izzit.org at AMLE in Minneapolis!

Last week, izzit.org attended the AMLE (Association of Middle Level Education) Annual conference in Minneapolis.

GA teacher Mike Siekkinen was on-site with us, sharing his enthusiasm for izzit.org with the attendees. We gave away about 360 DVDs, along with pens and magnetic clips. Plus our new members can all get another free DVD by visiting our website.

We had a wonderful time, talking to teachers, meeting so many of you, both new izzit.org friends and old.

Next week we'll be headed to the NCSS conference in St. Louis! If you'll be there, stop by booth #709 and see us! We'll give you a free DVD and some other goodies, too. We'll also enter you in our contest to win a Kindle Fire!

Minneapolis was great! We found it full of friendly, helpful people. We made a quick trip to the Mall of America while we were out there -- I mean, when else will I get the chance to see it? I found all the Lego stuff fascinating. My son loved Legos when he was a kid. (Raise your hand if you've ever stepped on a Lego in your bare feet! Ouch.)

I also loved the Skyways in Minneapolis. What a clever idea for dealing with harsh weather. We should talk to the folks here in Erie, PA about doing something like that.

I hope to see some of you next week at the NCSS in St. Louis.

--- Susan Gable, izzit.org

New release - Monkey Business!



There’s no business like…monkey business? 

 

Our new izzit.org teaching unit follows Katarina Rybarikova and her family in Slovakia as they pursue Katarina’s dream of bringing the Paul Frank brand, with its distinctive monkey logo, to Europe. As a child growing up in communist controlled Czechoslovakia, she experienced very little freedom or economic opportunity.  Even after liberation from the Soviet Union and the split into two separate countries, times were tough. But with the right economic changes, things are looking up for Katarina and her family!

 

The DVD is recommended for grades 7-12, and covers a variety of topics, from Communism and Democracy, to Paternalism and Individual Responsibility. It includes a bonus interview with the authors of the Fraser Institute’s Economic Freedom of the World Report, explaining how the index works and the correlations they’ve discovered between economic freedom and people’s well-being. It also covers the U.S. decline on the index, and likely reasons for the change.