By Alexandra Gross
Back to school is well underway in most parts of the country. It’s a time to think about the year ahead and how to make the most of it for your children. Do you think your kids are learning everything they need to learn at school? Believe it or not, you’re in the majority if you don’t. Parents are concerned about their kids’ education for a variety of reasons, so using supplemental resources, like the Tuttle Twins series and other books, to teach kids real-world principles like financial literacy, government, entrepreneurship, and more. (And good news! There’s a sale until August 13th!)
Survey says… parents are concerned and doing something about it
Tuttle Twins surveyed more than 1,000 parents about their kids’ education and found that 55% of parents are supplementing their children's education with outside resources.
Parents just don’t trust schools to prepare their kids for life after graduation anymore, with almost one-third of parents not being very confident that their child’s school is preparing them for the real world. A little over half are only somewhat confident, while just 10% are very confident in their school’s ability to prepare their children.
Parents’ top concern about what’s lacking in their kids’ education is real-world financial skills, at 36%, followed by the ability to think critically (21%) and exposure to ideological biases (11%). Eight percent are worried about job readiness after graduation. Most parents think schools teach critical thinking only slightly or moderately well.
Parents want financial literacy to be a part of the curriculum
Aside from the need to teach how to use artificial intelligence tools, the other leading topic parents wish their children’s schools would focus on is financial literacy. Almost 60% of parents think schools should focus more on financial literacy, followed by critical thinking and logic, at 56%.
Forty-eight percent of parents think schools should focus more on emotional intelligence and conflict resolution and mental health and wellbeing. Parents also want schools to focus more on communication skills, career and job readiness, and ethics and character development.
Parents are supporting kids’ education with engaging materials
While parents are worried about their kids’ education, they’re not just sitting on their hands and complaining about it. They’re having conversations about the important topics they feel schools come up short on. The survey found that 83% of parents are talking about budgeting and money, while 71% are stressing current events and news.
Sixty-five percent of parents warn their kids about misinformation online, and 56% discuss technology and artificial intelligence. Nearly half of parents talk about the role of government with their kids.
In addition to having discussions about these topics, parents are also using extra resources to fill in the gaps they see in their children’s school curriculum, both in the areas of real-world skills and where they feel what their kids are learning doesn’t align with their family values.
Sixty-seven percent of parents use books or curriculum programs to fill in those gaps, while 57% use educational YouTube channels or podcasts. More than half of parents use online learning platforms, and nearly half use board games or educational games.
How the Tuttle Twins books help with these topics
The Tuttle Twins series contains many books to teach real-world principles like financial literacy and critical thinking. There’s even a homeschool civics curriculum for liberty-minded parents. The Tuttle Twins homeschool curriculum looks at history and the free market with a critical eye, explaining why things happened the way they did and why they are the way they are today.
If you’re wondering how to teach kids about money, the Tuttle Twins books have you covered there, too. Titles like The Tuttle Twins and the Creature from Jekyll Island and The Tuttle Twins and the Miraculous Pencil will demonstrate how to teach kids about money through exciting adventures every child will love!
The Tuttle Twins series has something for every age, from toddlers to teens, and it’s the perfect way to fill all those gaps in your child’s education!
