Education in this country gets a lot of attention. But, perhaps, not as much as it should.

Teaching our children is the most important thing we can do to ensure the future success of our country. I don’t think there are many out there who would argue that. We may disagree about how to best educate the next generation of doctors, teachers, lawyers, leaders, and public servants, we know it’s a job we have to do.

And while I think there are many problems in education we need to solve, I feel very strongly that there is one we continue to overlook. We fail to provide students with the proper financial education to prepare them for life.

I’m not talking about the type of financial education that a college student would receive as they studied public accounting, macroeconomics, or international monetary systems. I’m talking about the basic personal financial tips that we leave to mostly unfit or unwilling parents to instill in their kids. I’m talking about basic household budgeting, how to manage a credit card, how to plan for future purchases, the benefits of saving, and the fundamentals of the banking system. The very basic skills and knowledge that a person should have as they begin young adulthood, when we expect them to go out and “experience” the world on their own.

I have a hard time even saying we’ve failed our children in this area, because as far as I can see, we have yet to try. The financial education gap that I refer to in the title is not the traditional education gap that pundits are talking about when they refer to the opportunities available to wealthy communities as opposed to poorer, urban communities. The gap is the difference between what’s expected of us as adults and what’s taught to us as elementary and high school kids.

Former Chairman of the Federal Reserve, Alan Greenspan once said, “The number one problem in today's generation and economy is the lack of financial literacy.” 2012 saw a brutally contested race for president in which the lagging economy was the number one issue up for debate. And while potential solution abound, there is only one way to insure that future generations do not have to fight the same uphill battle we’re still fighting today, education.

Robert Kiyosaki, famed author of the series of books entitled, Rich Dad, Poor Dad, states, “We were not taught financial literacy in school. It takes a lot of work and time to change your thinking and to become financially literate.” The question is, why not?