How to Teach Economics

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How to Teach Economics; ...Get these books.
Topic Started: Dec 26 2008, 04:37 PM (100 Views)
Uncle Seth	Dec 26 2008, 04:37 PM Post #1
Webmaster Posts: 5 Group: Admins Member #1 Joined: May 2, 2008 I am a: GCH Kid	Do you know what inflation is, and what causes it? Can you explain exactly what a depression is, beyond just "a bad thing"? How about a recession? What is money velocity? Hyperinflation? A "bubble"? What exactly does the "legal tender" statement on our dollar bills mean? Why exactly do free-market economies create a higher standard of living than centrally-planned ones? Do you understand the nature and cause of our current economic crisis? And finally, can your homeschooled children answer these questions? Sadly, if we answer "no" to any of the above, we are part of the problem. In 1787, John Adams wrote to Thomas Jefferson, "All the perplexities, confusion and distress in America arise, not from defects in their Constitution or Confederation, not from want of honor or virtue, so much as from downright ignorance of the nature of coin, credit and circulation." Economics - the science of the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services by humans - is much more than just "money". The economy is essentially the human ecosystem...and virtually no one learns about it. I find it ironic that today we teach children all sorts of "particulars" they need in order to thrive in the economy - math, writing, etc. - but we teach them virtually nothing about this grand system in which they will participate with nearly everything they do. Fortunately, your kids are not incarcerated in government schools. They don't need to handicap themselves with this "downright ignorance". I got into economics via a great set of books called the "Uncle Eric" series, written by Richard J. Maybury. I heartily recommend them to everyone, adults and children alike. They are written in plain English and explain crucial economic concepts in terms people can actually understand - probably all the way down to middle-school age. And these concepts are genuinely interesting and fun to learn - whoever knew an economics book could be a page-turner? Best of all, the books cover pro-free-market, or "Austrian" economics, not the socialist or Keynesian nonsense you're probably used to hearing from the government and media. Maybury also spends a lot of time showing the connection between the economy and the legal system - and how economic prosperity always follows when countries embrace the notion that there is a "Higher Law" than the laws of government. Here's the list of all the Uncle Eric books: Uncle Eric Talks About Personal, Career, and Financial Security Whatever Happened to Penny Candy? Whatever Happened to Justice? Are You Liberal? Conservative? or Confused? Ancient Rome: How It Affects You Today Evaluating Books: What Would Thomas Jefferson Think About This? The Money Mystery The Clipper Ship Strategy The Thousand Year War in the Mideast World War I: The Rest of the Story and How It Affects You Today World War II: The Rest of the Story and How It Affects You Today (Listed in Maybury's suggested order of reading, though it's not absolutely necessary to do them all in order. If you can only get one, get Whatever Happened to Penny Candy) Don't get taken by surprise in the next recession. Don't get duped into supporting the next government bailout or "economic stimulus plan". Read these books. And read 'em to your kids. Tomorrow's America will thank you. Edited by Uncle Seth, Dec 26 2008, 11:25 PM.
	- Uncle Seth Webmaster & Designated Nuisance


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