Week Nineteen - End of Our Class :(

This Semester:

It's been a really fun semester and I'm really sad that this is the last time I'll have this group of students before they graduate. Students have learned about the basics of micro and macroeconomics, traveled to the Wright State College of Business, created personalized budgets, planned their dream vacation, and interviewed local people about our economy. Most upsettingly, this is the first group ever where everyone beat me in the Stock Market Simulation! That one will hurt for a while.

Students met Dean Li of the College of Business!

We wore some cool outfits on Halloween...

And I got crushed on the OH Stock Market Challenge... congratulations to all!

Upcoming Semester: 

Obviously I won't have these students anymore, but I did want to encourage you to subscribe to our DRSS Local Economics Podcast Project on iTunes. I'll be releasing the podcasts on a regular basis over the next few weeks, so I would love to continue building the audience for this project with each successive group of students. Please check it out on iTunes, subscribe, and 'Like' us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/DRSSPodcastProject.

If you have any questions about grades or the class, please don't hesitate to reach out to me at arch.grieve@wright.edu.

Have a great break!

~Mr. Grieve

Week Eighteen - Almost Done!

This Week

Today, student podcasts are due! Students have been working hard on these for three weeks now and many interviews have taken place. Some students who have asked for an extension have been granted it, but only for circumstances outside their control. All other students should have their podcasts submitted by the end of class today.

Upcoming Week

Due to the fact that I've lost the stock market simulation (largely thanks to some bad investments in two energy sector ETFs early on in the simulation, one of which tanked over 30%), it looks like I will be buying donuts for the entire class next week, all of whom beat me! If nothing else, hopefully I've taught the students the "risk-reward relationship," which states that "with high risk comes the opportunity for high reward, (and a higher risk of loss)."

Barring a last-minute rally for energy sector stocks, my current -6.75% loss is unlikely to change enough to beat any of the teams, even those who ended up negative. Still, it's been a good experience! There are over 500 participants and currently the winner is up over 30%, so it's a tough competition!

Next week students stock market simulation essays and stock market tracker sheets will be due, so those will need to be turned in by Monday. I'm undecided as of yet whether we will have a final exam, but much of it will depend on how long it takes (and the quality level) of the podcasts that we will be listening to next week. If students demonstrate mastery of the economic concepts I'm looking for through their podcasts, there is a chance I may have an alternative (easier) assignment for the final day. Otherwise, look for the exam to take place on Thursday or Friday of next week.

Have a great weekend, and look for the podcasts to be posted starting next week!

~Mr. Grieve

Week Seventeen

This Week

My apologies for missing the last update for the two-day week we had, but time has flown by! This week students are working hard on their final project, which is the Local Podcast Project. Students have one more week to work on this project, and it is going to be a tough deadline to meet, so please encourage your son or daughter to do whatever they need to do over the weekend and for homework to get this assignment done by the due date next Friday!

Also, today students took a pop quiz... be sure to ask them about it. It was only one question, and it's probably the most valuable lesson they will learn during the class!

Upcoming Week

This upcoming week is also the last week for the Stock Market Simulation and it looks like I may be buying donuts for everyone after some of my investments took a nosedive! Below are the scores for the teams. Unfortunately my overall return on investment right now is -2.17%!

Everyone but Team 4 is beating me!

Sadly, the semester is rapidly drawing to a close. Be sure students are checking ProgressBook to see where their grades stand going into the final quarter. Also, there is a final (cumulative) exam, so students should start reviewing their notes now (as well as previous tests) to refresh their content knowledge.

Have a great weekend!

~Mr. Grieve