This June, I was a part of the Foundation for Teaching Economics’ program, Economics for Leaders (EFL), held at Yale. Before I went, I had no prior knowledge of economics, and one of the reasons I went was to find out if I was interested in it.
There were about 30 participants, and they were all students entering thier junior or senior year of high school. We all lived on the Yale campus in dorms for a week, each with our own roommates. I was in a suite with four other girls. I was assigned a roommate with whom I shared a bedroom, and two of the other girls did the same, while the last slept in her own room. The five of us were all connected with a living space to share. Living in the dorms and being able to walk around the campus during free times was one of my favorite parts of the program, because the Yale campus is so beautiful and it gave me a taste of the college experience. After dinner, we would do another leadership activity, and then meet in groups, each with an assigned counselor, to debrief about the day.
As for our schedule, we had economics classes taught to us by a professor, leadership activities in the afternoon, and then about a three hour free block during which we could walk around and get dinner either from the dining hall or a restaurant in New Haven. In the classes, the professor would give us a lecture about whatever topic we would be talking about that day. In about 30-minute intervals, he would stop and make us do a fun simulation that addresses that topic. For example, when we were learning about labor demand, we did a simulation in which everyone except for five people were workers, and the five were employers. We had to go around and negotiate with the employers for how much money we would make, and when an employer agreed with your price, they wrote their signature on your index card, and you would sit down. In each round, the professor would add a new layer to the game, like a worker could pay 20 fake dollars to him in exchange for an education, and that person would then be more valuable to an employer. I think that the breaks in the middle of the lectures to do a simulation really helped us learn in a more hands-on way, and stopped people from getting distracted or tired from a long lecture.
The leadership activities, on the other hand, were led by the counselors at the program. We were split into groups and every afternoon, everyone would participate in certain activities that helped the students build trust, teamwork, leadership, and communication skills. It also helped the groups bond a lot, and created new friendships. An example of one of the activities that we did was each group went to an open space and the counselor would lay down one starting line, and another line about 30 feet away, indicating the finish line. We were given 5 frisbees and the task of getting from the start to the end without touching the ground, and with everyone getting to the end at the same time. It was challenging, but my group ended up making it by creating a way to have everyone on the frisbees at the same time. It was a lot of fun, and definitely helped us grow as a team.
Now that the program has ended, I have found that I really enjoyed both the economics and leadership aspects of it a lot. I learned a lot about the basics of economics such as supply and demand, labor markets, economic growth, scarcity, and much more. I also gained many close friends, especially with the girls I was rooming with. To conclude, I would recommend this program to anyone looking to pursue economics, or people, like me, who want to learn about it and grow their fields of interest.
