Comment by NoLinkToMe

Idk, I can't help but conclude lots of the things I learned in school were actually quite helpful. As a child for example I learned about insurance theory and that stuck with me. I didn't actually insure anything myself for at least another decade, but the theory stuck. Which is that an insurance company just smooths over the costs of a rare event that happens to one individual, by spreading it out over many individuals, none of whom know whether they will or won't be confronted with said event. And that the average cost of insurance (in a competitive market) is therefore tracking closely the average cost of the event, plus some profit and admin fees of the insurance company. Which means for most people it's not worth insuring events that you can easily cover yourself (e.g. losing your phone).

I learned these things at age 15 or so. Sure I could've learned them later, but there's something about knowledge is that it builds on earlier building blocks and compounds. When certain things 'click' in your head, they open the door to new knowledge and areas of learning. There is power in learning early, because knowledge is cumulative and compounding to some extent. It's the reason why a 40yo is a more valuable employee than a 20yo, on average.

That's not to say that every topic must come as early as possible, or that education is perfect. There's certainly better and worse ways and timing to teach personal finance for example. But I am quite happy I was introduced to some concepts sooner than later. Even just to prime myself such that, when I am reintroduced to the topic later, I feel somewhat familiar and confident to dive into it again.

Certain topics don't really connect with everyone. Virtually everything I learned as a child in Chemistry was useless because it didn't resonate with me. While my gf went on to study biochemistry, and is clueless about finance. But neither of us know whether chemistry or finance would resonate with us, before being taught the subjects. Schooling for children also has a discovery function in that sense. It's not just about teaching what sticks, it's about discovering what sticks, and what is interesting. That's why a wide breadth of subjects can be a good idea, even if a significant portion doesn't end up being meaningful to someone at that age.