According to Jobs for the Future (JFF) by the year 2020, almost seventy percent of jobs in the United States will require post-secondary credentials. Additionally, millions of students graduate unprepared for careers. The job market is changing and there are shortages in some key areas, especially skilled trades. While some students know exactly what they want to do in the future, many others are uncertain.  In order to prepare students for the future, we should provide them with resources to investigate different career options and the required skills. For example, this Tampa Bay Times article illuminates how Tampa Bay added the fifth highest number of construction jobs in any metro area in the past year. That sounds great! However, there is a problem. Read the article to discover the problem! Discuss solutions. Then have students visit the Tampa Bay Job Link to research jobs. What are the educational requirements? What skills do you need? 

Standards and Economics Questions
Elementary
SS.4.FL.1.1 People have many different types of jobs from which to choose. Identify different jobs requiring people to have different skills. Search through different jobs on the Tampa Bay Job Link . What are the different jobs? What skills do the jobs require?

Middle School 
SS.8.FL.1.2 Identify the many decisions people must make over a lifetime about their education, jobs, and careers that affect their incomes and job opportunities. Search through different jobs on the Tampa Bay Job Link . What credentials do the jobs require? 

SS.8.FL.1.3 Explain that getting more education and learning new job skills can increase a persons human capital and productivity. For example, investigate some jobs on Ionfuture.org and We Use Math Careers. How does gaining new skills help increase your career potential? 
SS.8.FL.1.4 Examine the fact that people with less education and fewer job skills tend to earn lower incomes than people with more education and greater job skills. Interview ten people that work at different jobs. How does education and/or training help people to earn more money or find more job satisfaction? 

High School
SS.912.FL.1.1 Discuss that people choose jobs or careers for which they are qualified based on non-income factors, such as job satisfaction, independence, risk, family, or location. Interview ten people that work at different jobs. What are some of the reasons they chose their jobs or careers? 

SS.912.FL.1.3 Evaluate ways people can make more informed education, job, or career decisions by evaluating the benefits and costs of different choices. For example, investigate some future careers on Ionfuture.org and We Use Math Careers. Then search through different jobs on the Tampa Bay Job Link . Choose four things you would like to do. What are the costs and benefits of those four different jobs or careers? 
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SS.912.FL.1.2 Explain that people vary in their willingness to obtain more education or training because these decisions involve incurring immediate costs to obtain possible future benefits. Describe how discounting the future benefits of education and training may lead some people to pass up potentially high rates of return that more education and training may offer. How does education and/or training help people to earn more money or find more job satisfaction? ​
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You may have heard about the​ Affordable Care Act (ACA) in the news. Consider the ways in which the government is trying to repeal or replace the ACA by watching the video about the Graham-Cassidy plan. Many people have taken on this issue, both online, and in main stream media. For example, late night host Jimmy Kimmel asked if the plan passes the "Jimmy Kimmel test" and would protect children like his son, who have pre-existing conditions. Conduct some of your own research online. Use a technique like Debate.org where you find articles that include different viewpoints and "sides" of the argument. There are many emotional appeals on both sides of the debate. How do you know if the articles contain facts? When you find articles, you can use Politifact to check on current news about healthcare reform. Politifact checks sources and searches for evidence in order to rate claims on their truth-o-meter, from true to pants-on-fire.  

What do you think? Learn more about healthcare by watching the Introduction to the U.S. Healthcare System by Khan Academy to understand the healthcare system. Then watch the CNN video on why healthcare is so expensive in the U.S. What did you discover? 

What are some solutions to the health care insurance problem? Read what Florida Blue is doing. Then conduct more research online. Have your class participate in some of the debates about national healthcare on Debate.org.

Standards and Economics Questions (EQs)
Elementary SS.4.FL.6.3 Describe ways that individuals can either choose to accept risk or take steps to protect themselves by avoiding or reducing risk. Discuss how people can buy health insurance to protect themselves if they get sick or injured. How can people protect themselves from risks to their health?

Middle School SS.8.FL.6.5 Discuss that insurance companies charge higher premiums to cover higher-risk individuals and events because the risk of monetary loss is greater for these individuals and events. What is a pre-existing condition? Why might insurance companies want to charge a higher premium to individuals with a pre-existing condition? What do you think about this practice? What about people who participate in high-risk activities? Should smokers pay more for health insurance? (they do)? What about other risky activities? 

High School SS.912.FL.6.7 Compare the purposes of various types of insurance, including that health insurance provides for funds to pay for health care in the event of illness and may also pay for the cost of preventative care; disability insurance is income insurance that provides funds to replace income lost while an individual is ill or injured and unable to work; property and casualty insurance pays for damage or loss to the insureds property; life insurance benefits are paid to the insureds beneficiaries in the event of the policyholders death. Research different health insurance plans. What types of things do they cover?

High School SS.912.FL.6.3 Describe why people choose different amounts of insurance coverage based on their willingness to accept risk, as well as their occupation, lifestyle, age, financial profile, and the price of insurance. After reading and watching videos about health insurance, discuss why people might choose different amounts of insurance coverage. 

High School SS.912.FL.6.6 Explain that people can lower insurance premiums by behaving in ways that show they pose a lower risk. How might people lower their health insurance premiums? What are some risky activities they can stop? 

For More Information on Health Insurance:

1. For a basic lesson on health insurance see the Griffith Foundation.
2. Videos on health insurance in the U.S.A. by Humana.
3. For some interesting reading on Behavioral Economics and healthcare see:

• Behavioral Economics and Healthcare: A Match Made in Heaven​
• Answer to Better Health Care Behavioral Economics in the New York Times
• National Bureau of Economic Research: Lessons for Health Care from Behavioral Economics

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What are some of the financial issues that arose before and after Hurricane Irma? Check out this Tampa Bay Times article from the week before the hurricane, where Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi discussed some of the price gouging complaints that she had received. Also, watch the CNBC video. Search the Tampa Bay Times for other examples of "price gouging" that occurred during the hurricane or other times. What are the implications? How do you feel as a consumer? Does "price gouging" make you feel differently about a company? How will it impact your future buying decisions? 

Financial Literacy Standards and Economics Questions (EQs)

SS.4.FL.2.6 Predict how peoples spending choices are influenced by prices as well as many other factors, including advertising, the spending choices of others, and peer pressure. How might price gouging influence your future spending?

SS.8.FL.2.1 Explain why when deciding what to buy, consumers may choose to gather information from a variety of sources. Describe how the quality and usefulness of information provided by sources can vary greatly from source to source. Explain that, while many sources provide valuable information, other sources provide information that is deliberately misleading. Consider the information you collected from various articles in the newspaper or other online sources. What did various sources say about price gouging? 

SS.8.FL.2.2 Analyze a sources incentives in providing information about a good or service, and how a consumer can better assess the quality and usefulness of the information. What is the motive of the person writing the article? Consider the Pam Bondi article. As the Attorney General, why would she be interested in speaking out against price gouging? How do consumers know what information to trust? 

SS.912.FL.2.4 Describe ways that consumers may be influenced by how the price of a good is expressed. Consider the information you collected from various articles in the newspaper or other online sources. What did various sources say about price gouging? How might this information influence future decisions? 

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