Welcome to my first Econ blog post! I thought you might be interested in what we've been up to, so I'll share with you from time to time.
The results of the Unit 1 Test were very good overall! The average score was a B and the most common grade students earned was an A. For each test students will be asked to share their knowledge on multiple choice questions, graph, and do some writing. I'll talk to the students about an option that we have after every test. If students score below an 80% they can show me that they've done at least 1 hour of studying and take a "Second Shot Test." The highest grade they can earn on a second shot is an 80%. As always, students can come in and get some extra help if needed. I'm available most days after school and during AA.
Right now we are on Unit 2, which is called "Be the Boss of your Economic Future!" Here
students learn about budgeting, investing, and why it's important build their "human capital" for a career in which they'll find fulfillment.
It's during this unit that we are launching a new budget/investment game called Marshmallow Life. The title comes from a famous experiment done with children years ago that may have heard about. The children were given one marshmallow and told they can eat it now or wait awhile and get 2. That's the real point about budgeting/investing: can we defer a little of what we want so we can be more comfortable later? That's what Marshmallow Life is all about. I am developing this game from scratch. This past week students chose stocks and mutual funds to be part of their portfolio. I created a Google
Sheet that will update their investments automatically so we'll be checking in regularly. In November they'll decide if they want to make some changes.
The kids are doing a great job and they have lots of excellent questions! Love seeing that their wheels are turning. This coming week we'll get to the budget part of the game: they'll have an income and have to make some choices on spending--plus they'll get some practice writing checks!
I'll let you know how the game is going next time!