Kruggel to succeed Stover
Indiana economic educator John Kruggel has been named to succeed Lynne Stover to lead the teacher outreach programs of the JMU Center for Economic Education. With funding from Shenandoah Valley Economic Education, Inc., Kruggel will serve as Associate Director of the Center. Kruggel will conduct workshops, coordinate awards participation, develop economic lesson content and work with teachers one-on-one. Here’s a sketch on John Kruggel’s background:
John Kruggel graduated from Purdue University with a BA in Secondary Education in 2001. For his first teaching assignment he worked with the Indiana Council for Economic Education to create an award winning economics program in Haikou, China. John has over 15 years of teaching experience.
In 2010, he was one of six teachers in Indiana named an Indiana University Armstrong Teacher Educator. John has conducted numerous professional development workshops for elementary, middle and high school teachers throughout his school district. He has worked with the Indiana Council for Economic Education, as well as the IUPUI and ISU Centers for Economic Education, to organize and lead workshops throughout the state.
In 2017, he graduated from the Master of Arts in Economics and Entrepreneurship for Educators program at the University of Delaware. That same year John was named the Olin Davis Award winner for excellence in teaching economics in the state of Indiana. Most recently, he created a newsletter for economics, personal finance and business teachers in Indiana to help them integrate economics concepts covered in the news into the classroom. John has been married to his wonderful wife Heidi for nearly 10 years. Together they are the proud parents of Gabe (6) and Kathleen (4).
Personal finance in the summer!
Enrollment update: There are still a few spaces left in this institute. When it fills, a waiting list will be started. Other locations in Virginia will be offering personal finance institutes this summer as well.
A five-day summer institute in personal finance for area educators is set to be offered June 18-22 by the James Madison University Center for Economic Education. Although the content is ideal for those who will be teaching the required economics and personal finance class at the high school level, it also is suitable for any educator seeking to do a better job of managing personal finances. Presentations from industry experts are combined with demonstrations of activities and materials in a casual and fast-paced atmosphere. Here’s more information and a registration link: ☑ REGISTER
A variety of topics from investments and insurance to car purchasing will be covered in the summer institute, according to Center director William C. Wood. Wood is the author of “Teachers Can Be Millionaires Too,” one of the most popular downloads ever from the journal Social Education. With coauthors Mark Schug, Tawni Ferrarini and Scott Niederjohn, Wood will be writing a full-length book on personal finance for teachers in 2018-2019.
Stover webinars popular nationally
JMU’s Lynne Stover has been reaching a national audience with economic education webinars, and is currently set for two spring semester offerings. Here are details and registration information:
Using Cli-Fi (Climate Fiction) to Teach Economics [Middle and High]
Wed, Mar 14, 2018 7:00 PM – 8:00 PM EDT
Cli-Fi, the “hottest” new literature genre, portrays humans dealing with extreme weather situations. Discover how dire events of such as rising water, extreme heat, and freezing temperatures are perfect situations for teaching scarcity, allocation of limited resources, and decision making. Featured titles include Life as We Knew It, The Maze Runner, and Ninth Ward. Webinar attendees will receive links to classroom-ready lessons and a topical bibliography.
Register at https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/4709048160289098754
Homelessness in Children’s Literature: Tales of Struggle and Survival [Upper Elementary and Middle]
Tue, Apr 17, 2018 7:00 PM – 8:00 PM EDTThis webinar focuses on fictional families facing some very real problems; hunger, parental illness, joblessness, unpaid bills, and homelessness. Students can learn valuable life lessons concerning earning, saving, spending, and creative problem solving in books such as Crenshaw, How to Steal a Dog, and Survival Strategies of the Almost Brave. Webinar attendees will receive links to classroom- ready lessons and a topical bibliography.
Register at https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/8467134923562407938
Here’s a link to all the webinars in this national series:
Bitcoin for teachers: article to be published
JMU’s Dr. William C. Wood has teamed up with Scott Niederjohn of Lakeland University and J.R. Clark of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga to author an article on Bitcoin for Social Education, the flagship journal of the National Council for the Social Studies. The article, due out in the journal’s March/April issue, is titled: “Understanding Bitcoin: Money, Asset, or Bubble?”
Bitcoin is a so-called “cryptocurrency” based on sophisticated electronic records. The economists point out that as an engineered asset with no fundamental value, Bitcoin could continue to soar or crash back to earth. The article quotes as Stein’s Law, a joking observation made by economist Herbert Stein: “If something cannot go on forever, it will stop.” Many gains and losses will no doubt be made in the future with Bitcoin, the authors believe, but they warn that speculating in Bitcoin will not be any surer path to riches than earlier speculative bubbles.
The JMU Center for Economic Education’s teacher outreach program is a sponsored program of Shenandoah Valley Economic Education, Inc., a nonprofit corporation that seeks to promote economic literacy and understanding of the free enterprise system in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia.
The JMU Center for Economic Education is an affiliate of the Virginia Council on Economic Education.