Chapter 10

 

As an educator in training, I have learned about the economic aspect of teaching social studies. I still am getting used to the idea that social studies is not just about history. As a student who always attended high quality schools and lived in a safe upper middle-class community, I found it difficult to wrap my brain around the effects of living in poverty on academic achievement and even disabilities. The bottom line is that by educating the next generation about making smart decisions with the resources they have, maybe we can help them build a better future.

My text discusses something called affluenza which is the concept of emptiness in our society even though we are surrounded with more “stuff” than ever before. Lives are empty, unfulfilled and unsatisfied because there’s always something new or something better. A shinning example of this is the evolution of the iPhone. Since the software is constantly being updated, our hardware is constantly outdated and it’s time to get a new one. These “things” that constantly fade in and out resemble the concept of a fad. Although fads become obsolete for a different reason, I believe it is a very similar concept to planned obsolescence discussed previously. My text shines a spotlight on the idea that children, unlike many other consumers, influence their parents’ financial decisions. Reading this immediately triggered a flash-back to a time in my childhood when I enjoyed playing with the new Star Wars action figures. I remember shopping in the Target store with my parents and how I begged them to buy me the newest action figure hanging from the shelf (I didn’t get it).     

Economics is a vital piece of social studies because it directly impacts educators and students. According to my graduate text, class size can increase which directly impacts the teacher’s ability to adequately distribute their attention to help students learn. The important thing to remember is that students are the forefront of economics. In other words, it is one of the two Social Studies disciplines that teaches the student’s place in our world; economics and civics. For example, attaining a career will affect their quality of life. By acquiring the appropriate skills, a student can learn to transform those skills into a service and exchange it for money. If we revisit my brief memory of my experience at Target, we can apply an even more vital concept. I believe the most important economic lessons educators can teach is how to earn things rather than learning to feel entitled. I have observed the absence of ambition and humility in the next generation. To put it plainly, our children do not feel they have to earn things. Learning how to do chores at home is an exchange of a service for a small allowance. If I was earning an allowance as a child, I could have bought myself that Star Wars action figure. It is important to note that the socioeconomic status of every family is different and not everyone can afford to grant their child an allowance. As an educator in training, I believe this can be addressed in the classroom. I would teach this idea by assigning different jobs to each of my students or group of students in exchange for fake money which they could use to trade for something such as candy, free time or a small toy. I would also implement games such as Monopoly to teach key economic concepts. Implementing the game of Monopoly creates a learning environment where students must apply their knowledge of managing money to win.  

 Of course, quality of life is also determined by how we teach our students to make decisions. My graduate text highlights the importance of teaching children the difference between wants and needs. I believe that the concept of wants vs. needs is the foundation for learning to manage money. We can even connect this with the other Social Studies discipline that shines a spotlight on the place of students; civics. Since part of our responsibilities as citizens is paying taxes to the government, we must teach our student not only how to make basic decisions, but also how to manage a complex budget.

It is important to note that the COVID19 pandemic has profoundly affected how we educate our children. The truth is that our classrooms are getting larger and more diverse. Our classrooms are becoming melting pots of different socioeconomic backgrounds. With more children living in poverty, their access to a quality education is diminished. The bottom line is that we can’t assume that we will ever return to the way things were. Rather, we must use our passion and creativity as teachers to bring education to everyone and move forward.