literacy programs in K-12 schools.
2020年，美国民权组织全国有色人种协进会发布了一项决议，呼吁在K-12学校开展更多的金融扫盲课程。
A study by the non-profit Next Gen Personal Finance Schools looked at states without high school financial literacy requirements. It found that in schools with mainly Black and Hispanic student populations, only seven percent of students have access to a half-school year personal finance course. That figure rises to 14.2 percent for schools with less than a quarter of students identifying as Black or Hispanic.
非营利组织“下一代个人金融学校”的一项研究考察了没有高中金融素养要求的州。研究发现，在以黑人和西班牙裔学生为主的学校，只有7%的学生能够上半学年的个人理财课程。对于黑人或西班牙裔学生不到四分之一的学校，这一数字上升到14.2%。
That lack of fairness is a driving force behind the financial literacy course at Capital City Public Charter School. It serves a student population that is 64 percent Latino and 25 percent Black.
这种缺乏公平是首都公立特许学校金融素养课程背后的驱动力。它为拉丁裔占64%和黑人占25%的学生群体提供服务。
"It's an empowering course," says Laina Cox, head of the school. "I think it gives our young people the language that they need and the voice when they're in certain rooms and at certain tables."
该校校长莱娜·考克斯表示：“这是一门充满力量的课程。我认为，当我们的年轻人在某些场合时，它给了他们所需要的语言和声音。”
I'm Dan Novak.
我是丹·诺瓦克。(51VOA.COM原创翻译，请勿转载，违者必究！)