Economy Matters

Economics isn't a dry subject when Lesley Mace devises classroom programs that involve the Barbie movie, baseball, and women who blazed trails at NASA.

Lesley Mace provides lesson plans and materials to classroom teachers who educate students about economics. Photo by Stephen Nowland, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta

"One of the goals I've always had is to bust the myth of economics as a dismal science," Mace said. "In classes, I would sometimes show the clip from 'Ferris Bueller's Day Off,' with Ben Stein [as the economics teacher] and everyone checked out, and I would say, 'This is not how our class will be.'"

Mace's role as an outreach senior adviser at the Birmingham Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta includes providing lesson plans and materials to classroom teachers who educate students about economics.

The Fed's education outreach programs are central to the Bank's mandate of promoting maximum employment. Equipping people with knowledge and understanding of the nation's economy helps provide basic tools necessary to survive and thrive in the nation's economy.

One challenge educators face is how to spark interest in topics such as international trade, consumer behavior, and economic equity. Mace's approach is to help teachers make subjects relevant to students, hoping that will make them easier to understand.

In crafting lesson plans, Mace draws on her own resources and supplements them with support from colleagues around the Sixth District and Federal Reserve System, whom she describes as "some of the best curriculum writers around." The goal is to devise lessons that will help others achieve the "light bulb moment."

"The joy of the 'light bulb moment,' when a student or teacher gets a concept, that joy never gets old," Mace said.

The blockbuster Barbie movie lends itself to lessons on some arcane subjects. Mace led a virtual workshop on a Barbie-based curriculum, and the idea of building lessons around a doll intends to generate a special appeal for female students, who are underrepresented in studying economics. Highlights of the webinar:

• International trade was discussed in the context of the first Barbie doll being made in 1959 in Japan. No Barbies have ever been manufactured in the United States.
• Consumer behavior is evident in the preference for Barbie over Ken. For each Ken doll sold, eight to 10 Barbies are sold. About one billion dolls have sold they were introduced in 1959.
• Gender economic equity issues are explored through Barbie buying her first Dreamhouse in 1962. That was 12 years before women were ensured access to credit by the Equal Credit Opportunity Act of 1974.

Whether this lesson plan, like others, is a success will be determined by feedback teachers provide.

Likewise with the role of women highlighted in "Female Astronauts and the History of Women in the Labor Force." The webinar focused on labor economics, the history of women in the labor force, and women in space exploration. The Barbie doll also appears here because Barbie was an astronaut in 1965 and 1986. Women mathematicians also are introduced for their role in making the computations that enabled early space missions. The lesson gives Mace an opportunity to share a favorite bit of trivia.

"One question I am always happy to answer is 'What can you do with an economics degree?'," Mace said. She explained that Colonel Eileen Collins was the first woman to pilot and command a space shuttle. Collins earned a bachelor's degree in math and economics from Syracuse University.

Several of Mace's colleagues speak highly of her easy rapport and relation with educators.

"Lesley is well known and respected among many of Florida's teachers," said Chris Oakley, a vice president and regional executive in the Jacksonville Branch. "Her events were always a big draw, and educators consistently raved about the tools Lesley provided them. Through these relationships, she has positively impacted many students in the state."

Mace brings a zest for economics to her work, said Jackie Morgan, an outreach senior adviser in the Nashville Branch. "She has a passion for everything and a passion for economics. It's perfect for her role in education outreach. She makes learning about economics fun and relatable."

Mike Chriszt, a vice president for regional engagement, recalled Mace stepping up to a challenge when a technical foul-up threatened a lesson he was to teach. The moment underscored Mace's resilience as she met the demands of a classroom challenge.

"I was to do a 45-minute presentation with a lot of tables and charts for advanced economics teachers. I was really going to talk shop," Chriszt said. "They didn't have the right cord [for the projector]. Nothing showed up on the screen. Lesley pulled out the right cord and set it up on her own. When I think of Lesley, it's her calmness. She adapts to whatever situation, works through any situation that comes up."

Gloria Guzman, an outreach senior adviser in the Miami Branch, who for more than 12 years was Mace's partner in serving educators in Florida, offered an observation on Mace's self-sufficiency.

"As a woman, she's very independent and she doesn't wait or rely on anybody," Guzman said. "She knows what she wants and she's going to achieve it. She's not waiting for anyone to do anything for her. She's bright. She's smart, knowledgeable, and intuitive. She reads a lot on different topics with economics focus, and she has good knowledge of economics."

Guzman pointed to Mace's strength in taking her first job with the Fed. The position was in Jacksonville, and Mace moved herself and two daughters from Alabama. When the Birmingham job came up, she moved herself back to Alabama. "She didn't make a big deal out of it. It was, 'This is what I have to do, and I will do it,'" Guzman said. "She's very action-oriented and very independent."

Mace was in the cadre of women who advanced gender equality by excelling in economics, a field still dominated by men. Mace's father, a professor at Auburn University, advised her to drop an economics class in her first semester in college at California Polytechnic State–San Luis Obispo, where her father was on sabbatical. Mace enrolled in Auburn to complete her studies following her father's return.

"My dad said, 'Drop econ, that's a hard course,'" Mace said. "That's when my knack for not heeding advice paid off. I took the course and that's where my love of economics began." Mace earned bachelor's and master's degrees in economics from Auburn and completed all coursework for a doctorate.

Mace started her teaching career as a graduate student at Auburn. Next was a seven-year job as an adjunct professor at Auburn University at Montgomery while also teaching high school economics at a private school. Mace then accepted a position as a full-time instructor at Auburn's Montgomery campus, where her work with the Center for Economic Education helped establish her foundation for training teachers. Meantime, she reared five children, mostly on her on, and says she now is an "empty nester with five great kids who turned out to be really good people. They're fantastic."

While at the center, Mace invited Julie Kornegay, an engagement liaison at the Atlanta Fed, to conduct a workshop. Mace watched Kornegay in action and decided, "That looks interesting, I wonder if they have openings." Six months later, Mace was at the Atlanta Fed's Jacksonville Branch. Now she's back in her home state, helping people understand the economic structure of their world.

"We talk about microeconomics and macroeconomics and put a fancy name on it," Mace said. "It helps to frame economics as a way of looking at the world to solve problems, to show people, 'You're an economist and don't even know it. You made economic decisions when you first got money from the tooth fairy.'"

David Pendered

Staff writer for Economy Matters