Sample activity - the Consumer Price Index

The US Government uses the Consumer Price index to measure inflation.
The 'core' CPI excludes food and energy prices.

Is this fair? By excluding gasoline and food from the calulation, is inflation
being underestimated?

What would an economic model based on the CPI lead to? If it underestimates inflation, what will that do to the future economy?

Resources:

Consumer Price Index:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consumer_price_index

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hedonic_regression

Tools for the future of education

I was fortunate to have an excellent education through our public school system.

I've come to realize how valuable it was to have committed, passionate teachers who worked to convince the school administration to let them experiment.

30 years later, the amount of change in the world demands an integrated approach to thinking about the problems we face, and we must empower citizens to think about the future, about the whole system, and their place and actions in it.

Every student and citizen should have a chance to learn what these ideas are about.
So they can think for themselves about complex systems, and plan for a preferred future.

More information on these ideas may be found in an article by Geoff Fletcher:

Dr. Geoffry Fletcher, Editor-in Chief, "Focusing on the Future," T.H.E. Journal, 11/1/2003, http://www.thejournal.com/articles/16500