High-pitched quacks fill the room as students pass around rubber ducks. In AP Economics, students learned how businesses, households and governments interact in the economy using rubber ducks to represent goods produced by businesses and sold to households.
“[Students] love it,” AP Economics teacher Matthew Haddock said. “I think they mostly just love having the ducks because they quack. But it’s also easy and seemed to get positive results.”
During the activity, Mr. Haddock posed as the government, and students worked toward the objective of selling resources to businesses to get income and then buying ducks as a household. Students learned about income distribution which provided an understanding of taxes and where money surfaces around the world.
“So I ask the kids, ‘Well, hey, who works?’ Then, ‘Have you ever looked at your pay stub and seen where your money is going?’ And we talked about Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and those types of things,” Mr. Haddock said. “Most people our age don’t think about, ‘where’s my money going’? So I think this was a great way of opening their eyes.”
Throughout the course, students explore the principles of economics and how they affect individuals and the overall economic system.
“In general, I enjoy how engaging and hands-on this class is,” senior Camille Jones said. “I benefitted well from the activities and help that Mr. Haddock provided. Long term, I think this class will help me because when I go out into the real world, I will have a sense of what is going on in the market and economy without being completely clueless.”
Seniors are required to complete a government and economics class before graduation. Each course earns a semester credit and fulfills the history credit requirement.
“[It’s important] to understand how it connects to your real life and real-world application,” Mr. Haddock said. “Especially with an election having just happened, and all of these kids just came over from government, getting to see how government and economics coincide with each other is really important. I like to say this class and government are two of the most important that you’ll take in high school because it’s so real-world.”
