Maryknoll teacher
gets top award

Maryknoll School economics teacher Lance Suzuki has been named winner of the 2005 Nasdaq National Teaching Award for his class in which high school students play the roles of national leaders formulating the national budget.

Lance Suzuki: His economics students role-play the crafting of a U.S. budget

Suzuki collected $15,000 for the top prize, adding to $10,000 he won earlier as the West region winner.

"It hasn't really sunk in yet," said Suzuki, who returned this week from an awards ceremony in New York. "But it's nice to have your efforts validated like that."

In Suzuki's lesson "What Does $2 Trillion Buy?" his students play the roles of U.S. president, vice president and Cabinet members involved in the huge task of formulating the nation's spending priorities. Their budget is then turned over to a separate history class, which acts as Congress.

Other students at the Catholic school act as members of the media, writing articles chronicling and analyzing the effort.

"It gives students a better appreciation of how hard it is to make those decisions, and how it actually affects them if their taxes are raised or lowered and how spending affects employment," said Suzuki, who also was Hawaii's 2003 Economics Teacher of the Year.

Suzuki holds a bachelor's degree in economics, math and government from Claremont McKenna College and a master's degree in international policy studies from Stanford University. A Maryknoll faculty member since 2000, he is also the faculty adviser for Maryknoll's Math Team, Electric Vehicle Team and the Maryknoll Investment Club.

"Lance is a source of great pride for our school and for Hawaii," said Betsey Gunderson, principal of Maryknoll's high school division.

The annual award recognizes high school and middle school teachers who use originality, creativity and effectiveness in furthering students' understanding of the financial markets, the capital formation process and market economies.