Ayelet Sheffi

Hi, thanks so much for having me.

I think it ultimately boils down to the need for students to be able to graduate high school with a basic understanding of economic principles, especially understanding that capitalism is the dominant economic system in the U.S.

And students need to have that basic knowledge to graduate high school, be successful in the real world, whether that's entering the workforce directly, going to college.

They need to have that basic understanding of econ.

Students are just more aware of economic conditions in the U.S.

They're aware that there is

wealth gap.

They see headlines all the time that the rich keep getting richer.

They're continuing to accumulate wealth.

And that has a lot of not just young people, but Americans of all ages increasingly skeptical that capitalism is the system that best works for

Americans and for the United States.

So teachers are forced to, you know, kind of reckon with this balance of teaching about capitalism, what it is, how it works, while also understanding that it might not work in the best way for some people.

Some of the teachers who I've spoken to, they start each day by just looking at the headlines and having their students share how they think what the Trump administration is doing or what's happening outside of the classroom is affecting them, their family.

Their peers and curriculum, you know, can be difficult to update, but it's something that teachers are having to constantly think about to make sure that they're giving a well-rounded lesson that, you know, views are the basic economic principles.

But what's coming from the Trump administration, what's happening politically outside the classroom is definitely influencing those conversations.

Thank you.