what do I have to say

Happy Thanksgiving!

What can I say...hmmm...my group for econ got together last weekend to work on our last class presentation. I'm glad I decided to work in a group because I had the opportunity to work with people I didn't talk to before. At the same time it is difficult to work in a group sometimes. You all have ideas, all have your own styles of doing things. But collaboration is key...I mean we are going to be doing collaborative stuff for the whole rest of our lives, at work, even with our families. So overall it was a good experience and I hope we do well.

That's about it, I guess. I'll be glad when this semester is over. It has been way more than I expected.

class presentation

For my econ for teachers class I did a lesson plan on the great depression. In my lesson I went over the possible causes for the great depression. In doing the lesson i gained a greater understanding on how greatly things are affected in the economy by other events - it really is a ripple effect. For example, I did an activity that showed how different jobs were effected by other jobs, how people being laid off in steal affects people who sell cars, and how people losing jobs affect restuarants and clothes, etc. It totally makes sense. When i was doing this I thought of my cousin, she works at a restraunt, and was talking about how less peole were coming in, and how people at the restraunt were losing jobs. Same thing as in the lesson. But seriously don't take this as a recession scare. There's really no way we could have another depression as bad. I really wish there wasn't so much doom and gloom in the media about it.

macro

In my Economics for Teachers class we've been going over macroeconomics.Doing the overview in class makes me realize how much i don't remeber from when I took a specific macro class.I understand the concepts of GDP and why stability is important. I remebered how GDP was calculated and the different types of unemployment. But there was one thing, specifically, that was over my head.The Professor showed us a calculation to figure out the equivelency of gas prices in the1950's and today; and showed how if gas prices are about $2.40 that that's equivelent to the 1950's price of $0.27. I saw the calculation I saw how it was done, but how does that make sense??? I don't care if gas prices are equivelent to a price in the 50's it doesn't make me feel any better. The other thing that bothers me, although not totally related in hopw women's work at home doesn't figure into GDP. I get it- you can't put a price on it really... blah, blah, blah. But it should be. Because belive me, I stay at home,...IT'S WORK!

Book reviews and campaigns

The book review was ... interesting. I don't know about these Marshall Jevons books. I was reading it and thinking that it was just way too far fetched. Who uses economics in practically all their thought processes? Who applies economics to all facets of their lives? In the book I read, A Deadly Indifference, he said how he used the concept of utility to date his wife. And to that I said: Who would date this guy? This is ridiculous? I hope there's no real person who would actually do that.Kind of corny, kind of cliche, and it took two people to write it. Oh well.

Campains. Campaign proposals. Taxes. Campains and proposals are seriously interesting stuff. From my point of view candidates promise way too much, things that are unattainable, things they might not be able to do in actuality, things they might want to do but once in office it either isn't a priority or just doesn't happen. So, I guess what I'm saying is that I don't take too much of it seriously. Taxes, are so much more interesting, not really. There complicated, for my mind, I just don't deal with them. But they're there. And you have to pay them, whether you like it or not I don't see it as an option. And this whole marriage penalty/subsidy. I have friends who claim they don't want to get married because they'll be penalized in taxes. Seriously, suck it up. If that's how it works, that's how it works. It just doesn't seem fair to have people who are pretty much married, living together and such, be treated differently in taxes. There should be a tax law for that. If I were queen (president)...you get the drift.

class

So I'm totally a week behind, but that's what happens when you don't have the internet ... you kinds lose contact with the world and such (at least I do).
Class...Honestly, like I said before, everything would be so much easier if we were learning more economics stuff. I totally apprechiate that we have been covering more of it in class, but I really feel like I either don't know or don't remeber anything. So over my head. In doing the lesson plans I was dying for a text book. It would have been so much better than scrambling around looking for defenitions and such. Not really looking forward to the next one.

to Prof. Imazeki

thanks for covering more econ stuff in class

ugh...JA and stuff

So this Junior Achievement project...great idea in concept, but unfortunately it's not working out. Andrew and I went to our classroom last week and were informed when we went to the office to check in that our teacher no longer taught there! Seriously! We taught there before,we arranged it with her the week prior, and no one told us...ugh. So I don't know what's going on. It's unfortunate, because I actually enjoyed doing it.
My other 'ugh' is in regards to class. I really like all the ideas for teaching a class. But I don't like that I have no economics knowledge to back it up. In my other courses for teachers, i.e. history for teachers, we learned the subject and then the teaching aspect was a sidenote. In assignments we had to think about ihow we could teach it (like in book reports) and did lesson plans and presentations. I honestly prefer that format better. I don't know about other people in my Economics for Teachers class, but I really don't remeber what I learned in micro and macero econ. So how am I supposed to potentially teach it, either as an econ class or as part of a history course, if I don't know it?