"We shall not cease from exploration.
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time."

- T. S. Elliott

Students must be immersed in "the economic way of thinking" in order for it to become a routine part of their lives. So that is what we do in the economics curriculum at Klein Oak.

Our guiding light comes from John Maynard Keynes, perhaps the most influential 20th century economist, who said

"The theory of economics does not furnish a body of settled conclusions immediately applicable to policy. It is a method rather than a doctrine, an apparatus of the mind, a technique of thinking which helps its possessor to draw correct conclusions."

Students who are successful in this class will not think the same way again, about anything. They will view the world in terms of the fundamental fact of scarcity. That means that mom and dad can't afford to buy you that new 350Z and to send you to college, and you don't have enough time for practice, friends, and school. Something has to give.

The economic way of thinking is all about realizing that something has to give, and then rationally analyzing what it is that should give.

We will apply economic thinking in several areas (e.g. opportunity cost analysis, demand, supply, market equilibria, macroeconomic stabilization, etc.). Additionally, we will study some financial topics that, while involving "the economy" don't truly fall within the ambit of economics (e.g. banking, stock and bond investments, etc.).

Students and parents, as we progress through the semester we welcome your questions, concerns, and comments.

Javier Vela
John Penn
Judy Sinclair

Click here for the companion Website to our new textbook.

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©2002 by Gary Nelson. All rights reserved.