Economics is the second-semester class taken in place of government in Senior year. Both Mr. Launius and Mr. Dura teach economics, but Mr. Launius teaches one more class than Mr. Dura. About a month ago, Mr Launius decided to take his two economics classes on a field trip. The field trip would only take place during the period of the class, and Mr. Launius, accompanied by a few chaperones, walked his students over to the closest grocery store: the Superior.

In class beforehand, Mr. Launius taught his students about the importance of smart shopping. The main skill used when smart shopping is called comparison shopping. He taught that people should always try to get the most out of the money that they earn, and comparison shopping is the way to do it. Comparing prices and sales can save money and time going to the supermarket. Also, he taught his students how to figure out what an item really costs between generic and brand name items. He showed the class sample pricing tags and advised his students to look at the unit price of an item instead of the bold price in large font. The unit price is the price for one quantity in a certain item. For example, if there is a pack of 12 sodas, the unit price would be the price for one can of soda. Another example is if there is a gallon of orange juice, the unit price would be the price for one ounce of the entire bottle. As a result, the item with a lower unit price is the item that is cheaper than the other item, even if they are both two of the same types of products.

After the lecture, Mr. Launius told his students to get into groups of 2-4 and he passed around several worksheets. The groups were instructed to look up different recipes on whatever foods they wanted as long as there was one breakfast item, two dinners, and one dessert. The students wrote down all the ingredients for all the entrees in one list. The students had to include the item and how much of it was needed. After this was done, students were ready to go shopping.

Mr. Launius’ fourth period class went first on the trip on Monday, May 1, while the first period class went on Thursday, May 4. Students left campus at the beginning of each period and took their “shopping list” with them. The “shopping list” was a compilation of all the ingredients that they would use for their recipes, however they did not have to buy the items; they only had to write down how much the item costs, for both generic and brand names, the measurements of the items, and the difference in prices. Students walked to Superior grocery store and were allowed, one group at a time, into the store. The students then jumped from aisle to aisle recording their findings. After all the students finished recording their data, the students had the opportunity to purchase anything they wanted from the store. Then, the students walked back to campus shortly before the beginning of the next period.

I asked Senior Katherine Limon what she thought about the trip and what was her favorite part. She said she really liked the trip because it was “very fun and educational.” Her favorite part was “learning about price variation” and she learned “how to save money.” She concluded by saying that she thinks it would be a good idea to continue to do this field trip in the Senior classes to come.

Mr. Launius also commented that this field trip gives Seniors “the opportunity to learn how to make intelligent financial decisions.” He said that this trip and the other economic-related field trips will most likely be available to the next rounds of Seniors because he and Mr. Dura want “to do everything [they] can to give seniors this valuable opportunity to explore important concepts that everyone deals with in everyday life.”

The field trip offered a great experience to Seniors who are entering real life situations very soon. It was especially useful for those trying to save money to use for tuition. Happy shopping Seniors!