We began by examining problems in terms of the Factors of Production: land, labor, capital, and entrepreneurship.
We learned to see the relationships between these in terms of supply and demand. We learned as Economists to think of cost as Opportunity Cost, a measure of what is sacrificed in order to get what we want.
We saw how supply and demand work in the market to set prices, for everything from sneakers to oil.
We followed the economic history of the United States, beginning with Mercantilist conquest and the slave trade.
We examined the economic debates at the founding of the United States, and the extraordinary contributions of “a bastard, orphan, son of a whore and a Scotsman, dropped in the middle of a forgotten spot in the Caribbean.”
We learned the little-known history of the slave market and racial violence in New York City.
We learned about Sharecropping and Jim Crow, economic and political systems designed to keep African Americans subservient agricultural labor in the wake of the Civil War.
We followed African-Americans as they journeyed North, looking for a better life. We saw the reality of their arrival.
We have followed immigrants and migrants, slaves and free people, some driven from their homes and some desperately seeking a place to call their own.
From the beginning, prosperity in North America was extracted from stolen land, by the forced labor of stolen peoples. It is a history of plunder.
What is the role of race in the American economy?
What is “systematic oppression” and how does it affect the economy?
Is the economic system of the United States of America fair and just?
“How does a bastard, orphan, son of a whore and a Scotsman, dropped in the middle of a forgotten spot in the Caribbean by Providence, impoverished, in squalor grow up to be a hero and a scholar?”
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CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.9-10.4
Present information, findings, and supporting evidence clearly, concisely, and logically such that listeners can follow the line of reasoning and the organization, development, substance, and style are appropriate to purpose, audience, and task.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.9-10.6
Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and tasks, demonstrating command of formal English when indicated or appropriate. (See grades 9-10 Language standards 1 and 3 here for specific expectations.)
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.9-10.5
Make strategic use of digital media (e.g., textual, graphical, audio, visual, and interactive elements) in presentations to enhance understanding of findings, reasoning, and evidence and to add interest.