It’s all over the news right now; Ben Bernanke, chairman of the Federal Reserve, just spoke at a news conference on the release of a survey by the Jump$tart Coalition about financial literacy in high school students. As the AP reports, he said:

In light of the problems that have arisen in the subprime mortgage market, we are reminded of how critically important it is for individuals to become financially literate at an early age so that they are better prepared to make decisions and navigate an increasingly complex financial marketplace.

Yes. Yes. YES! Financial literacy for all ages is critical and wholly necessary. But did we need this financial crisis to remind us? And did we need the abysmal results of the survey to worry us? Apparently, high school seniors scored lower on this survey than they had in the previous six surveys, only answering 48 percent of questions on personal finance and economics correctly. College seniors scored a little better, answering 62 of the questions correctly. But, it is still not enough.

In addition to the HRC campaign, many other organizations are unofficially declaring April ‘œFinancial Literacy Month.’ Get Rich Slowly has a fantastic list of resources for those wanting to dip a toe in the pool of personal finance. As happy as I am to see something I’m so personally passionate about getting a proliferation of press (how’s that for a tongue-twister?!), I’m a little worried that this all might be forgotten about come May. I’m reminded of the letter from the editor from this month’s ReadyMade, a magazine about environmentalism entitled, ‘œWhat happens when what you’ve always believed in becomes a fad.’ I don’t want to be Debbie downer, but I firmly hope this won’t just be a fad and we can move financial literacy from something that receives attention one month a year to a nationwide mainstream education program.

Financial literacy is something we need to be teaching in elementary school, high school and college, and talking about with our friends and families. Like John said last year when introducing Financial Literacy month, you become a real buzzkill when you try to talk to people about money, but would this be the case if money language was demystified in elementary school? My path to being a personal finance geek came from the experience of seeing all my super smart ivy-league grad friends totally fail at managing their money and wondering why we couldn’t do better. No one told us about 401K’s, but we were experts on Nietzsche. I know I’m preaching to the choir here, but how do we emphasize to young people that money matters?

Having taught financial literacy classes to both high school students and adults, the thing that struck me the most is how often I heard the phrase ‘œI wish I knew this when I was younger.’ in the adult classes and the phrase ‘œI’m not going to need to know this for a while!’ when I was with teenagers. How do we reconcile the two? Most often, people only learn about money when they need to; the medical equivalent of triage versus preventative care. How do we shift the dialogue to money when it is most useful, not just most necessary?

These are some questions that have been rattling around my brain for a while, and I’m sure you all have much wisdom and insight into this. Let’s discuss some of these issues here; maybe we can make something important happen!

What are some ways to reach young people to talk to them about finance? How do we show them the importance of financial literacy? What is one piece of advice you would give to a young person starting their financial life?

Featured: Our resource centers on practical guides that parents can use to introduce personal finance practices to kids.