The "Blog Shirt" and Class Wiki (Aug 4 class)

1. Yes, I wore this shirt on last Friday. No, I don't actually mean it. I love reading and commenting on your blogs. It was just a joke, and I couldn't really pass it up when I saw it at the mall last week. And yes, that is a Captain Kirk poster behind me... :)

2. I joined the social studies group on Friday to present our treasure hunt resources for the class wiki since I posted an economics source. I really enjoyed hearing about everybody's resources. I never imagined that there were so many primary sources, lesson plans, and other teacher resources available online for free. I especially enjoyed an economics resource presented by Eryn, EconEdLink. This site has elementary and secondary lesson plans for several economics topics, from basic micro to competition policy and barriers to entry. I will definitely use this resource to prepare and draw inspiration for my lesson plans this year.

I presented the website for Foundation for Teaching Economics, which provides economics related workshops, internships, classes, and other opportunities for secondary students, FTE alumni, and secondary teachers. Their mission is to "introduce young individuals, selected for their leadership potential, to an economic way of thinking about national and international issues, and to promote excellence in economic education by helping teachers of economics become more effective educators." They offer juniors in high school a workshop called Economics for Leaders (EFL). This is a free week-long, residential program offered at various locations in the United States and utilizes university professors to introduce basic economic principles. Students also engage in various leadership building activities. EFL alumni are offered paid internship opportunities in Washington, D.C. during the summer after their junior year in college. Secondary social studies teachers (economics, history, current events, etc.) are offered several free programs, which can be residential workshops, one-day seminars, or online classes. These programs are intended to provide current teachers a review of economics principles, as well as classroom materials and instructional ideas. As an FTE alumni that participated in both the EFL and internship program (placement at the World Bank), I encourage teachers to provide information on this excellent opportunity to their secondary junior students. I wanted to re-post this information here on my blog, because I wanted to bring this opportunity to more than just the social studies teachers. My high school biology teacher made me aware of this opportunity, so I encourage teachers of any subject to pass on this information to their students.