Before David Martin became head of the Georgia Council of Economic Education, he came to the organization for help.
It was the 1970s, and Martin was teaching economics at a high school in Cobb County. He was trying to piece together lesson plans and student-centered materials with very little money and even less guidance. Then he heard about the council, which was founded in 1972 to help Georgia teachers boost both their understanding of economics and their instructional skills.
After a few years in the classroom, Martin went to work for the council. In 1982, he became executive director. The council has a $1.15 million annual budget and receives financial support from dozens of donors, most of them affiliated with corporations, including Bank of America, Equifax, UPS and Georgia Power.
The work of the council has ramped up since 2004, when Georgia introduced end-of-course tests for high school students taking economics. That year, 44 percent of students who took the tests passed. In spring 2010, the passing rate was 71 percent.
The council provides workshops and materials at little or no cost to teachers and schools. In 2009, it held 176 workshops attended by 3,586 Georgia teachers.
“We think working with a teacher who will work will hundreds, maybe thousands, of students is the best strategic investment we can make,” Martin said.
Q: One of the council’s best-known programs is a the Georgia Stock Market Game, in which students invest a fictional $100,000. Do you worry that teaching kids to focus on stock market returns leapfrogs over some of the economic fundamentals such as budgeting and dealing with a mortgage?
A: Absolutely. Obviously, a 10-week competition is very short term. That’s one reason we require that before a teacher can participate in the game, they have to go to training. They are taught about the game in the context of personal finance in the holistic sense. … Our vision at the council is that students leave school prepared for their economic roles as workers, consumers, citizens and life-long decision makers in a globally interdependent world. That ‘decision makers’ part is critical.
Q: How has the economy affected the council’s work in the past few years?
A: Well, you really have three things going on. One is teachable moments. … Interest among students, teachers and parents about credit card debt, bankruptcies, foreclosures, unemployment obviously is much greater just because of what is happening around them. Secondly, the standards around testing have become a factor. No. 3, we [the council] pay for a substitute teacher so that classroom teachers can go to our workshops. That is critical because when budget cuts come to schools, the first thing they cut is staff development. So, an economics teacher can go to a principal and say that I can go to this workshop and it’s free, and research shows my students’ test scores are going to improve.
Q: Where does the council get funding?
A: Our support is 61 percent corporate, 30 percent foundations, 4 percent individuals and 5 percent from fee income.
Q: How has the fund-raising environment changed for you in recent years?
A: A foundation almost always gives a restricted grant tied to a specific activity. Corporations are trying to become branded, and they want to get recognition for what they are doing, so they also are moving toward restricted grants. Operating money is very difficult to raise in this environment.
Q: Is there any way to know whether students who get good economics education actually become smarter consumers later in life?
A: You can track cognitive things, which is what you know. But there are behavioral things, which is what you do. That’s harder to track. You know that chocolate cake is bad for you, but you eat it anyway.
Q: How has the abundance of economic knowledge in your own home affected your children’s economic behaviors?
A: My second son, when he was growing up, always wanted to count the money in my wallet. He went to Harvard and majored in economics. My third son, he could care less. He’d leave money in his pocket, and it would go through the wash. Why do you have this variation in two people who grew up in the same environment? That’s what makes it hard to track.
David V. Martin, Executive Director, Georgia Council on Economic Education
Age: 65
Hometown: Fargo, N.D.
Current residence: Smyrna
Family: Wife, Lynn Dee; Children, Seth, 31; Benjamin, 28; Joshua, 26; and Rebekah, 23
Education: B.S., Westmar College; master's degree, Purdue University; Ph.D., Georgia State University
Hobbies: Baking banana bread for World War II veterans in his church and community.
What he's reading now: "In Mortal Combat: Korea 1950-1953″ by John Toland
Favorite All-Time Movie: "To Kill a Mockingbird"
Favorite Quote: "It's a wonderful life!" Mills B. Lane (council founder) by way of Jimmy Stewart
Favorite Philanthropy: Communities in Schools
