Strengthening Economic Literacy In The Filipino Youth

I remembered writing on how a failure to understand basic economics can lead to backwards thinking. It should be a shame how economics is not introduced to students until fourth year high school based on the old curriculum. I admit, I once failed economic in the first grading of the graduating year because I was plain lazy and disinterested with the subject. I didn't find it all too interesting until I realized how much applicable that subject is in understanding life. Now it's time to create a plan that would boost economic literacy among the youth as part of CoRRECT Philippines' three point agenda.

Integrate basic economic theories slowly through the Civics and Culture subject 

Civics is the study of the rights and duties of the citizen. One of the rights of the citizen is the right to a certain degree of information. Students should have the right and duty to know and study about economics. Civics and culture right now needs a serious revision as there's too much PNoy Pride in the education system. This should start by slowly but surely introducing the youth to the differences of trade policies namely free trade vs. economic protectionism. It should also be explained to why one is better than the other.

Part of this lesson should show how the Philippines has been left behind by its Asian neighbors because of economic protectionism. It should show why the Philippines didn't progress after EDSA Revolution because of poorly thought out economic policies. It should slowly discuss in part to how some countries like Japan and Singapore were once poor countries and how free trade brought them out of their slumps.

Teaching more about economic policies through Philippine History, Asian History and World History classes

We're done with Civics and Culture and now it's time to proceed with the Philippine history, Asian History and World History classes. There's the statement that real and not revised history is a teacher so we learn from the past. Studying Philippine history without PNoy Pride is part of the nation. But it's not enough to know how PNoy Pride ruined the Philippines but also how its economic policies brought thirty years of the Eh-Bola plague. This would also talk about how the Philippines' suffering is also contributed to poorly thought out policies such as the 60/40 policy.

When we're done with Philippine history then it's time to talk about how to integrate teaching economics through Asian History and World History. The economic protectionists once insisted that we should study history to see they are right. This time, I would say that it's time to study history to prove they're wrong.

Asian History should never be complete without economics. This would teach some important events in the history of economics. The economic difference between North Korea and South Korea as well as the difference of Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaopeng's handling of China should be elaborated to a certain extent. Some of the important stuff that needs to be explained is why Mao's idealism for an "equal society" was a failure and how Deng's economic policies helped China. This should also include lessons from Singapore's honorary founder Lee Kuan Yew as well as how Modern Japan rose up from the ashes of the destroyed Imperial Japan.

Slowly integrating applications of economic theories through the Algebra, Statistics and Calculus subjects before College

Learning Mathematics can be too much of a burden unless application is done. It would be stupid to teach Business Mathematics without letting students solve problems related to day to day transactions. How this can be done should require consultation from Math educators which I'm not. I may not be good with Mathematics but I think letting students slowly get involved with economic related scenarios should at least be helpful.

Algebra, calculus and statistics are all used in several areas of life. One of them is economics. Economists use various mathematical equations to determine sound and feasible solutions for certain problems. Businessmen have to understand the numbers involved in order to make sound and feasible decisions. Commerce related courses have certain units in Calculus (some of them involve Operations Management subjects) to help in making sound decisions. If students are slowly introduced to how to apply these subjects into economics then this would help strengthen their knowledge of the subject.