Introducing Economics: A Critical Guide for Teaching A Critical Guide for Teaching

Make economics resonate to high school students. This practical handbook will help economics and social studies teachers foster critical thinking by introducing students to the real-life dimensions of the major controversies in contemporary economics. Filled with useful teaching tips and user-friendly information on finding engaging materials and activities for the classroom, the book also includes detailed coverage of the Voluntary National Content Standards for economics. "Introducing Economics" is a one-stop resource for high school teachers who want to make economics relevant to their students' lives. It includes more than 50 sections with lists of suggested "Activities and Resources," many with Internet links. It features boxed "Hints for Clear Teaching" tips for presenting particularly difficult topics. It provides an annotated resource guide to more than 30 organizations involved in economics education, with associated Internet links. It follows the flow of topics in a typical economics course. It addresses real-life topics that are ignored or glossed-over in traditional textbooks - economics and the environment, the distribution of income and wealth, discrimination, labor unions, globalization, the power of corporations, and more. It offers critical guidance for meeting all 20 Voluntary National Content Standards in economics, and also provides an overview of the political and intellectual history and contemporary state of economics education.

This radical account of the evolution of political, social, and economic institutions weaves together strands of anthropology, sociology, political science, history, and economics. In a highly readable text, Howard Sherman explains the interconnections of ideas and economic forces, and traces the evolution of social and economic institutions from primitive times to the present. Sherman focuses on the myth of "inevitable progress" in technology, and argues that it progresses only when social and economic institutions and dominant ideas encourage it to improve. He shows that throughout history technology, as a part of the economic forces, ebbs and flows to create or undermine existing economic institutions.