Dee Mecham, Kamehameha Schools

The newly formed club had two goals - to motivate students and to believe economics is a field of study at which they can succeed and have fun. The first year, club members participated in an online stock market competition, held 10 weekend sessions to help interested students to prepare for the AP exams and hosted the Kamehameha Invitational as a prelude to the Economics Challenge conducted by the Hawaii Council on Economic Education.

As the club evolved, new activities were added. One such activity was the Chairmen of the Fed Day. This day honors those who have served as chairman of the Fed and gives the club members opportunity to educate others about monetary system. High school and elementary students attending this activity were awarded prizes to students correctly answering questions about the Fed.

A recent activity club activity brought economics and psychology students together to attend a special showing of the film "A Beautiful Mind." Prior to the showing, equipped with a pad of butcher paper, Dee explained the basic ideas of game theory while the psychology teacher discussed the symptoms and treatments for schizophrenia.

Dee Mecham's creative approaches to teaching economics have had positive results. The number of students enrolling in an AP economics course has gone from 10 to 47 in three years and the scores on the AP exam have also improved. Dee also created and taught a Principles of Economics course through live television broadcast and web site management.

His principal, Anthony Ramos said, "Mr. Mecham has brought us a source of expertise in economics and, more importantly, a fountain of unrivaled passion for teaching the principles of economics." Dee refers to himself as "an economist pretending to be an educator"; we say he is an exemplary economics educator.