Review ~ Economics For Everybody Curriculum From Roman Roads Media
Economics for Everybody is a wonderful economics curriculum for families to use, it’s interesting and Biblical based. Perfect for family groups or homeschool high school classes.
Disclosure: I received a free copy of this product for review, all opinions are 100% my own.
Economics has been a special interest of my husband and I for a number of years now.
So I was really excited to have the opportunity to review the Economics for Everybody Curriculum from Roman Roads Media.
Who Is Roman Roads Media?
Roman Roads Media is a Classical Christian homeschool publisher. They produce an number of affordable, high-quality video courses for homeschooling families.
What is Economics for Everybody?
As its title says Economics for Everybody, is an economic course made for the whole family. Although it is geared more towards middle school and high school children, churches and small study groups, and any adult who would like a better understanding of how economics work.
Younger children can watch along but lessons 2, 7, and 11 have a warning in the course that there could be scenes not suitable for younger children. So far the scenes I've found show clips of starvation, concentration camps, and old movie clips of robbery.
Economics for Everybody is a 12-video course taught by Dr. R.C. Sproul Jr. Each video class ranges in length from 15 to 27 minutes.
The lessons are:
And God Created Economics ~ Stewardship in God's Image
The Economic Problem of Sin ~ Law, Liberty & Government
The Path from Work to Wealth ~ Production, Property & Tools
The Route From Scarcity to Plenty ~ Money, Markets & Trade
The Role of the Entrepreneur ~ Capital, Calculation & Profit
A Tale of Two Theologies Part 1 ~ From God to Politics
A Tale of Two Theologies Part 2 ~ Economic Philosophies & Systems
Government Intervention ~ Basic Principles & Education
The Two Mysteries of Monetary Policy ~ Inflation & Depressions
The Welfare & Corporate States of America ~ The Costs of Redistribution
Economics Has Consequences ~ The Real Effects of Sin
Kingdom Economics
High School Credit
This course can be used as a 1/2 credit in economics for light study in grades 9 and 10 to cover the basic concepts of economics.
For a more in-depth study for grades 10 and 12 with a world-view training, you can use this program along with another economics textbook. Basic Economics, Third Edition by Carson and Cleveland is recommended by this program.
Cost
$45.00 for 2 DVDs and a 236-page spiral-bound study guide. (Download coming soon!)
Economics for Everybody is not a dry, boring economics class. I knew from the moment I watched the trailer for the video course this would be something our family would enjoy.
This program includes Bible verses, principles and shows how successful economics cannot be separated from God. We so agree with this!
Excellent for many learning styles. Auditory learners will love to listen along with the program, visual learners will enjoy the many video clips playing in the background. These include old black-and-white movie clips, news clips, and other historical footage.
Children who learn best by reading can follow along in the study guide.
Included with this course is a 236-page study guide. This gives a wonderful overview of each lesson and what the learning goals for each session are.
There are also multiple-choice questions, short answer, and discussion questions. There are suggestions for resources to use for further study including textbooks and other Christian materials.
How Did We Use Economics For Everybody?
When I first read about this program and watched the video trailer, I KNEW it would be a great fit for our family. I intended to watch it together as a family and then later use it as a high school course for our children.
Our 5 and 6-year-olds have no interest in this topic, not surprising! So we've been watching it in the evenings with our 12, 10, and 8-year-olds.
This course is definitely a stretch for the younger 2 but the background visuals keep them interested. Our 12-year-old daughter is enjoying the course although she wouldn't be able to work through it on her own yet. As a self-study, I think it would be best used for high school and up.
We would watch one session together and then use the study questions to spur some discussion. Often these questions come up on their own. I was surprised at how well some of the topics tied into what we had already been teaching our children.
We've been working with them to help them understand how doing chores around the house helps. Then when we watched a video class what was R. C. Sproul Jr. using as an example? His children doing the dishes!
He was sharing how long it takes one child to do the dishes alone. Then how each child is good at different parts of the job, now if each child works on the dishes together doing what they are best suited for the job gets done much, much faster.
This is exactly the principle we kept in mind when we made up a new chore chart this summer. The division of labor and how it's best used.
Another example our children connected with was about exchanging money for goods. R. C. Sproul Jr. used an example of his little daughter buying knitting needles and yarn to produce a scarf.
He explained how the needles and yarn were more valuable to her than the money and how the money was more valuable to the store than the goods were. So it's an exchange that benefits both.
I think that Economics for Everybody is a wonderful economics curriculum for families to use, it’s interesting and Biblical based. I really liked how he broke down the economic principles used in business to how a family runs.
One thing I should mention is the background scenes from historical footage are a big help in understanding what R.C. Sproul Jr. is talking about. However, this is only true if you have a basic understanding of history and recognize the footage.
If your student is younger and hasn’t seen videos of Mussolini or Hitler then he might still be confused. Because of this and the general topic, I would recommend this as a great program for children aged 12 and up.
