Economics for Canadians

I just finished reading the following article describing the tenure of William McChesney Martin, Jr. (who famously said that the job of central bankers was to take the punch bowl away just as the party got going) as Chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve Board from 1951 until 1970. It is an interesting read and points to how our current economic mess is directly related to the tendency of central banks to, over time, be captured by political and financial interests.

The power to control a nation’s money needs to be exercised by highly competent and incorruptible public officials. Sadly, that probably hasn’t been the case for at least 27 years (since Paul Volcker resigned).

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-09-21/fed-then-and-now-%E2%80%93-remembering-william-mcchesney-martin-jr

I have been eagerly anticipating the release of the updated grade 11/12 Canada and World Studies curriculum so as to check the new CIA 4U course against Economics for Canadians.

While the initial release date for the curriculum was a couple of years ago, I have been informed by the ministry that the curriculum is almost ready and will be released sometime over the next few months.

So, please check back on the website when you receive the new curriculum as I will be posting a document while will map the objectives of the course against the lessons in the book. I am fairly certain that the book will continue to be a good match as, according to my sources, the main thrust of the new course will be to strengthen the ability of students to apply what they are learning in class to ‘real-world’ events.

Putting such speculation aside, if you are planning on ordering copies for the 2014-15 school year, I would ask you to send in your requests by the end of next week as I am off to work in the Middle East after the middle of August. While I have contracted with a distributor to ship orders on my behalf in my absence, I would prefer to fill orders myself if possible. The ordering procedure, though, will remain unchanged- simply send an email to bryce@croecko.com stating the number of copies you would like, the address to which you would like them sent and your preferred method of payment.

Thank you and best wishes for an enjoyable month of August.

Last week it was my pleasure to present at the Ontario Business Educators Association spring conference. During the presentation we discussed how it is usual for economics teachers to be the only teacher of the subject at their schools.

…thank you for following through and checking out the book’s website. I hope you will have a thorough look around.

One thing I wanted to make more prominent for first-time visitors is the document (taken from the teachers’ guide) mapping the learning objectives for the current Ontario CIA 4U economics course against the lessons found in Economics for Canadians:

Coverage of the CIA 4U Curriculum

I am aware that the senior Canada and World Studies curriculum is in the final stages of revision and ought to be released in the next couple of months. When it is released I will post a document similar to the one above mapping the lessons in the book to the new curriculum’s learning objectives. Depending on how much the new curriculum differs from the existing one, I may or may not publish an updated edition of the book for use in Ontario schools.

Thank you for visiting and please come again.

Teachers in public schools today often have no budget for materials. I understand this and have tried to address this problem by creating and distributing an affordable and very useful economics textbook and workbook. In this vein, I would like to remind teachers that:

1. The book is intended to be used as a consumable student workbook. The very affordable class set price of $17 per copy reflects this. When the book is used in this way, you will not need to spend much time with note-taking as the students can simply add marginal notes to the lessons in the book. More class time can therefore be devoted to working out problems, discussing current affairs and engaging in group learning activities resulting in a richer learning environment.

If there is absolutely no money with which to buy books, a workaround can be to use your budget to buy 5 or 10 copies for placement in the library, and then give students the choice of either signing out a copy from the library (and returning it in pristine condition) or purchasing their own copy for $17. The schools that do this find that almost 100% of students choose to buy their own book.

2. If you don’t have the budget to buy consumable workbooks and are not permitted to ask students to buy learning materials it is fine to use the book as a class text and reissue it to students year after year.  I understand that some boards have very strict rules that leave teachers with few options.

3. However, what I don’t accept is teachers using the book as a photocopy master. If the book is good enough to use with your students, it is good enough to purchase for your students. As the cost to photocopy just the exercises in the book is about the same as the purchase price of a copy buying books for your students simply makes sense, especially if you take into account time spent at the photocopier.

I hate to be a nag, but it is useful to be reminded that significant time, effort and money went into producing Economics for Canadians. When you choose to purchase the book, you are honouring that fact and making it possible for me to continue to produce useful and affordable educational materials. Thank you for your support.

My most recent articles published in the Pembroke Daily Observer can be accessed here:

http://brycemcbride.com/blog1/articles/

My article from late November entitled “View from the Top” views the current stock and bond markets as being either at or very close to a ‘top’ – but of course I am a perma-bear so why listen to me?

My article from just this past weekend (January 25th) meanwhile links the recent scandals involving CATSA and York University and looks at the need to allow professionals the latitude to make sensible decisions as opposed to simply demanding they follow rules.

Lastly, I am confirmed as a presenter at the OBEA conference in Toronto being held in early May. I will be speaking about linking current affairs to economics teaching and doing a bit of book promotion as well. I hope to see you there!

I was just cleaning up my offerings on Gumroad.com and thought it a good idea to flag up the 4 lessons on the Global Financial Crisis (and teaching notes) that were excerpted from Economics for Canadians.

While those of you already using the book have these lessons and teaching notes, if you are not yet using it but would like to have a look at what I think are some of the book’s strongest lessons which may be used with economics, current events or world issues classes, please go to https://gumroad.com/bryce.

All the best for a wonderful New Year.

The second edition of my International Baccalaureate economics textbook, Workbook for the New I.B. Economics, features freely available online lessons. As many of the lessons are similar to the lessons found in Economics for Canadians, teachers and students may find them useful. They may be downloaded from the Gumroad website here:

https://gumroad.com/l/qDOE

Additionally, I would like to share with you my latest article from the Pembroke, Ontario Daily Observer dealing with some of the unintended consequences of Regulation 274 (the Ontario bill dealing with fair hiring practices in education).

Regulation 274

All the best for a great academic year!

I have been pleased to receive some biggish orders from schools in Vancouver and Toronto this past week along with some emails asking for information about the book. I was very happy to receive this email from a teacher in Toronto about a week ago:

“I was looking over your publication.  I am interested.  I was wondering how much a copy would cost.  I might be purchasing a set if I can afford it.  A colleague of mine, Bill Velos, lent me a copy to review.  I was impressed. Very straight forward for the students.  Been teaching Eco for 15 years and the best one I have seen.”

Of course I am very grateful to Bill (who organizes the OBEA conferences each year) for passing his copy along for inspection. Incidentally, each student copy ordered as part of a class set costs $17, inclusive of shipping.

If you are interested in seeing an inspection copy of the book, email me at bryce@croecko.com and I will either connect you with a teacher in your school or board who already has received an inspection copy or arrange to send a copy to you directly.

Happy holidays!

I would like to thank the Ontario Business Educator’s Association for organizing an excellent conference last week in Toronto. I spoke to a number of teachers at the Croecko Publishing vendor booth and was pleased with the number of teachers who chose to attend my workshop. For teachers who took away an inspection copy of the student text but who didn’t attend the workshop, I would like to share some information to help you make the case for purchasing the text for your students for next year:

1. The value proposition

– The books are very affordable at $17 per copy. As a teacher myself, I have priced my books in this way to encourage schools to purchase what they might otherwise photocopy. In my opinion, the best way to discourage photocopying is to offer the book at a price that is less than the cost of a photocopy.

– The fact that the book contains exercises means that schools ordering and using them will enjoy lower photocopy costs as they will not need to copy as many worksheets for students.

– If board policies do not allow course fees, it is possible to make  student purchase optional by making 5 or 10 copies available for loan from the school library.

2. Critical Response

– Over 3000 copies of Workbook for the New I.B. Economics are being used by students on every continent. The feedback from students and teachers using the book was put to use when developing Economics for Canadians.

– The book’s proofreader, the head tutor for first year economics at Queen’s University, commented that students using the book in high school they would be well-prepared for university-level economics.

– Curriculum Services Canada, the agency that reviews materials for possible inclusion on the Ontario Trillium List, noted in their review of the book that “the resource’s evaluators stressed that the textbook is of excellent quality, overall.”

– Teachers using the resource have reported that students like the fact that they can write in the book and that it serves as both their textbook and their notebook. For their part, teachers like that the lessons in the book are well-sequenced and that the book’s format       allows them to spend class time more effectively engaged in supporting student learning.

Overall, the book meets the needs of teachers interested in delivering a current, engaging and affordable economics program to their students.

Click on the link below to see a photo taken during my workshop:

http://obea.ca/photo_albums/spring_conf_2013/index.html#IMG_5212.JPG