Is teaching students how to write checks becoming archaic? Here’s what personal finance teachers have to say.

Recently this topic came up on our Facebook community, FinLit Fanatics, where more than 10,000 teachers share advice and resources for financial education.

The overall consensus? Most still teach it, but don’t spend a lot of time on it.

Here are a few snippets of the discussion in favor of teaching checks:

Some people are going back to checks because of card fees.

The students need to know what account and routing numbers are to set up Venmo and other cash sharing apps. Checks are a perfect way to teach that.

I still teach it because of writing a check to a small business, landlord, or something similar. I also say if they start their own small business, they will have to write out some checks, at least in the beginning stages.

I just got married this past summer and every vendor required a check versus cash or credit card.

My son received his paycheck and didn’t know how to cash it!

Read the full thread and add your own thoughts here.

A Ready-Made Lesson on Checking

If you want to incorporate this into your classroom, the NGPF Full Year Course includes a lesson on classic checking that covers skills including how to write a check, how to reconcile a checkbook, endorsing and depositing a check, and more.

About the Author

Hannah Rael

As NGPF's Marketing Communications Manager, Hannah (she/her) helps spread the word about NGPF's mission to improve the financial lives of the next generation of Americans.