Micro economic WHAT IS ECONOMICS参考.ppt

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * There is not much that we can say to our students at this early point in the course about the way we try to describe the tension between self-interest and the social interest demonstrated by these topics. We can raise the interest level and excitement about the economics course by talking about issues like these five. The Boxes in the textbook flush out the topics. Talk about some of these and any others that you happen to know a decent amount about. Try very hard to turn your students on! Get them debating these issues and try to steer the discussion toward benefits, costs, and who receives and bears them. * * * * * * Begin by encouraging the students to use the economic way of thinking to reflect on their own lives. Why are you here in college? Ask the students why they are pursuing a university degree. Most of them will say that they want a good paying job. Tell them about jobs such as postal workers, long haul truck drivers or grocery clerks that require relatively little training and offer up to $30,000 a year plus benefits. Ask the students to calculate the opportunity cost of being in school. Most students are shaken when they realize that the opportunity cost of a college degree approaches $150,000 to $200,000. Don’t leave them hanging here though. Mention that a college education does yield a high rate of return and suggest that they return to this topic when they get through Chapter 2. * * * * Will your tradeoffs improve? You can do your student’s a further favor by helping them to realize that the tradeoffs they face today are as favorable as they will ever be. It’s an old cliché, but effective, to remind them that they are not going to be any more attractive than they are now, nor are they going to gain any additional physical prowess or have any greater capacity to learn than they have at this very moment in their lives. Right now they could do almost anything they set their minds to do. Encourage the student