Scottsdale, AZ Oct 30 - Nov 2, 2008
Unit Descriptions:
The Economic Demise of the Soviet Union. What happened is surely one of the great events of modern history, an upheaval that will continue to have monumental impact on global politics and trade. In the 6-hour workshop, Soviet history is the vehicle for teaching fundamental skills and principles of economic reasoning, which are then used to analyze the complexities of the intertwined economic, political-legal and moral-cultural components of Soviet society. The lessons not only explain why the Soviet economy collapsed, but also provide basic economic lessons applicable to understanding our own economy.
Economics of Water and the Environment. This is a 7 lesson unit on Environmental Economics, targeted to grades 7 - 10 or 11, suitable for economics, current issues (including debate), science, law, civics. The 7 lessons focus on: incentives, opportunity cost (diamond/water paradox), the characteristics of property rights, property rights & law, marginal costs/marginal benefits, and public choice. Each lesson includes teacher background information and real-world examples, and a classroom activity.
Issues of International Trade. Trade issues occasionally dominate and are a continuing theme of the international scene: the global market, sweatshops, child labor, trade deficits, the euro, sanctions, tariffs, embargoes, and the EU, NAFTA, WTO - the seemingly endless alphabet of interest groups, treaties, organizations, and trade agreements. As a classroom topic, international trade has the great advantage of providing ready-made material for teachers wanting to engage student interest in current events. On the other hand, the complexity of the issues surrounding trade is daunting. While economic reasoning doesn't guarantee resolution of the issues, it is a powerful tool of critical thinking that brings clarity to the discussion of current events. The ability to determine comparative advantage through opportunity cost, the ability to identify incentives and predict resulting behavior, and the ability to use supply and demand analysis of particular labor and resource markets, help students to set aside the emotion of international trade issues and cut through the rhetoric of media reports. This workshop will offer examples and classroom activities that help students build a foundation for their opinions on the news of the day.
Is Capitalism Good for the Poor? With a generous grant from the John Templeton Foundation, the FTE has created a high-school unit that uses economic reasoning to analyze the impact of capitalist institutions on the well-being of the world's poor. Lesson topics addressed include:
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What is poverty and who are the poor?
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What is capitalism?
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Degrees of market competition
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Property rights and the rule of law
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Incentives that generate invention and innovation
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Incentives that promote social cooperation