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Press Release
California Council on Economic Education Announces Economic Education Partnership With Household International
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"World of Credit" Program Will Serve 250 High School Economics Teachers and 75,000 California High School Students
Sherman Oaks, CA and Prospect Heights, IL, - April 16, 2003 - Starting in September, 250 teachers and 75,000 California secondary school students in 10 cities across the state will be offered an intensive economic literacy program developed by the California Council on Economic Education (CCEE) in partnership with one of the world's leading financial companies, Household International. The "World of Credit" program will help California teachers present the basic economic concepts mandated by the California school history/social science standards. The program, which emphasizes economic reasoning, math, reading and financial literacy, includes ten workshops (eight at California State University campuses throughout the state, two at private institutions), a corporate ethics component, interaction with industry professionals and an Internet-based contest. The workshops will take participating teachers through a series of nine vignettes that illustrate basic economic principles using stories that are understandable, relevant and applicable to teenagers. Each vignette includes questions and activities that will help students understand the role of credit in the global economy and prepare them to use credit in today's marketplace. Recent tests reveal that a majority of California students understand little about personal finance and are making decisions that impact them negatively, both now and well into the future. "These workshops will help students develop the reasoning skills required for economic self-reliance," according to CCEE Chairman William Coffin. "When students have these skills, they understand that their decisions have consequences and that they are responsible for those consequences," Coffin added. The information offered in these workshops will be integrated into the fall curriculum. As students learn basic economic reasoning skills they will understand that they can't have everything they want, that they must make choices, and that those choices have costs. They will learn to use, not abuse, credit. Students who understand how prices (including interest rates) are determined by the market will lose the "victim" attitude and become more likely to work within market conditions and their own limits. "Students will learn that interest rates are simply the price of credit and like all other prices, reflect the relative scarcity of credit rising and falling with the dynamic forces of supply and demand. The result will be young adults who are better informed about their potential and constraints as they enter the world of credit. As students bring this information home, parents will also become better-informed credit customers," said Greg Snyder, Director of Corporate Relations and Communications for Household. Along with the workshops, a pre and post course survey will be administered by the teachers who attend. Awards will be given to top performing students who demonstrate a clear understanding of the information through an electronic contest that includes a credit quiz, essay contest and a chance to demonstrate their economic prowess in front of Household employees. The workshops are scheduled between September 15 and October 6, 2003 in the following locations:
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