As my highschoolers worked through the books, articles, and video clips that make up this curriculum, I witnessed their thinking expand to great heights! The questions which followed encouraged them to explain the concepts taught in their own words sparking expressions of their own views and opinions. So many lively discussions were had in response to what they covered! This course quickly became a favorite subject in our home school. In fact, the hardest thing about it was stopping for the day to move on to the next subject! Thank you for writing such an excellent, quality curriculum!
Starla D. Navarre, FL
I taught my two daughters Economics using the Economics in a Box curriculum about 5 years ago. I am so excited to be starting this new curriculum with my son. I love the Christian worldview aspect. Of course, teaching my kids from their grandfather's book is such a bonus too! Thank you for providing this curriculum!
Cathy G. Tallahassee, FL
TEACHER TESTIMONIALS:
Thank you for providing a substantive course with excellent materials for the homeschooling community and beyond. Given the current state of our world, the content is more critical than ever and I'm grateful God gave you the desire and vision to put all this together for our benefit.
Theresa D., ACTS Administrator
This coursework is some of the most important material you can have your high schooler study to prepare them to think well about the world around them! I have yet to have a student that did not enjoy the class because it addresses hard questions about wealth, poverty, the role government, and other hot topics teens like to discuss. The curriculum is the perfect blend of reading, video, fun activities, and homework to keep student’s engaged while helping them connect economic concepts and principles to real life!
Laurie S., Montgomery, TX
I searched high and low for an economics curriculum that was light on math and fit the worldview of my students. I have been so pleased with this one. My class was comprised of 8th-11th grade homeschoolers and I repeatedly got emails from their parents telling me how interesting the topics were. The curriculum worked for the various learning styles I needed to accommodate, too, by offering a mix of videos, online articles, and books, plus the fun classroom discussions and activities. The material and ideas presented from this class are enormously important for young adults to learn, as they hear politicians making promises on topics they will soon start voting on. The two books used deserve a place on every student and family’s bookshelf — highly marked up and frequently referred-to, of course! Thank you for this curriculum, Pam!
Catie M., Hampton Falls, NH
Of all the programs I have used over the year, I am most grateful for this one. We used Oikonomia as one of the last programs in our high school journey. My children were in 11th and 12th grade. This program gave us that last bit of true homeschooling where we gathered around a good book and well thought out videos and actively discussed concepts that were new to all of us. We created our world view together. Many things which I had thought were true my whole adult life, but did not really understand why I believed so were finally made clear to me. Now I know why certain economic policies are true and good or untrue and harmful. My children were adamant to complete this program together in our race against time before day zero of college we did it together and will be forever strengthened in our economic understanding and beliefs as a result.
Anna S., Ocala, FL
At the end of 2018, I wrapped up a long career as a manufacturing manager. Back in 2009 I had a homeschool mom approach me about teaching an intro economics course to a group of competitive policy debaters and extemp speakers. High schoolers are largely unaware of economic principles and how they impact our everyday lives, so their frame of reference for talking intelligently about government policies is rather limited. Knowing about Pam Cooper’s ‘Economics in a Box’ curriculum, now ‘Oikonomia: Economics for Life and Flourishing', and having a life-long love of the topic, I volunteered to teach the econ course over the summer. The course was a hit with the kids such that every other summer since then, I’ve taught the course. The use of videos to complement the reading material along with in-class activities makes the curriculum highly accessible and engaging. The curriculum is now in its third edition and has become increasingly refined and more than an economics course: it’s also a world view course with an emphasis on our roles as stewards of our gifts and resources, to do our part to bring about flourishing here in God’s created world. It trains the students how to intelligently engage the culture on topics like climate change, helping the poor, capitalism vs. socialism, government vs. market solutions, why some nations prosper, and others remain poor, and more. All using classical timeless economic principles. The course is still a hit with the students, and with my retirement, I’m teaching it at a University Model (3-days in class per week) Christian School. The curriculum easily adapted to a lesson plan rhythm where the students are at school 3 days a week and at home with homework 2 days. After all these years of teaching Oikonomia, the material is still fresh, and it remains a joy to watch the lights go on for students as we march through the weeks. If you have a passion for showing high schoolers how biblical principles practically apply and have impacted history, nations, and current events, the Oikonomia curriculum is a superb vehicle for accomplishing the mission.
Brad E., Frisco, TX
