Hannibal Lecture

Sandra, an AVID teacher, hatched a really fun simulation for her class. As a contrived college-level lecture, I was asked to come to class, set up, and begin to spew information on introductory economics. No requirements to take notes, no interruptions, and if the flower dies on the window sill, just keep on going. Economics is a good subject for such an experience because it begins so deceptively simple. Definitions of words we already use in everyday speech, like cost, price, utility, goods, exchange. The difficulty begins almost immediately because those terms have very precise meanings in economics that may or may not relate very closely to what they mean in conversation.

As I begin, about half of the class begins to take notes. The rest just look more or less stunned. Then the eyes begin to glaze over. A few students actually begin to perk up as they find some of the ideas and information interesting. Of course, those are usually the students who are naturally curious about most things as it is.

Soon, what seemed so simple keeps snowballing into more complex ideas. Then the math comes, followed by that look of panic and terror that only math can truly inspire. By now, a few of those that were glazed at the beginning of the hour are dead asleep. But, this is "college." If they want to pay for a class that they sleep through, that's just fine with me. . . .

I'm actually enjoying this tremendously, since I used to teach the two-year IB (International Baccalaureate) Economics curriculum. Since the level of difficulty of the IB Economics exam was hefty, to say the least, most students avoided it like, well, economics. You couldn't pay non-IB seniors to persevere through the course. So, now, status quo ante, we have no economics courses at all. How American students can graduate with no formal understanding of economics in a society that so stresses economic life is beyond my understanding. But, I digress.

As the board fills with terms, arrows, graphs and equations examples become more critical. We talk eggs, Hilfiger jeans, and gasoline. Normal goods, inferior goods, substitutes, compliments, and surplus. As the hour nears end, I preview the next step in understanding the supply/demand graph and announce the test over the information on Monday. Like ancient frozen creatures receiving their first sun, sleeping students wake up at the word "test." My office hours are one day a week for one hour, if they have questions. Of course, (wink) that hour is when students can't see me. And, so it goes.

The exercise is excellent, because it brings to life for college-bound students what they have rarely experienced in education so far, independent, self-directed learning, as well as personal responsibility. The economics content is a means to that end, but what is dramatic is the passivity that we have ingrained in students. Not one student bothered to clarify or ask questions. The only question I got later in the day from a student who is also in my history class was, "The test on Monday won't cover all of that will it? It really isn't that hard is it?"

Yes, Virginia, it really is.