In order to offer students a more well-rounded financial education, the Georgia House of Representatives requires that state education schools include cryptocurrency in classes.
The Georgia House of Representatives has passed a bill that calls for state education officials to implement a study program based around financial literacy for high schoolers — and cryptocurrency is on the curriculum list.
The bill passed the lower chamber of Georgia on March 8 by a vote of 169-2. The bill was sponsored by six Republican candidates and has been sent to the Senate for further deliberation. The program outlines 16 areas of financial literacy to be studied by students in the tenth or eleventh grade.
The bill’s text states:
“The State Board of Education shall prescribe a program of study in personal financial literacy to be completed by students during high school.”
Cryptocurrency has found itself on the list, along with more traditional subjects such as balancing a checkbook, investing, money management, loan applications, and tax assessments.
In a turn of events, cryptocurrency is included on the list of prescribed areas. Traditional aspects of finances are included, such as balancing chequebooks, investments and loans, and tax assessments.
However, given crypto’s lowly position at number 16 out of 16 subjects, it may not be the most comprehensive overview. But at least it’s a start.
Georgia’s bill is not the first time cryptocurrency has been included in a high school curriculum. Back in 2019, the French education ministry implemented a Bitcoin and cryptocurrency module to its high school curriculum.
The module was designed to give students a basic knowledge of cryptocurrency in relation to the traditional financial world. The module pushed students to answer questions such as “Is Bitcoin the currency of the future?”, “Can Bitcoin replace the Euro?” and “Do you have trust in your currency?”.
And showing it’s never too early to learn about crypto, on International Women’s Day a three-year-old Bitcoin educator spoke at the online Women of the Future crypto and blockchain conference. The young educator, Lily Knight, previously went semi-viral in the crypto world after releasing a video about Bitcoin’s limited supply using Skittles candy for visual representation.
Cryptocurrency courses across the globe
This is not the first time cryptocurrency has been noticed as a potential school subject. In 2019, before the bull rally which would follow in 2020, the education ministry in France included a Bitcoin and cryptocurrency programme to be taught in public high schools in the country. The intention of this course is to give students a general understanding of how cryptocurrencies and the world of blockchain-based currencies might fit in with the traditional world of finance and economics.
While these courses might be slowly expanding across the world, they do represent an exciting prospect: Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies are seen as important enough for national education ministries to include in modules. This means that they perceive the industry as one which will be crucial for students to understand as they step into the world of independent finance after school.
