Choices and Changes teaches economics through children’s literature

Key Lessons

• Analytical decision making. All decisions have positive and negative consequences and the student is responsible for both. Good decision-making involves careful consideration of goals, alternatives, advantages, disadvantages of the alternatives and the cost of the choice.
• Students are workers. Each student’s job is to develop their human capital in order to improve both the quality and the quantity of alternatives available to them when they leave school.
• Production. Production involves inputs or resources, a plan and outputs. Resources include land, human capital, physical capital and entrepreneurship.
• Markets. Since students are and will continue to be involved in product and labor markets, they learn about the interdependence of buyers and sellers in markets.

Benefits

• Gives children information before they make decision to stay in school or drop out, not after it is too late
• Prepares students for the workforce
• Empowers children with critical life skills and realistic paths to their futures
• Partnership of business and education
• Efficient, effective method of professional development

Results

• Pre- and post-test results from an external examiner demonstrate that 2nd through 4th graders in Crestmore Elementary School in Colton, California, over a one-year period in 2005, improved both in terms of knowledge of the economy and attitude towards their potential in that economy.
• Similar evaluations in Calexico, East Palo Alto and South Los Angeles.