Jeff Davis teachers and students optimistic about financial literacy requirement

HATHAWAY, La. (KPLC) - It’s a basic skill set that we all need in life: how to handle our money - from budgeting to banking.

Louisiana is now one of the states requiring students to take a financial literacy class in order to graduate and receive TOPS.

“It’s probably one of the classes where you have the least amount of resistance, because they know they need it for the future,” said Hathaway High School teacher Jodi Deshotel.

Deshotel has been a teacher for 22 years and has taught financial literacy for around seven years. She says even before the course was a requirement, students were excited to take it.

“I occasionally have students in here working on dual enrollment classes or things like that because this is a lab setting and I would always get students who would say, ‘I wish I was in this class,’ cause they’re listening to what we’re doing while they’re doing their things and they’re like, ‘I need to know this but they didn’t actually get to take the class,” Deshotel said.

Now every student in Louisiana will get that opportunity.

“I know that even when I was in school, our generation didn’t have this class offered. So a lot of us learned the hard way. And so, even though it is a topic a lot of people feel should be taught at home, a lot of households don’t have the background to teach their kids this,” said Deshotel.

HHS Junior Channing Gary is currently enrolled in Deshotel’s financial literacy class.

“It’s different because this is a class you don’t think about like other classes. You feel you actually need to learn and know what you’re going through cause this is stuff you’ll actually use in real life. Not just some math problems you’ll never use,” said Gary. “I would like to learn about investments. I just want to be smart with my money. How to invest and where to invest.”

Jeff Davis Parish Career and Technical Education Supervisor Danielle Semien says parents have responded positively to the change, as well.

“We haven’t gotten any complaints,” Simien said. “I think many parents are excited about their children actually getting this knowledge.”

A few other topics that will be covered throughout the course are budgeting, insurance and taxes.