DEAN SENSUI / DSENSUI@STARBULLETIN.COM
With grand gestures, Kamehameha economics teacher Dee Ray Mecham Jr. explains concepts to his students.
Economist wins
award as teacherWhy do you think students need to be informed about economic and financial matters?
Dee Ray Mecham Jr.
>> Job: Teaches high school economics at Kamehameha Schools
>> Honor: Was named Western regional winners in the Nasdaq National Teaching Awards Competition. Will be awarded $10,000 in April during a New York gala and will compete against other regional winners to be named the national winner and awarded another $15,000.
>> Prior honors: Named a NASDAQ National Teaching Awards Regional Semi-Finalist and the Hawaii Economics Teacher of the Year 2002. In 1999, earned the Wall Street Journal Award for Outstanding Teaching Assistant.
It is important for students to learn about the workings of the financial markets, not just for making personal finance decisions but to gain a broader understanding of the world around them. However, we should not miss the forest for the trees and think that stock market activity is the limit of the realm of economics. Economics is the study of choice and the lessons of economics can be applied to everyday decision-making. Improving the decision-making abilities of the next generation is what economic education is all about.
What techniques do you use to make the information informative and easy to digest?
You cannot fake the funk. You have to have a passion for economics to be able to teach it. Students will see right through you if you try to use techniques without having your heart and soul in it. Having the passion makes you a little crazy and you will try anything to make it easier for the kids. You have to break it down and apply it to what matters to them. A lesson in opportunity cost becomes a discussion of who to take to the prom. The lyrics to Pepper's song "Give It Up" are transformed to "Why don't you calculate GDP with me?" Monetary policy becomes a martial art with one hand representing money and the other bonds. These are not calculated strategies for teaching economics, though; the lessons and activities flow from the passion.
What can the business community do to help educate local students about business?
Talk to your kids about your family's financial decisions. Talk to your kids about what you do for a living. Many kids do not have a good understanding of what their parents do. No matter what your profession is there are valuable lessons for students to learn from your experience. Students learn more and learn faster when they have reference points. A positive side-effect, too, is that students learn to have a greater appreciation for what parents do. Understanding is the beginning of appreciation. Talk to the policy-makers and advocate for economic education. While many other states are moving in the direction of making economics a high school graduation requirement, the state of Hawaii does not even require that economics at least be offered as an elective and the DOE is moving to reduce the number of required social studies credits. When students graduate without a basic understanding of our economic system and with poorly-developed critical thinking skills, you and your business will pay; it will cost us all dearly. Support the Hawaii Council for Economic Education and their efforts to provide programs such as the Hawaii Economics Challenge for students and professional development opportunities for teachers. No matter how big or small your business is, you can make a difference. Supporting economic education will benefit you and your company by creating a more productive workforce and developing leaders and policy-makers whose decisions will provide the direction of our economic future.
What is your teaching background?
As a graduate student at University of Hawaii, I was a teaching assistant and lecturer in the economics department. Now I am in my fifth year teaching high school economics while I continue to pursue my PhD. My real teaching experience, though, started in 1984 coaching my younger brother's little league basketball team. Coaching basketball has continued to be an important part of my teaching experience. Sometimes I even joke that I do not teach economics, I coach it.
Why did you decide to become a business teacher?
I started out majoring in electrical engineering but from the time I took my first economics class I was hooked. I love economics and, when you love something like that, you want to share it with others. I was not initially planning on becoming an economics teacher, but I was in the right place at the right time and got the opportunity to take a teaching position at Kamehameha. While other opportunities may seem to make more financial sense, so far the non-pecuniary benefits have continued to tip the scale and keep me here, as an economist pretending to be a teacher.
What has your personal experience been with the stock market?
I may be at Kamehameha, but it is still a teacher's salary! That means not too much discretionary income to play with, so I contribute to the 401K mutual fund and sit on the sidelines of the market. I enjoy the game, though. I mean I don't play professional football and I don't bet on the games, but I still enjoy watching the games each Sunday.
Do you follow local stocks and if so what is your opinion of Hawaii's public companies?
Being on the sidelines of the market, as much as financial evaluation, I look to the companies for their educational value. Mauna Loa Macadamia Orchards (NUT) makes for a good example in class because it produces something that all of the students are familiar with and we can have meaningful discussion about the impact of foreign competition and weather conditions on the market for macadamia nuts and how that translates to changes in the stock price. The ticker symbol is also easy for the kids to remember and follow. Over the last five years, I have also followed the growth of another company with a fun ticker symbol, the Cheesecake Factory (CAKE). With the Cheesecake Factory in Waikiki now, it is another example that is real to the students and allows them to get beyond the psychological barriers that make people think that the business page and stock reports are incomprehensible and then they can start following Bank of Hawaii or Cyanotech Corp.
Where you surprised by your award?
I was notified by certified mail when I was named a semi-finalist last year, so when I got a phone call this year I knew that it had to be good news. It was a surprise that I was named as a finalist, but it was not a surprise that Hawaii added to the list of awardees. The program started in 1999 and Hawaii has had a regional finalist and national award winner in Dick Rankin of Iolani (2000), a regional finalist in Joanne Ringor of Farrington (2002) and regional semi-finalists in Jean Miyahara of Waipahu (2002) and Hawaiian History teacher Jimmy Chun of Kamehameha (2003).
What do you plan to do with the award money?
Maybe now I can get off the bench and into the game, maybe even invest in some local companies. Actually, I think that it might be time to find a place and turn nearly 10 years in Hawaii into a lifetime. That sounds like a good idea, but you have to keep your options open.
Inside Hawaii Inc. is a conversation with a member of the Hawaii business community who has changed jobs, been elected to a board or been recognized for accomplishments. Send questions and comments to business@starbulletin.com.
