From: Bernard [
mailto:bmauricia@csusb.edu] Economic Issues for Teachers Santa Barbara, California January 15-18, 2009 What:Seminars include:
4 Economic Issues curriculum units presented in a special get-away seminar.
FTE associates Dr. Ken Leonard and Kathy Ratté will present background lectures and engage participants in classroom activities from:
The Economic Demise of the Soviet Union,
The Economics of Water and the Environment,
Issues in International Trade, and
Is Capitalism Good for the Poor
Graduate Credit from the University of Colorado - Colorado Springs 2 semester hours in Economics (Cost: $100)Of all the many workshops I have attended, this Issues program is the most useable, most data driven, most comprehensive, and most immediately transferable to the classroom. The Teaching Economics Issues program is teacher-friendly and FTE treats all participants as true professionals, people to be valued. James Lane, Orange, Ohio
When and Where:
Hotel Mar Monte, Santa Barbara CA, January 15-18, 2009Seminars begin at 2:30 p.m. Thursday and dismiss at 12:30 p.m. Sunday. Daily schedules on Friday and Saturday include free time for recreation.
Located just steps from the beach and 2 minutes from downtown, the Hotel Mar Monte blends the perfect balance of old-world charm with the latest amenities. Upon its construction nearly a century ago, the hotel was designed to provide breathtaking views of the Pacific Ocean and the majestic Santa Ynez Mountains. Although many features have changed since that time, these vistas are just as inspiringly beautiful today.
Cost and Stipend:Participants are responsible for their transportation to and from the seminar.
$100 deposit is required for registration. Deposits will be returned at the completion of the program. Lodging (double occupancy with another participant) and some meals will be provided.
To help defray meal and travel expenses, participants will receive a
$150 stipend with their certificate of completion.
Participants requesting a single room or bringing a spouse will be charged $260.
Deposit refund, stipend, and university credit conditional on presence at all sessions from 2:30 p.m. Thursday through 12:30 p.m. Sunday. Who can attend?Attendance is open to participants who have not previously attended Economic Issues for Teachers.
Register online or download applications at
www.fte.org/pta/issues/. Registration will be on a first-come-first-served basis. Space is limited.
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:
What is poverty and who are the poor?
What is capitalism?
Degrees of market competition
Property rights and the rule of law
Incentives that generate invention and innovation
Incentives that promote social cooperation
The international focus of the lessons is enhanced by case studies drawn from such diverse locations as China, Vietnam, Peru, and Argentina. In the interactive tradition of the FTE, the lessons employ a variety of teaching strategies from direct instruction to out-of-your-seat simulations.
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