Holly Springs High School Social Studies Teacher, Lisa Lamb is North Carolina’s Economic Educator of the Year for the 2009-2010 school year. Mrs. Lamb was honored at the 24th Annual Awards Banquet in Greensboro, NC on May 26, sponsored by the North Carolina Council on Economic Education, Fidelity Investments, and BB&T. Also in attendance were students and teachers from across the state that were honored for their participation in the Stock Market Game, essay and poster competitions, and other NCCEE sponsored contests.

Randy Weaver, Sr. Vice President of BB&T, and Sandy Wheat, Executive Director of the North Carolina Council on Economic Education, spoke on behalf of Mrs. Lamb’s teaching style and implementation of economic concepts in her Civics and Economics classes. Civics and Economics, a required course for 10th grade students, with goals seven, eight, and nine of 10 educational goals containing several basic principles of economics. However nearly 40 percent of the questions on the End of Course state exam contain economics based questions. Mrs. Lamb has instituted what she calls “Financial Literacy Fridays” and a project called “That’s Life” to be sure her students are prepared for the economic portion of the E.O.C. Whether its Friday or Monday or any other day of the week, Mrs. Lamb dedicates one day to introduce economic principles embedded into the current unit. Mrs. Lamb explains: “The C & E curriculum begins with Early American History so the for first few Fridays I cover topics including the Pre-Columbian Native American Economy (traditional economy) and the Columbian Exchange in relation to trade and exploration. In the American Revolution, I question students on what role did mercantilism play on King George’s decision to fight to keep control of the American colonies. They study the idea of the Plantation economy and its similarities to the Manor economy in Europe and how Adam Smith was a greater contributor to the United States than most of our “founding fathers.” I teach my students about the economy of the slave trade and triangle trade routes and how economics influenced the U.S.

Constitution and its many compromises. I continue teaching economics throughout the course in the role that economics plays in the formation of our government and how government is financed with federal, state, and local taxation culminating to the concept Globalization, playing the Stock Market Game and an independent financial literacy project called “That’s Life.” The “That’s Life” project is a budgeting project where students do everything from selecting a college, paying for college, actually searching for a job, paying bills, buying a car, getting insurance, and even investing in the Stock Market.

Sometimes if I have a few minutes, I’ll build a lesson from the headlines on CNN, linking current events to the economy. For example, if there is a deep freeze in the South or the BP Oil Spill or when the value of the Euro drops, how does that affect the United States Economy and us, as individuals?” At a time when the state of the economy and personal finances are on everyone’s mind, Mrs. Lamb reminded everyone at the banquet of the importance of economic and financial education for our students and for our future. She encourages citizens to write Congress and the State Legislature to keep quality teachers in the classroom and at a time when 300,000 teachers face the possibility of lay-offs across the country, thanks the NC Council for Economic Education, Fidelity Investments, and BB&T for recognizing quality teachers. Imagine the financial and economic disaster the United States will face without them should the lay-offs become a reality. Lisa Lamb received a plaque for her classroom and a check for $2,500 which she will undoubtedly invest wisely.