Hello, I am David Heaton-Bush. I usually teach mathematics here at Jackson High School and I still will. However, I am excited to announce that I am bringing both AP Microeconomics and AP Macroeconomics back to JHS. Economics is my first love and my first college degree was in economics at the University of Iowa. I also studied economics as a graduate student for awhile at the University of Washington.

What is economics? Officially, it is the study of how we deal with choices under scarcity. In other words, we (a country or a business or a person) can't have everything we want, so how do we decide who gets what? You might think of economics as the study of money, because that is one way that we decide who gets what, but it is really more than that. Don't get me wrong though, we will talk about money a lot.

What is the difference between Microeconomics and Macroeconomics? Good question, I'm glad I pretended that you asked it. Microeconomics is the study of how an individual (one person or one family or one business) makes a decision about how they are going to use their resources. Microeconomics is useful in understanding not only how businesses operate, but how people think. It also includes Game Theory, which isn't what you are thinking (League of Legends), but is still really cool.

Macroeconomics is the study of the aggregate (everything put together). Essentially, all the individual firms and people in the microeconomic world are making decisions in their own best interests, but they are competing for the same resources. The macroeconomist studies how those firms interact to create "the economy." This includes topics like inflation, exchange rates, unemployment, GDP, and the stock market. Macroeconomics is useful to politicians trying to help the country and investors trying to help themselves (and politicians trying to help themselves too).

What is the AP test like? The good news is that the AP test has no essays. There is a multiple choice section and a free response. The free response just requires single sentences or even single words as well as charts to answer. The even better news is that this class has two AP test (micro and macro), so you can get credit for two college classes out of this one high school class.

How does that work? Regardless of which class you actually sign up for, we will cover the material of both the AP Microeconomics exam and the AP Macroeconomics exam. These exams are both listed as one semester courses on the College Board website, so we aren't going faster than intended to cover this. Plus, there is a great deal of overlap in models and thinking between these two exams. We will mix the material in together and take both exams in May.

So which class should I sign up for? You can sign up for either AP Micro or AP Macro, and you will learn both content and take both exams. However, the course you actually sign up for will be the course that appears on your transcript. If you don't have strong feelings one way or the other, I would say sign up for Micro, but it doesn't matter that much.

Prerequisites? The only prerequisites for AP econ is that you are either a Junior or a Senior when you take it. There is some math in the course, but not hard enough math that you need to have taken a specific math course. The mathematics is mostly multiplication/division, addition/subtraction, and percents.

We will also be offering a one semester Non-AP class that will serve as an introduction to economic topics and thinking. This class will cover the basics other both branches of economics and prepare students to possible study at the AP level. We will explore the concepts through projects, games, and labs. There are no prerequisites for this course.

If you have any questions that I haven't answered about AP Economics or non-AP economics, feel free to email me (dheaton-bush@everettsd.org) or stop by room D205 and ask in person. Thank you.