Network for Economic Education

Interview with Prof. William Comanor on Economic Education

Interviewee: Prof. William S. Comanor (Professor, UCLA)

On 12/29 (12/28 in Pacific Standard Time), I interviewed Prof. Comanor, who had a lot to say about economic education based on his long-time teaching experience at various schools in the US and Canada. The following is a summary of my interview with Prof. Comanor.

Summary of Prof. Comanor's Interview.
First of all, economics is a “methodology” and not a “subject matter.” When you talk about teaching economics, people think that you are talking about the economy, and that is wrong. What distinguishes economics from sociology and other social sciences is not the subject matter but rather the methodology, which can apply to any situation with scarce resources.
Second, economics emphasizes the fact that all decisions are taken under constraints. Most people tend to think that for good decisions all we need to do is think about what you want to achieve. That misses the methodology we economist use to determine optimal decisions.
In economic education, students should be taught the fact that all decisions require identification of the constraints as well as the objectives. In a more concrete terms, they should be aware of realistic constraints, whether in daily living or in future career.
In daily living, they first have to decide how much budge they have. However, all constraints are not monetary constraints. Some constraints are imposed by other people like their parents.
For their future career, students should identify their objectives for sure. But again, that is not sufficient. Just “follow your dream” could be unbelievable non-sense, unless constraints are taken into account.
Economics can tell you these important aspects of decision making, whether it is about your daily living or about your future career. I am startled by how little that is appreciated.

For a Japanese version of this report, see the following:
http://blog.so-net.ne.jp/miyao-blog/archive/20070201

Time: 04:13 PM | Permalink

Interviews with Professionals in Los Angeles

Interviewees: Mr. Sumio Miyazaki (President, Tokimec USA Inc.) and Ms. Chisako Yokoyama (Executive Director, International School of Motion Pictures)

On 12/28 (12/27 in Pacific Standard Time), I had a chance to talk to two professionals currently living in LA about education for Japanese youth. For those who are interested in economic education in Japan, it will be quite helpful and suggestive to hear the opinions of professionals actively engaging in international business as to what can be said about Japanese young people and what can be expected of them.

Summary of Mr. Miyazaki's Interview:
In the U.S., there are quite a few people who are working hard as a businessperson on one hand and as a volunteer on the other. A friend of mine, Mr. Miyazaki, is such a businessman in charge of heading the LA office of a major precision machinery company in Japan, while voluntarily offering a short-term training program for Japanese students to learn from the American way of doing business in California.
Mr. Miyazaki said that he would like participants to obtain some hints for their future careers as well as strong motivation to pursue their objectives in life, whatever career they might choose. Although the students enrolled in his program so far were "good" students by the Japanese standard, they seemed very slow and often hesitant in making their own decisions and expressiong their own opinions in response to the questions or problems given to them on the program.
Mr. Miyazaki wishes to help students overcome such a negative cultural attitude by offering a better and longer program next spring. Hopefully, there will be more programs like this to be offered for Japanese young people to grow in an international environment, and Japan needs it for its survival in the future.
Reference:
http://glocom.blog59.fc2.com/blog-date-20061228.html

Summary of Ms. Yokoyama's Interview:
Today I was invited to a party at Ms. Chisako Yokoyama, Executive Director of the International School of Motion Pictures (ISMP), and talked to her and her family as well as her students and staff members.
Ms. Yokoyama said that although the school just opened four months ago and there are still very few students admitted, she already found it important to adjust teaching programs flexibly to the need and level of individual students, who tend to have their own specialized interests and abilities, for example, in sound technology or production activities. She was pleased with the good (actually better than expected) sense and ability of her students in handling “visual” content in film-making. In fact, a student's science fiction was really great, according to Ms. Yokoyama.
She concluded by saying that “I think I will be able to enjoy teaching my students, whatever problems they or I might face in the future.” With such optimism and the family atmosphere prevailing at the party, she will surely succeed in educating students to become professional film-making specialists in Hollywood someday.
Reference:
http://glocom.seesaa.net/archives/20061228.html
Previous Interview with Ms. Yokoyama:
http://glocom.seesaa.net/archives/20060622.html
For a Japanese version of this report, see the following:
http://blog.so-net.ne.jp/miyao-blog/archive/20070107

Time: 11:25 AM | Permalink

Interview with Prof. Asahi Noguchi on Economic Education

Interviewee: Prof. Asahi Noguchi (Professor, Senshu University)
http://www.senshu-u.ac.jp/~off0010/faculty/kiz_a_01_noguti.html

On December 15, I had a talk with Senshu University Professor Asahi Noguchi at my favorite place near Shinjuku-gyoenmae, where I often meet him.
Prof. Noguchi has written a number of introductory economics books for general audience and, in that connection, he has been asked by Tokyo Metropolitan University for the last couple of years to teach an economics seminar on the university-sponsored program, “Tokyo Mirai Juku” for those high school students who are recommended by their schools as part of their entrance examination exercises.
Prof. Noguchi says that teaching such students is very satisfying himself with good results. This is not only due to the fact that those students are selected ones with high motivation, but also due to the way the seminar is organized and conducted as follows:
(1) In the initial lecture part, such introductory books as Prof. Noguchi’s book “Understanding Basic Economics From Level Zero Up” (2002) are used as textbooks to motivate students.
(2) Students are told to form small groups, and find and study their group topics (for example, the role of government, social security and taxes, fiscal and monetary policy, deflation, etc.) for their class presentation.
(3) They are advised and supported by an excellent assistant who used to be a school teacher with good understanding of high school students.
These may be helpful in teaching economics to high school students in general, but it would not be easy to motivate those who are not interested in economic issues in the first place. Prof. Noguchi suggested that one idea might be to start with such commonly interested issues as “taxes,” and go on to take up related problems such as “public finance and social security issues,” which every citizen should be aware of.
References:
Noguchi, Asahi “Understanding Basic Economics From Level Zero Up” (Zero kara wakaru keizai no kihon), Kodansha, 2002:
http://www.bk1.co.jp/product/2260210
Prof. Asahi Noguchi’s Authored Books:
http://www.bk1.co.jp/search/search.asp?kywd=%96%EC%8C%FB%88%AE
For a Japanese version of this report, see the following:
http://blog.so-net.ne.jp/miyao-blog/archive/20061217

Time: 10:44 AM | Permalink

Interview with Prof. Hiroya Ichikawa on Economic Education

Interviewee: Dr. Hiroya Ichikawa (Professor, Sophia University)
http://www.sophia.ac.jp/kokusai/kokusai/j/professors/index.html

Prof. Hiroya Ichikawa was interviewed at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan in Hibiya on December 4, and asked him about economic education in Japan.
Prof. Ichikawa, after graduating from the Economics Department at Keio University, worked for Keidanren before joining the Faculty of Liberal Arts at Sophia University, has a broad network in the business world at home and abroad. Based on his experience, he seems to have a critical view on economic education in Japan. The following is a summary of my interview with him.
First, what is the use of economic education? To answer this question, it is necessary to teach students in such a way that they can take it as their own problem in the real world, rather than studying and memorizing some pieces of knowledge at school.
For example, students should be taught such subjects as career development and job selection, income and consumption, savings and investment, life cycle and social security, etc. for the sake of their own life planning. If these issues are presented with concrete examples, students would be willing and able to acquire the ability to think logically and critically in economic terms.
Second, the treatment of business corporations in economic education needs revision, because corporations are no longer “seeking profit alone and ignoring the environment,” as seen in some textbooks. It is important to let students know the fact that both public and private institutions, including business corporations, are working together to solve environmental problems in Japan, and such knowledge would help students understand the relationship between the economy and the environment more fully.
The following are some materials on this issue published by Nippon Keidanren:
“Global Environment Charter” (1991)
http://www.keidanren.or.jp/japanese/profile/pro002/p02001.html
“Environment Appeal” (1996)
http://www.keidanren.or.jp/japanese/policy/pol094.html
“Voluntary Environmental Action Plans” (2006)
http://www.keidanren.or.jp/japanese/policy/vape

For a Japanese version of this report, see the following:
http://blog.so-net.ne.jp/miyao-blog/archive/20061207

Time: 05:14 PM | Permalink