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Foundation for Teaching Economics
Upcoming Economic Issues Seminar

Economic Issues for Teachers
Washington D.C. May 24-27, 2007
When and Where:      Washington Marriott Hotel, Washington D. C.,  May 24-27, 2007

Just steps from historic Georgetown, Dupont Circle, Foggy Bottom, and
Washington's central business district, this warm and welcoming, downtown
Washington DC hotel provides superb access to the city's finest
restaurants, shops, monuments, memorials, and museums.

Seminars begin at 2:00 p.m. Thursday and dismiss at 12:30 p.m. Sunday
Daily schedules on Friday and Saturday include free time for recreation

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

                                                1.   The Economic Demise of the Soviet Union

                                2.  The Economics of Water and the Environmen

                                3.   Issues in International Trade 

                                4.   Is Capitalism Good for the Poor ?
 
Graduate Credit from the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs
2 semester hours in Economics (cost $100)
Cost, Lodging 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, all participants will receivea $150 stipend. Participants requesting a single room or bringing a spouse will be charged $250.  Deposit refund, stipend and university credit conditional on presence at all sessions from 2:00 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.
 Download applications at  http://www.fte.org/pta/issues/
www.fte.org/pta/issues/. Applications will be on a
first-come-first-served basis. Space is limited.
Scroll down for seminar 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.