Anyone out there attend Bill Becker's MEA Presidential Address?
For those that didn't most of what you need to know comes from the
original title ""Quit Lying and Teach the Controversies: There Are No
Dogmata, Laws, Rules, or Standards in the Science of Economics". He
basically argued we appear to be moving towards more standards based
education akin to K-12.
He finds it troubling as do I, though I believe the right balance is not
so easy to strike. Below is a copy of the email I sent to Dr. Becker,
I'd be interested in your thoughts and reading a discussion on the topic
(which will hopefully devolve into a deep discussion in epistemology :)
).
-------
Dr. Becker-
First let me say that I enjoyed your presentation at the MEA, (except
for the mini lecture by the grad student, and the inappropriate comment
on font size). You covered ground I have long struggled with as an
instructor. I do wonder if we don't do the discussion a bit of a
disservice by painting it as a choice between the extremes. I don't
think Hansen and the rest would advocate abandoning the interesting
stuff in favor of literacy tests of concepts like opportunity cost or
comparative advantage. In fact, my reading of their work is that if we
are doing that, we are not very good at it. At the same time, teaching
the controversies is similarly problematic. Several decades ago
Philosophy tried to teach ethics in just this way, but they soon
realized the result was students became moral relativists. Students did
not gain a deeper understanding of ethics, in fact if anything they were
less equipped to understand the basic ideas in the field. Christina Hoff
Summers has written much on this, here is just one link
(http://www.forerunner.com/forerunner/X0116_Teaching_the_Virtues.html).
I could imagine the same thing happening in economics, if it hasn't
already. Our profession is already famous for the "on the one hand...on
the other". Yet, there are some things we agree on as economists. Very
rapid money growth leads to rising prices, as an example. I would hate
for students to leave an economics class believing that what ever they
believe about economics is okay, simply because it is easy for them to
find an argument to support their prejudice or preconception. This is
much more likely the more emphasis we place on the controversies. The
fact is I'm not sure we can say they have learned anything, if you take
as learning the ability to overcome or refine ones preconceptions or
prejudices. So as is always the case, good teaching falls somewhere
between the two. Should we and the text books move further towards the
controversies....probably, but I fear the basic understanding of
economics might not improve much. I look forward to your future work,
and I particularly look forward to someone trying to more precisely
outline where the best balance is struck
TJ
Taggert J. Brooks, PhD
Associate Professor of Economics
Department of Economics
University of Wisconsin - La Crosse
403O Carl Wimberly Hall
1725 State Street
La Crosse, WI 54601
Phone: (608) 785-5295
Fax: (608) 785-8549
Email: brooks.tagg@uwlax.edu
Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary
safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety -Benjamin Franklin
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