ECONOMICS (ECO-A)

COURSE OVERVIEW

A one-semester introduction to economic history, theory, and practice.  This course introduces students to microeconomics (how the choices made by individuals, households, and businesses affect an economy) and macroeconomics ("big picture" economic phenomena such as inflation, price levels, rate of growth, national income, gross domestic product, changes in unemployment, production, supply and demand, competition, and the like).  Students will learn functional math skills through real-life applications such as planning nutrition, arranging for transportation, maintaining bank accounts, developing personal budgets, understanding job benefits, and more.  Discussed throughout the semester are economic ideologies such as distributism and subsidiarity that lean heavily upon the principles of Catholic social teaching, especially the teachings of Pope Leo XIII in his encyclical Rerum novarum and Pope Pius XI in Quadragesimo anno.
 
RESOURCES ALL STUDENTS NEED:
  • Survival Math Skills by Fred Pyrczak
  • Whatever Happened to Penny Candy? by Richard J. Maybury
  • Quizzes, articles, and encyclicals on the STAA Student Zone such as Centesimus Annus by Pope John Paul II, Quadragesimo Anno by Pope Pius XI, and Rerum Novarum by Pope Leo XIII.
 
JUNIORS AND SENIORS ALSO NEED:
  • Economics: Work and Prosperity in Christian Perspective (student reader) by Russell Kirk
 
JUNIORS AND SENIORS WILL ALSO NEED TO PURCHASE OR BORROW FROM THE LIBRARY ONE OR MORE OF THE FOLLOWING TITLES:
    • Basic Economics by Thomas Sowell
    • Small Is Beautiful: Economics as if People Mattered by E. F. Schumacher
    • Economics in One Lesson: The Shortest and Surest Way to Understand Basic Economics by Henry Hazlitt
    • Toward a Truly Free Market: A Distributist Perspective on the Role of Government, Taxes, Health Care, Deficits, and More by John C. Medaille

 

ORDERING INFORMATION

Basic information about the books and materials for this course follows; see your Academic Packet or STAA Study Guide for full ordering details and commentary about each resource.

A portion of every purchase made on Amazon after following the links here goes to help support St. Thomas Aquinas Academy's work. Thank you so very much for thinking of STAA when placing your book and general Amazon orders.

Semester 2: Roman Studies IIA Study Guide

  • Author: St. Thomas Aquinas Academy
  • ISBN:        
  • Supplier: St. Thomas Aquinas Academy
Student study guides and course plans for the second semester of the Roman Studies, A Track cycle. Designed to work in conjunction with STAA advisor support, our live classes, or the "Independent Study with Online Support" option, the STAA Study Guides include weekly reading plans, assignment directions, reflection topics, and gradebooks for the semester and help prepare students for the weekly, graded online quizzes. This guide includes multiple subjects. To further personalize your student's plan, single-subject study guides are available at www.shop.staahomeschool.com.

Survival Math Skills

  • Author: Fred Pyrczak
  • Publisher/Copyright: Walch Education, 1998. Print.
  • ISBN: 0825138191        978-0825138195
  • Supplier: Rainbow Resource
104 pages; 8 sections with a test per section; 46 lessons.

Whatever Happened to Penny Candy? 6th or 7th Edition

  • Author: Richard J. Maybury
  • Publisher/Copyright: Bluestocking Press, 2010. Print.
  • ISBN: 0942617622        978-0942617641
  • Supplier: Rainbow Resource

Economics: Work and Prosperity in Christian Perspective

  • Author: Russell Kirk
  • Publisher/Copyright: A Beka Book, 2012, 1999, 1989. .
  • ISBN:        n/a
  • Supplier: Rainbow Resource
292 pages; 14 lessons; glossary, index, and index of Scripture references. Any edition will do. Only the student textbook is necessary.

STAA Student Zone

  • Author: St. Thomas Aquinas Academy
  • Publisher/Copyright:
  • ISBN: n/a        
  • Supplier: St. Thomas Aquinas Academy Student Zone
There are online resources such as weekly reading quizzes, special downloads, advisor support through the Q & A forum, occasional slide shows or videos, and more for this course. To activate your student's online access, 1) submit the Course Registration form after your annual planning appointment, 2) register for the live class, or 3) register for the "Independent Study with Online Support Option." After completing one of the registration options, students (and teaching-parents) may use their usernames and passwords to sign into the member site. The STAA Student Zone is available each school year from August 1 to July 15.

Centesimus Annus

  • Author: Pope John Paul II
  • ISBN:        
  • Supplier: St. Thomas Aquinas Academy Student Zone

Quadragesimo Anno

  • Author: Pope Pius XI
  • ISBN:        
  • Supplier: St. Thomas Aquinas Academy Student Zone

Rerum Novarum

  • Author: Pope Leo XIII
  • ISBN:        
  • Supplier: St. Thomas Aquinas Academy Student Zone
OPTIONAL RESOURCE

How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization

  • Author: Thomas E. Woods Jr
  • Publisher/Copyright: Regnery Publishing, Inc., 2005. Print.
  • ISBN: 0895260387        978-0895260383
  • Supplier: Retail or Amazon.com
280 pages.
OPTIONAL RESOURCE

A TRACK PROJECT

  • ISBN:        
  • Supplier: St. Thomas Aquinas Academy Student Zone
This is a project for students in Grades 11 and 12.
OPTIONAL RESOURCE

Basic Economics

  • Author: Thomas Sowell
  • Publisher/Copyright:
  • ISBN: 0465060730        978-0465060733
  • Supplier: Retail or Amazon.com
OPTIONAL RESOURCE

Toward a Truly Free Market: A Distributist Perspective on the Role of Government, Taxes, Health Care, Deficits, and More

  • Author: John C. Medaille
  • Publisher/Copyright: Intercollegiate Studies Institute, 2011. Print.
  • ISBN: 161017027X        978-1610170277
  • Supplier: Library
282 pages
OPTIONAL RESOURCE

Economics in One Lesson: The Shortest and Surest Way to Understand Basic Economics

  • Author: Henry Hazlitt
  • Publisher/Copyright: Three Rivers Press, 1998. Print.
  • ISBN: 0517548232        978-0517548233
  • Supplier: Library
218 pages. (any edition)
OPTIONAL RESOURCE

Small Is Beautiful: Economics as if People Mattered

  • Author: E. F. Schumacher
  • Publisher/Copyright: Harper Perennial, . .
  • ISBN: 0061997765        978-0061997761
  • Supplier: Library
Paperback: 352 pages; Reprint edition (October 19, 2010)
OPTIONAL RESOURCE

Spring Live Class: Economics

  • Author: St. Thomas Aquinas Academy
  • ISBN:        
  • Supplier: St. Thomas Aquinas Academy
Small-group, advisor-led live online class for students in Grades 8 through 12 that meets every other academic week of the second semester. Advisor grading of assignments is also available for students registered for this live class.


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