A Summer of Learning and Connection
Summer at FTE is always a busy time, and that’s exactly how we like it! Over the past few months, students and teachers from
across the country came together for FTE programs filled with thoughtful conversations, hands-on learning, new friendships and,
of course, plenty of economics and leadership.
For some students, it was their first experience living and learning on a college campus. For others, it was a chance to meet people who shared their curiosity about economics, leadership and the world around them. And for the teachers who joined us, summer programs offered something equally valuable: time to learn, exchange ideas and head into a new school year with fresh energy and resources. Looking back on 34 programs, it was a full and incredibly rewarding summer.
Preparing the Next Generation of Leaders
Throughout the summer, high school students joined FTE programs designed to challenge them to think differently about economics, leadership and decision-making.
We put on weeklong programs at universities across the country, including Economics for Leaders (EFL), a selective program that brings economics and leadership together in a way that goes beyond a traditional classroom experience. Students don’t just sit and listen to lectures. They get involved.
Through discussions, simulations, group challenges and hands-on activities, students explore how economic concepts show up in the choices people, businesses and governments make every day. They wrestle with topics such as scarcity and opportunity cost, markets, incentives, inflation, international trade and public policy, all while developing an economic way of thinking they can apply to the world around them.
Leadership is an equally important and rewarding part of the experience. Students work with people they’ve just met, communicate their ideas, navigate challenges as a team and think more intentionally about the kind of leader they want to become.
For students who have already had an introduction to economics, and are ready to take the next step, Advanced Economics for Leaders provides an opportunity to dig deeper into economic concepts while continuing to build leadership skills and connections.
But some of the most memorable parts of an FTE summer happen outside the scheduled sessions. Students share meals, explore campus, get a taste of college life and spend time getting to know peers from different schools and communities. By the end of the program, a group of students who arrived as strangers often leaves as a community.
That combination of learning and connection is an important part of what makes an FTE summer special.
Teachers Get to Be Students, Too
FTE’s summer impact doesn’t stop with student programs. Educators from across the country also joined us for professional development designed to deepen their understanding of economics while giving them practical tools and activities they can take back to their classrooms.
During Economics for Teachers (EFT), Economic Forces in American History, Economics of Innovation, and Socialism: Myths vs. Realities, educators participate in economics instruction, classroom simulations and active-learning activities alongside fellow teachers and experienced faculty.
Like our student programs, FTE’s teacher programs are designed to be hands-on. Teachers experience lessons from the student perspective before thinking about how they might adapt and facilitate those activities in their own classrooms. In teacher-student programs, educators can also see FTE lessons in action with high school students, getting a firsthand look at how students respond and how instructors guide the conversation.
There is something especially valuable about experiencing an activity yourself and then seeing students engage with it in real time. Just as important are the connections teachers make with one another. Summer programs create space to step outside the day-to-day routine, exchange ideas with colleagues, talk about what is working in their classrooms and learn from educators facing many of the same challenges.
Teachers leave with more than new economics knowledge. They return to their schools with classroom-ready resources, new approaches to teaching and a network of fellow educators committed to making economics meaningful and engaging.
One Summer, Lasting Impact
One of our favorite things about FTE programs is that their impact doesn’t end when everyone packs their bags and heads home.
A student might leave with a new interest in economics, a better understanding of how to approach a complicated issue or more confidence speaking up and sharing an idea. They will also likely leave with friendships they never expected to make. A teacher might head home with a new activity that becomes a classroom favorite or a different way of explaining a challenging economic concept. Those ideas can ultimately reach hundreds of students.
As we look back on another successful summer, we are grateful to everyone who made it possible: our students, teachers, faculty, mentor teachers, program staff, university partners, supporters and families.
Thank you for another memorable summer. The programs may be over, but the ideas, relationships and experiences that started there are just beginning. And we’re already looking forward to doing it all again.
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