Six Drinks that Changed the World by Andy Jobson

I’m grateful to my sister for sending my A History of the World in Six Glasses as my birthday present this year.  I highly recommend it to you, no matter what you may teach.  Tom Standage examines various epochs by considering the role of a particular drink.  For the ancient world (think Sumer and Egypt), he provides a discussion of beer.  (In particular, I was intrigued to gain some insight as to why we offer toasts at ceremonies.)  The Greeks, of course, grew in power in part due to the wine they were able to produce and trade.  World history teachers would learn some interesting tidbits and find some useful materials for students to read.

I teach British literature from a sequential, historical perspective, and so one unit is on the Enlightenment.  Standage’s discussion of coffee houses as the ‘internet’ of the seventeenth century, helping to spark the scientific advancements that took place, was quite interesting.  There was also some very interesting material about how western Europe managed to procure and grow its own coffee when the Arab world proved to be very proprietary over its resources.  He also noted the resistance to coffee posed by various religious leaders.  No discussion of Britain would be complete without reference to tea, and Standage provides a helpful unit explaining the rise of the East India Company.  I couldn’t help but think of “Too Big to Fail,” izzit’s video on that company, as I read.  Those chapters provided some very helpful additional information about the collusion between the British government and that behemoth company, including some very unsavory dealings.

Another unit deals with distilled liquor (‘spirits’), in particular rum.  While there is discussion of the triangular trade and reference to the American colonial period, there is also some entertaining material on the British navy.  Did you know that “grog,” that sailor’s mixture of rum, water, and limes, may have played a role in British mastery of the seas?  Read the book to find out why!

You might not be surprised to learn that Standage chooses Coca-Cola for his sixth influential drink, noting how it came to be inseparably associated with American values in the “American Century.”  These chapters provide quite useful fodder for discussions about the values of capitalism vs. communism (or the potential pitfalls, to some people, of a truly free market.  Throughout, Standage tells interesting and entertaining anecdotes, mixing in some broad ideas of how cultures change and adapt.

So whether you teach economics, history, or literature, you may find this to be a valuable book.  If you teach none of these things but use the izzit videos in your classroom, you may find portions of it helpful in providing additional background information.

Happy Reading!

An educator of 22 years, Andy Jobson has taught government, economics, and U.S. History. Currently teaching English literature at Riverside Military Academy in Gainesville, GA, he’s also been an administrator, a STAR teacher twice, and taught elementary school with Teach for America.

The Value of Trade by Andrew Jobson

The Value of Trade

Teaching Economics again gave me the chance to use a fun introductory activity I learned long ago from a GCEE (Georgia Council for Economic Education) workshop.  The goal is to show how trade occurs because people feel that they have gained.  In other words, with voluntary exchange, everyone wins.

You start by preparing a small opaque bag of goodies for each student in the class.  I have typically used candy, but you can use other small items depending on the age of the students (nickels, erasers, pencils, stickers, etc.).  The bags should have some variety, reflecting the disparate resources that we all have.  It’s also okay to give some bags more than others for the same reason, although each should have at least enough to engage in some trade.


After warning the students to keep their contents secret for now, distribute the bags and ask each person to rate his or her satisfaction level with the contents on a scale of 1 to 10. The students should write the number down, although they don’t have to announce it.

I don’t remember if I learned the lesson this way, but I started by putting students in groups of three to compare bags and trade if they were interested.  After a few minutes, I expanded their “market” and let them move around the entire class to see what people had and to offer trades.  (Having recently revisited Smith’s Wealth of Nations, I was thinking about his comments on the value of large markets.)

Following the entire class trading market, the students (at least those who engaged in trade) re-evaluated their satisfaction.  Now we compared their initial rating with their revised rating and discussed the changes.  A few items that we addressed:  1) Why did most people’s satisfaction go up? 2) Do you see any trades that you think were bad trades? Why did they happen?  3) What happened when the market expanded?  How does this relate to world trade today? 4) At least one person traded, not because he valued the items he got in trade, but because he valued the friendship of another student more than the contents of his bag.  This was an interesting scenario which led to a discussion of how “self-interest” occasionally means more than simple economic status.

I know this isn’t original, but it’s fun and helpful to the students.  I love and value reading, but anytime we can get them to do something active (especially at my all-boys school), it’s a good day.  I hope you find it useful.  


Note from Susan Gable (izzit.org Director of Educational Curriculum) – The activity Andy describes here is exactly the activity in our educational video Win/Win – A Trading Game. If you’d like to see a classroom demonstration of the activity to get a better understanding of how to do it, watch the video or select it for your izzit.org Free Annual Video DVD. Additional resources are available with it as well.

An educator of 22 years, Andy Jobson has taught government, economics, and U.S. History. Currently teaching English literature at Riverside Military Academy in Gainesville, GA, he’s also been an administrator, a STAR teacher twice, and taught elementary school with Teach for America. 

The Invisible Hand - New Release

The Invisible Hand isn’t so invisible after all! 

The entire global economy boils down to two people: a buyer and a seller. And the system works best when the seller has the buyer’s best interests at heart. But even if the seller is acting strictly in his own interest, good things happen – we get what we want! 

Over 200 years ago, a Scottish philosopher named Adam Smith came up with revolutionary ideas about how things work. Those ideas are easy to see in the world around us. 


Visit a bakery in Scotland to witness supply and demand, and to learn how businesses know the prices at which they can sell their products and what they should offer customers. Then go to eBay to see the Invisible Hand in action, showing how economic systems can self-regulate without a “Man of Systems” micro-managing every transaction, and how trust and reputation are critical to sellers. 

Click here to choose as your FAV (Free Annual Video). Click here to purchase.

My Life Before (and After) izzit by James Buchanan

As a teacher of economics, it’s sometimes difficult to get the conversation started on topics like freedom, free markets and taxation. Before I found izzit.org, the reality was hard: my students didn’t really want to know about this stuff. Back then, good economics questions usually came from discussing the lunch menu and perhaps other choices they might face that day.

As I continued my relationship with izzit.org (and as my video library expanded), so did the interest from my class. In 2008-09, I showed them “Freedom’s Sound,” which tells the story of the Estonia Piano Company after communism’s fall. Students began to ask astonishing questions.

How could such a little country rise from the depths of communism into a flourishing economy? A gem of Europe in just a decade? They wanted to know. That question led to an analysis of the country’s economic policy, which led to questions about taxation issues there, as well as at home…

What? I was stunned. Students formerly interested only in the lunch menu were now participating in a debate about state and federal tax law!

In 2009-10 I looked forward to using the video again--this time in hopes of steering the students down the path of a more efficient taxation policy debate. Well that didn’t happen. Now they wanted to know how a small country they never heard of could be doing so well, while the US was about to implode due to a financial housing crisis. Was it capitalism’s fault? Still, I saw this as an opportunity.

I jumped at the chance to have them investigate all of the culprits involved in the financial crisis. As the students began to ask better questions, our investigation led to the 30-year evolution of a law passed by government officials back in the 1970’s. This revelation led many to an understanding of the importance of limited government, as well as how laws passed by our elected officials can create incentives for businesses and individuals to act recklessly. My former “lunch menu questioners” were now delving into issues that they would soon inherit as adults. They were becoming true American citizens--asking tough questions about our financial system. 

There are so many other stories I could share with you. From watching “UnstoppableSolar Cycles” and discussing pending cap and trade legislation, to wrestling day to day with issues offered via izzit’s Current Events service – I could go on. My contact with izzit.org even led to the fulfillment of a life long dream of mine: to meet Nobel Laureate James Buchanan. My space is limited. Suffice it to say “a picture is worth a thousand words.”

I consider izzit.org and their products as my side kick. They set up the debate, get my students warmed up, and all I have to do is step in and guide the inquiry to new heights. So it is with my deepest and most sincere convictions that I urge each and every teacher that reads this message, to take advantage of everything this organization has to offer.

What's the Secret Recipe for Success???

"Recipe for Success" covers several teaching subjects such as:

■ Business / Family & 

Consumer Science

■ Economics 

■ World History / Geography

Sylvia Banda knows the secret to success. She's taken her passion for food and cooking turning it into one of the strongest food service corporations in the African Republic of Zambia.

She started by making fritters to sell to her classmates, then opened her own restaurant after college. On opening day, she realized there was more to running a food business than just cooking - she'd forgotten to have chairs for her customers! She bartered with a neighbor for chairs and eventually became a successful food entrepreneur who's helping other Zambians improve their lives.

Changes in economic policies made the difference for Sylvia and other Zambians. What kinds of changes could explain the rise from one of the lowest ranked countries on the Economic Freedom Index to being equal to Poland and France in just 15 years?

Find out....as Sylvia shares her "secret" recipe for success.



Teachers and homeschoolers can click here to sign up for their FREE izzit.org membership. Make sure you stay tuned for new membership options coming this fall!!