The Indiana General Assembly passed the Final Diploma in December of last year. Starting with the class of 2029, there will be 42 credits required to graduate, opposed to 40.
Prior to the Final Diploma Rule, there were six semesters required for science, math, and social studies, with specific required courses for each subject area. This new diploma increases math and science credits to seven and cuts the social studies credit requirement to five semesters. Another major change is that an Economics course is no longer required for graduation, seemingly being replaced with personal finance.
According to Economics teachers at PMHS, this new diploma will likely reduce the amount of students taking the course. Economics teacher Sarah Winton-Guthrie said, “One of the main reasons anyone ever takes it is because it’s required for graduation.”
Personal Finance falls under the business department opposed to Economics, which falls under the social studies department. Claims that there is a key piece lacking in the social studies path without this course. “Economics definitely has some more real-world connections in a practical sense,” Winton-Guthrie said.
According to Economics teacher Tim Dye, there are elements of the class that can help students understand and get ahead in life. “I tell my students about how I bought a car during COVID when everyone else said not to. I bought it because I understand the economy and how it works,” Dye said.
The Final Diploma Rule states that “Students are graduating without the skills needed to secure rewarding career opportunities.” But, these teachers view it differently: basic economic understanding is an important life skill. “Economics helps to contextualize those issues and make students more aware of their involvement in the world around them. Without that foundation, I think we’re setting them up for confusion and disengagement,” Winton-Guthrie said.
As Dye looks to the future, he has concern for what this will mean for students post-graduation. “I think what’s going to happen is that we’re going to make really bad choices in the next generation…there’s not going to be the level of critical thinking,” Dye said.
For teachers, there is concern beyond just removing this one course’s requirement. “Limiting [students] exposure to different subjects seems counterproductive to fostering well-rounded individuals who are prepared for the complexities of the world,” Winton-Guthrie said.
Some schools are entertaining combining Personal Finance and Economics, Head of School Counseling, Bradley Miller stated. “Since the state has removed Economics as a graduation requirement so, there’s been some discussion not only here, but in other schools in Marion County that we might pair Econ and PFR [personal finance] so that everybody is exposed to the economic curriculum,” he said.
Economics teachers are worried that the lack of diverse courses could prevent students from finding interests they did not know they had. “And who knows… maybe Economics will light a spark that wasn’t there before,” Winton-Guthrie said.
