Randall W. Jeffs of Progressive Capital Managers included this story in the May issue of his "Greed & Fear Monitor" newsletter:

"As little as five years ago, I thought that virtually all older people knew quite a bit about investing. But I was startled to learn that most I spoke with knew virtually nothing. Maybe I shouldn't have been surprised. When at USC, I once had an ancient finance professor, who put a question on a test: Name Three Stocks on the New York Stock Exchange. Virtually the entire class went into a tizzy. They proclaimed that such hadn't been covered in class. The old guy half smiled and half chuckled. He said I don't know, I kinda thought that senior business students at USC should know the answer to that question without it being covered in class."

I think he's referring to Dr. Trefze, who taught when I was at USC. I had an unnatural advantage in his class, because I had been studying the stock market since junior high school. In fact, I used to ditch school to hang out at my father's stockbroker's office.

Dr. Trefze was one of the first educators who appreciated the practical knowledge I acquired, even as dyslexia and ADHD barred me from traditional academic achievement. A successful businessman who took up teaching late in life, Dr. Trefze knew the value of personal interest and initiative. If you're majoring in business, shouldn't you be reading the business pages of your own volition?

I graduated with a D average, but Dr. Trefze assured me I would be successful, and reminded me to give back to the community. That's one of the reasons I teach college seminars today. I teach from newspapers, magazines and other news media, because like Dr. Trefze, I want students to get into the habit of knowing what's going on in the world. And I desperately want to rouse them from the slumber of financial illiteracy.

The financial crises plaguing the world right now are due in large part to widespread financial ignorance. From home buyers who did not understand their loans, to legislators who did not understand lending, to bankers who did not understand - or did not care about - the consequences of excessive risk, to investors who lacked the slightest clue about what they were buying; we can point the finger of blame wherever we like, but ultimately we must plead stupidity.

Today, people who could not calculate their monthly car payment without a computer - and someone else's amortization spreadsheet - criticize General Motors' bankruptcy in strident know-it-all tones. But at the same time, from Washington to Wall Street to Main Street, we're in a tizzy because we didn't know a major recession would be on the test.  Life is the test, and our lives our dominated by financial matters, from our first jobs to our hopefully - but not always - comfortable retirements. It pays to take an interest in how these things work.