The Right of Spring:-)
It is an absolutely beautiful afternoon. It occurs to me that this wonderful benefit creates a cost – the opportunity cost of being inside, learning in a classroom, is much higher. How does this change the relationship between the cost of learning and its benefits? Remember that learning benefits not only the student and the teacher, but many others in the world – it is a classic example of a transaction that creates positive externalities (Chapter 5).
Your assignment: blog on the above question. How does Spring change the cost/benefit equation? What is your personal analysis? I look forward to your thoughts.
April 22nd, 2009 at 11:19 am
Learining is a very important asset to living. Education in high school not only gets you into a good college, but will also help you get a wonderful job that you are sure to enjoy! The beniftis of learning i think are far more important than being outside. Being in class as opposed to the great outdoors are limited. You only have so many years of your Education and then you are done! There will always be beautiful days outside… but your education will end sooner than you think. Your not only affecting your life by learning but others as well. Through the job you will be responsible for, you will affect the people you are supplying to or helping. Sure the outdoors are a luxury now… but honestly which one will be a luxery in the future? Getting minimum pay at McDonalds and struggling to pay your bills because you skipped learning to see a “beautiful spring day” or having a nice family with no worries about when your next meal will come as you watch TV on your High DEF TV!? im pretty sure the answer is simple… but if you want to waste away your education to have a walk in the park then be my guest… yea…
April 22nd, 2009 at 12:03 pm
The fact that we are now in the spring season has no intrinsic value- there is no more monetary worth to the spring than to winter. It is only our perceptions that make some of us wish we could be outside. Personally, I find the 86 degree weather and high humidity to be very annoying, and I wish we had more winter. But, like all goods, the spring time is worth whatever value you hold for it.
For a person who enjoys being outside in oppressive conditions (and thus values it highly), the spring raises the opportunity cost of staying inside. An indoor activity forces one to forgo enjoying the spring weather outside. This means that indoor activities are relatively more expensive than they were in the bitter cold of winter. The benefit of the activity taking place inside does NOT change as a result of the change of seasons. There is simply a higher opportunity cost for that activity.
April 22nd, 2009 at 12:59 pm
Spring changes my cost/benefit equation dramatically. Who wouldn’t want to be outside having a nice picnic everyday instead sitting in the BHS cafeteria? However, learning is quite beneficial, I’d prefer to just have the best of both worlds. Why not have class outside one day, Mr. Whittenberg? Now that sounds like a PLAN!
Spring definitely makes me want to lay out poolside than go to physics. During winter it seems easier to sit inside a warm classroom versus go outside. But in the spring, the weather is nice and Sonic’s happy hour is extremely tempting….Of course the benefit of being in the nice weather vs. learning is greater than the opportunity cost! 
April 22nd, 2009 at 2:02 pm
Education is an investment. We spend the time, money, and opportunity costs with the hope that we will recieve more benefit in the future than we spent to actually obtain the education.
When it is spring and the weather outside is nice, the opportunity cost of being inside, learning, is higher. But the amount that this costs a person depends on their enjoyment of nature, which for me is pretty minimal. I would usually prefer a well air-conditioned, artificially lit room than sitting outside in the heat. Sunlight is nice, but not sweating is better.
Since the opportunity cost added by it being spring is so small, the investment is still profitable for me.
And since you’re wanting us to talk about externalities…
The world will be much better off if I go to college and get an education and then use that education to produce something in the world, than if I drop out of high school and live on welfare.* I will get much of the added benefit of the education, but the world will receive some of it as well. This would be a positive externality, because the world does not spend the ‘costs’ of my education, but it still recieves the benefits.
Because of this positive externality, the government provides for public education. The benefit of education to society is great, but it would not be produced at its appropriate levels if people only pursued an education based on its benefits to themself alone. The government serves to re-allocate some of the costs of education to the people recieving the benefit. Our tax dollars fund public education, so we are effectively paying for the benefits that we will recieve (in a roundabout way) from other people having an education.
April 22nd, 2009 at 2:11 pm
RAWR. Stupid smiley. I don’t want no graphics! I wanted the traditional, text-based smiley!
Ignore how that wretched yellow THING messed up my formatting. -_-’
April 22nd, 2009 at 2:17 pm
So it just occurred to me…
The opportunity cost of something is always the next-best alternative. It being spring does not actually enhance the value of my next-best alternative*, so it technically doesn’t add to my opportunity cost at all. It may have added another opportunity, but it didn’t actually change my next-best alternative.
So, the fact that it is spring doesn’t change the extent of my opportunity cost just a little– it actually doesn’t change it at all. ^^’
*I haven’t exactly decided what this alternative would be, but I know it wouldn’t have anything to do with the outdoors. The first thing that comes to mind is sitting around at home playing video games all day, but… you know I couldn’t let myself do that for any extended period of time. The feelings of guilt for not being productive would overwhelm me and I would find *something* to do.
(Excuse the rantings of a deprived student. I just really miss the summer where I could be a bit lazy…)
April 22nd, 2009 at 3:32 pm
This is all quite true, the beautiful days of spring time do make the the opportunity cost being inside a classroom higher. But in my opinion paying this cost to further your education is something that is definitely worth it. While i’m sure most people would get great benefit from spending their day outside soaking up the sun, if you weigh this against the benefits that you and the rest of our society receives from education, the benefit from the education greatly outweighs that of the day outside. When someone gets an education it not only effects them in a positive way it effects the whole society. Their skill set which they have acquired from this allows them to make more money which they will in turn put back in to the economy and allow it to grow.Also the education which they have received teaches them how to do new things and the way thing work so they can in turn create new and more efficient ways to to get things done. This invention of new technology and faster production methods helps expand the economy and pushes our production possibilities frontier outward allowing from more jobs and more money. So yes, spending your spring days outside is great but your education allows you to reap many more benefit in the future.
April 22nd, 2009 at 3:48 pm
Despite the beautiful weather, the benefit of being inside, acquiring a quality education is much higher than the activities that would take place outside. While inside, learning, we are taking in information that we can get nowhere else. Being that we are still in highschool, we are getting the best kind of education: a free one.
This is our last year to acknowledge and appreciate the opportunity of our education, the experience of high school, and what we can take from it.
The information given to us is information that we can access in many different places (i.e. a library). But there would be no way for us to retain the information in the same way that we would inside a school enviroment.
The stasis of our school in particular in arguable, but that doesn’t stop the fact that what we gain here, is much more valuable than the fruits of the weather. Although the benefit of the Spring weather, and what we can do outside, is higher, the cost of missing out on what we consider to be a proper high school education, raises right along with it.
April 22nd, 2009 at 4:30 pm
While education is priceless, a beautiful day is something that you can’t get back, there’s no reteaching or late policy regarding a sunny day at 75 degrees. However, public schooling isn’t worth missing either, well most of the time. Although there have been plenty of days where I have literally set at a tiny desk doing absolutely nothing because I’ve finished all of my work, these hours I will never get to enjoy again and from an opportunity cost perspective was a complete loss. But then again, if I’m not in school I could end up outside everyday….picking up garbage.
April 22nd, 2009 at 9:24 pm
Because it is spring, the opportunity cost of being inside a classroom is greater. When it’s winter it is unpleasant outside so being indoors is nice. However, being forced to stay indoors and study rather than frolic in the sun is a greater cost to students and teachers alike. The benefit however, is the same in the winter as it is in the spring. Kids still learn, teachers get paid, and the world is a better place with more educated and less ignorant people.
April 23rd, 2009 at 7:21 am
Band is done…I fight my way across the school to find myself in Whittenberg’s room. As I enter I notice through the window that it’s a BEAUTIFUL day outside. I get out my economics book and prepare for another mind-stimulating 90 minutes of economics. About twenty minutes in to the class, I notice through Whittenberg’s glasses, as I often do, that it is still a beautiful day out. Whittenberg gets angry because we are all slackers, and I imagine our class going down to Allard’s and challenging him to a kickball game because it’s such a nice day. If we win, 100, if we lose, 95. The stakes are high. We go outside and begin to play. I remember that I have a take-home test that I still need to complete, and I would be better off if I was in Whittenberg’s class so I could ask him a few questions about it so I wont fail it…but then I notice that I’m up to kick, and all those nasty thoughts go away and I remember how much fun I’m having, even though Whittenberg just made some political crack at Allard, and Allard referred to the game as his class being the A-bomb and my class being Hiroshima. Here I am outside in the fresh air, getting some sun and exercise, when I could be inside falling asleep at this point, and a break would be called so I could LOOK outside. I can always ask about my test later. It’s been a good day….
Then I wake up, in economics, with Carly telling Whittenberg that I’m dozing off and it’s break time. What a world, what a world.
April 23rd, 2009 at 7:58 am
Spring makes my opportunity cost higher for being in the classroom and learning. Yes, I care about my education, and yes, I love being with all of the teachers and students. But if you have ever been outside on a nice Texas Spring day then you should understand my internal dilemma. As a young person I enjoy being outside in the great weather doing any kind of fun activity. I would much rather be swimming or playing football than sitting in BCIS virtually wasting my time. Therefore the opportunity cost for me to be sitting in a desk preparing for my future is higher than if it was a wintery mess outside.
April 23rd, 2009 at 8:56 am
Yes the opportunity cost is much higher in the classroom for both the students and teacher but sadly spring tends to interfere. At the start of the year everyone is geared in to excel in their classes and to make good grades but when it comes time for spring, towards the end of the year, everyone is ready to take a break. So during spring while we’re still in school the slacking starts and we all veer off track. It happens every year, we lose sight in what we are learning cause we are so concerned with leaving for the summer and that’s were the opportunity cost drastically decreases and why so many fail towards the end of the year. It is a loss of good information that we will most likely not get back unless we have to take that class again, as well as a waste of tax money and school funding.If you have to stay at school for eight hrs. everyday you might as well put forth effort to better yourself for your future life so you are not another figure in the unemployment rate as well as struggling to maintain a household.
April 23rd, 2009 at 10:15 am
i think there is an simple solution to this problem. lets just have class outside, by doing this everyone wins and you dont have to worry bout opportunity cost. since this is an economic question i would much rather take the costs and go outside than sitting in a classroom and learning. yes, i should be in class learning and making my education higher but how often in Texas do you get those days that are just abosoutly perfect where its not too hot that your miserable but yet its not too cold to where you need a light jacket its just right.
so we should next time this perfect day comes along have class outside.
April 23rd, 2009 at 10:28 am
As Mr Wittenburg said “Present choice affect future possibilities”. Because of this ,while the oppurtunity cost of being inside is higher, hopefully the outcome will remain the same.
April 23rd, 2009 at 10:47 am
Spring changes the cost/benefit equation because it cost more to stay inside. by being inside, we are losing things we could benefit from if we were outside.
April 23rd, 2009 at 11:09 am
There is not a whole lot of difference until the summer when we dont have school. In opinion, students would like to be outside rather than be in a classroom anyday.
So in conclusion, take us outside.
April 23rd, 2009 at 11:20 am
being outside in any season would have the same effect
April 23rd, 2009 at 12:24 pm
of course that the cost/benefit equation is much different in the cold winter months, one wouldnt benefit much from missing school, which has a high opportunity cost. ou wouldnt benefit more being inside of the school learning, than being outside. but in the spring this all changes, who wouldnt benefit from spending a day at the park relaxing in the cool spring air? you might even get more benefit doing that than sitting in a stuffy classroom, receiving a questionable education, in every class but economics of course
everyone needs to sit back and take a break every once in awhile, which has a very high benefit cost, it would be dangerous to get bogged down in schooling and the hustle and bustle of american life, and the benefit of taking a break during spring is arguably higher than winter.
April 23rd, 2009 at 1:22 pm
When you are inside learning in a classroom during a wonderful spring day it can make it harder to learn because you are missing out on the great day outside and your mind can wander to that thought. Your cost to learn goes up because you want to be outside more when its nice and your benifit from learning probably goes down because there is a lack of concentration.
April 23rd, 2009 at 1:23 pm
Staying inside and learning not only will help us in our life and career, but it will also benefit many other things. Some of those things are employment, GDP, price level, etc. Once we get out of school we’ll be able to get a job and benefit many different things that have to do with the economy and the standard of living. Waisting your life isn’t worth a lovely day outside.
April 23rd, 2009 at 2:22 pm
cost benefit is based on how students improve from the outside being beautiful which gives the classroom a more calming vibe for students to learn, the less the cost
hmm, i don’t really get it /.
* (
/.
April 23rd, 2009 at 2:27 pm
i personally believe that spring changes the cost/benifiet equation by the cost that it cost to keep the weather up to date in the school that it is outside. in the winter, inside you need heat. in the summer, inside you need air. i think that spring just is a beautiful time for students to get out of the class room and grow.
April 23rd, 2009 at 2:28 pm
Whenever it’s way too hot or way too cold, everyone wants to be inside, so they’re not giving anything up, but they’re still receiving the benifits of getting an education. When it’s really nice outside, people would rather not give up the few hours to be inside learning, but the education they’re gaining while they are inside outweighs the loss of being outside greatly. They don’t gain anything from being outside except for the enjoyment that it brings that moment, but the education they gain inside will help them become successful later on in their life.
April 23rd, 2009 at 5:48 pm
Well Whitty, the benefit of being outside is higher than the benefit of being inside. I agree with you there. Now I do enjoy being in your class and learning new things about economics, and no offense but I think I would much rather be outside enjoying the spring atmosphere. I think a lot of people would agree with me there but then again some people wouldn’t.
Although, there are some benefits of being at school instead. What if it turned out to be a rainy day or a snowy or icy day? What if it started out beautifully and the weather man said it was going to be a pretty day but then everything went haywire? Then I think everyone would much rather be in a classroom. The opportunity cost of spring is a sacrifice for learning.
The cost of being in a classroom puts people at the risk of limiting the amount of time they would be able to enjoy the weather that day or any day at that. The cost of choosing to learn is giving up the oppotunity to be outside having fun.
April 23rd, 2009 at 7:43 pm
Like you said, learning benefits many more people than just the students learning. It sets students up to do better in the workplace, which leads to innovations in technology, cures for diseases, and inventions of new goods. These externalities benefit the world as a whole. A student sitting inside on a beautiful day is only a cost to the student and his or her teachers. It is not a cost to the grandmother with cancer, or the Nintendo manufactures struggling to keep up with Sony; yet these people can ultimately benefit.
So while the fact that it is a beautiful day outside increases the oppertunity price of attending school without increasing the benefit, I would say it is still extremely worth it. Losing the opportunity to enjoy an afternoon outside is well worth the opportunities that attending school presents for the future.
April 23rd, 2009 at 8:01 pm
The benefit never changes, although the cost is much higher. You would rather be out doing other things. The cost rises because even though your ability to learn doesn’t diminish, your will to learn does, which makes it that much harder to focus. Being able to overcome this increased cost will make you a better more productive student.
April 23rd, 2009 at 8:29 pm
Spring being my favorite season, because it’s the season my birthday is in and the weather is almost perfect (except this year since it turned bipolar), is the season everyone calls for “Spring Fever”. Everyone wants to get outside in the beautiful weather and move around, but being in school for about 8 hours during the best time of the day really kills the “Spring Fever” buzz. During the Winter, and possibly Fall depending on where you live, most people like to stay inside all toasty and warm like for instance inside a school. So the cost/ benefit is different than in Spring. In the Winter, the cost is low for being inside. Your cost could be not having snow ball fights or sliding in the snow down a hill (if you’re living anywhere but texas) at that very moment, but your benefit is much greater, in my opinion. You could benefit by being in a nice warm school in a nice warm room with a nice warm jacket hanging over the back of your seat, sounds nice in the Winter I know. Now when it comes to Spring everything changes for us student who are in an enclosed campus that has no access outside, unless we go out to the portables for class, randomly decide to eat in the “garden”, or step outside to go to our cars. Other than that the cost/benefits completely switch. The cost would be hugely greater than in the Winter, we would lose missing half of the days and the amazing weather that is happening right outside those inch thick windows we have, and what little of them we have. We lose hearing the birds chirp to a gorgeous day, the cool breeze blowing (yet again, if you do not live in Texas since we hardly have breezes, just gusts of wind), and just life in the beautiful atmosphere moving on without us. That is just too great for me, and I cannot stand not being outside with the lovely weather of Spring.
Now the benefits of it, however small, are still there. You are gaining a great education and are on your way to being closer to the college life (if you choose to do so); you are also, for some people, getting more sleep in; also some get to experience a little city for the first time with weird scheduling a grade regulations. There is always a silver lining to every situation.
Now “How?” is the question being thrown up in the air, well I will tell you how. Spring doesn’t change the cost/benefit equation, the law does and it has changed it since the beginning of public education. The law requires all children to attend public school, and in that requires us kids to sit in a classroom of kids who, lets face it, we really don’t want to be with for this amount of time. We are forced to skip out on the whole “Spring Fever” experience and be stuck inside a stuffy old school to learn while daydreaming out the window about “life on the outside”. When we finally get out of school for “Summer Break” it is officially the Summer season, totally skipped the sweet smells and sounds and feels of Spring and moved directly to Summer, the hot and stinky and smelly and full of screaming children at water parks Summer. So really Spring isn’t really the “reason” for the change, the government is. Yea I know what your thinking, “Everyone blams the government”, but truely and seriously, this is my true reasoning for “How?” and “Why?” the cost/benefit equation changes every year when it comes to the Spring season.
April 23rd, 2009 at 8:30 pm
The strange phenomenon that is spring brings out a certain lackadaisical nature in students. As a student in a classroom, the warm weather and birds chirping outside is much more inviting than a desk and a whiteboard. In the short run, being outside in the elements tanning and frolicking in the flowers looks like a much better choice of time. Yet doing this every day will create uneducated, lazy beings destined to be burger flippers. Staying in the classroom, but engaging in the lesson being taught will build better students that will in the long run be more beneficial. If everyone fell to the lure of spring instead of working and gaining an education, our standard of living will fall due to no one improving and building on what we have today. We cannot always do what we want, but the benefit of staying the classroom far outweighs playing in the spring weather, although it may not feel like it now.
April 23rd, 2009 at 8:33 pm
Opportunity cost is everything you buy or do, you don’t get to do or buy something else. Putting school in this situation the overall benefit of it all is having the opporutunity to learn, yet… I could be enjoying the absolutely beautiful afternoon outside. Knowing that Spring does change the overall cost/benefit equation, I think the sacrifice of spending my time in the sun, having a picnic, and spotting objects in the clouds is a cost that I am willing to make. Spring changes the equation because of the temptation to be outside, having a good time. Learning will help me in the long run and in life one has to be willing to give up somethings. A beautiful afternoon in Spring is going to have to be one of those things. My education is the benefit. =)
April 23rd, 2009 at 8:37 pm
Well first in the spring unlike the winter its warm outside and it feels good (most of the time) so unlike in the winter were you enjoy being inside because it’s cold and not comfortable to be outside and it’s a treat to get to come into the warm building but in the spring when you look outside and the sun is shining and it feels good to be outside the amount of benefit that would of been able to occur instantly is lost while for some teachers the idea of being able to hold students against there will when it looks nice outside probably brings joy to there life’s there is that greater instant gain but also there is the future investment which being in school while it’s warm or cold holds regardless because it’s the fact that were investing and not something that is instant.
April 23rd, 2009 at 9:41 pm
I think that this blog largely requires a definition of a “beautiful afternoon”, but that’s just me speaking. (Insert laughter here…) I prefer a nice cold, rainy day, but to each their own!
So, in those terms I would have to say that the cost benefit is actually better, and that I personally lose less by being inside when it is sweltering hot (80 degrees plus) than when it’s raining and I’d rather be outside riding my bike or doing something ‘productive’.
On your terms, however, the opportunity cost is a great loss. Most people would rather be outside, breathing in the humid air, and getting a tan. That’s one skill my body never mastered unfortunately. The one good thing about Spring and Summer is that it’s kayak/canoeing season once again, so I suppose I can go along with this for a few moments, but just for you.
Since I would rather be outside on the river kayaking, the time spent in the classroom is especially brutal. Making the cost to me especially high. However, the benefit remains the same as always. My own education, enabling me to think on higher levels and come up with witty comebacks, the furtherance of the world which needs people with some amount of intelligence to continue moving forward, and the people who will doubtlessly need me someday for one thing or another. I can’t be much help if I’m brain dead, though.
So in the end, the benefit still outweighs the cost, simply by a shorter margin than before…still too great a margin to worry over though.
April 23rd, 2009 at 9:42 pm
Spring specifically affects the cost of learning in the aspect of energy costs. One example is daylight savings time. The sun comes up later this time of year so more energy is spent on light early in the morning. Spring also rises the cost of education due to common activities in the spring including more UIL events, prom, graduation, etc. With all this rise in cost the benefit is essentially the same. The children and community are still getting the same results.
April 23rd, 2009 at 10:33 pm
the opportunity cost of learning inside our wonderfully colored class during the cold days of winter was much lower then they are now that spring is here and the air is nice and warm. This is the best days of the year just before the heat of the summer but we must spend them inside constraining walls learning our very favorite subject economics. So in being that we would much rather be outside in spring then winter the opportunity cost has rose through the roof. The equation that once tipped to the learning a trade that will make us more wise and thoughtful young minds has now evened out and even began to tip toward the world of truancy. Although in my case i still see the long term benefit of staying inside to further my knowledge outweighing the cost of my 2009 spring, because i will have many more springs in my future to spend outdoors but limited days left with my classmates and loved teachers.
April 23rd, 2009 at 11:05 pm
The opportunity cost of staying inside a classroom learning on a spring day is that we receive an education. It may be a lot harder to sit through a class, but once we graduate and are off in the world to pursue our careers we can spend those spring days we missed going on expensive vacations.
April 23rd, 2009 at 11:15 pm
Spring completely changes the cost/ benefit equation by being inside. You could be outside and accrue many benefits from this: you could be painting beautiful spring landscapes; you could be playing sports which builds teamwork and good health; you could be camping and learning survival skills; you could be studying your natural environment; or even just soaking up rays and getting your much needed vitamin D. So although being indoors and learning may have positive externalities, you have all of these costs that are occurring. You are missing out on actual, real world learning in many different areas. You could be helping the world just as easily and create the same positive externalities.
April 23rd, 2009 at 11:53 pm
When the weather is as nice as it has been lately, the opportunity cost of being inside is much higher. Students could be using this time to be doing other proactive activities. For those students who either live or work on a farm, the opportunity cost of being inside is much higher than those of us who only buy the goods that they sell. These students could be out on the farm and working the fields so their farm could yield more crops and bring in more money. However, the opportunity cost for dropping out of high school in order to take full advantage of the weather (in most cases) is extremely high. So I believe that even though the opportunity cost of being inside learning in the Spring is much higher than other parts of the year, it is still the most obviously good investment of time than any other thing you could possibly be doing. Even though a student could be using the time to be making cold hard cash, if he took the time to finish school his pay would be much better and he would be earning way muy dinero. So in the long run, even though the opportunity cost of being in school during the Spring does rise dramatically, it is still lower than that of dropping out of high school so you don’t have to be inside.
April 24th, 2009 at 7:21 am
Yes, Spring tends to lower the quality of attention given to school which also lowers the benfit of education to a certain extent. So the cost is higher and the benefit is lower. Still, for those who can stick it out, the benefits are much higher. Getting to benfit others, making more money later in life, or generally just being happier and then getting to go outside and enjoy the spring.
April 24th, 2009 at 7:33 am
The opportunity cost of being in a classroom changes during the spring because there are more things to do outside with the good weather. The costs of being in a classroom learning will seem much higher because of all the alternatives but the benefits are still important.
April 24th, 2009 at 7:54 am
Honestly I think that everyday that I’m in school is another day of lost freedom and exploration. I really loathe attending school sometimes because most of the classes I’m in aren’t as educational as yours truely… Effectively I feel like every period is a wasted period of my time. DX
However, the opporunity cost of running away and joining the circus is that there’s no highschool diploma on the road…
the opportunity cost seems to me to be no new learning as apposed to being a train hoboess.
April 24th, 2009 at 8:06 am
Spring cahanges my cost/benifit equation quite a bit. During winter there is no possible reason for me to want to brave the outdoors. With the one exception of traveling to a place of more benifit than my house.
During the spring all I want to do is be outdoors, and the peace of mind plus general mental health that I claim from this meditaton benifits me much more than anything I can learn.
I do understand of course that education is important in the long run, which is why I put up with it now. But, honestly in short term, considering things that have been going on in my personal life, the calming, strengthening effects of good weather are much more important than learning things for college.
It is quite sad really, I wish that my education ws more important to me at this point, but it is hard to care about your future or your impact on the future when you frequently which to quietly fade out of exsistance anyways.
love ya whitty
April 24th, 2009 at 8:16 am
I think when it becomes spring it gets harder for students to get motivated to be at school and get their work done. I think that also makes it harder on the teachers to get their grades in and apparently teachers like good weather too so its just as hard to get motivated as us the students.
April 24th, 2009 at 8:53 am
the opportunity cost of being inside learning instead of outside is obviously higher during the spring than it is in the winter. when you are inside a warm, toasty classroom in the middle of winter, looking out at a squirrel that has frozen to a tree, the only cost of being inside is that you miss out on poking the squirrel. when you are inside a freezing classroom in the middle of spring looking out at playful, unfrozen, squirrels as they dig up their acorns, the cost of being inside is that you miss out on chasing the squirrels and trying to dig up the acorns before they do.
April 24th, 2009 at 8:55 am
As Education and classroom learning always produce a positive output, the cost of this output becomes much higher once spring and that warm weather starts to close in. Classrooms must be airconditioned, creating a much higher dollar value to every minute spent inside the room. Not to mention that “spring fever” overtakes students, causing them to wish for the sunshine and light breeze rather than a hard desk with an air conditioner blowing air on them in a hot room. Both teacher and student must then work harder to create an atmosphere of learning that will in turn benefit many others. Personally, I know how difficult it is for me, a student, to focus on a subject when the sun is shining so bright outside and I know there is a cool pool waiting for me at home. So the teacher must work harder to engage me, and I must work harder to focus on the learning that is at hand, rather than the recreation that is at home.
April 24th, 2009 at 8:57 am
Spring changes the cost/benefit equation, because when it is really hot in the summer you want to be inside, and when it is really cold in the winter you want to be inside. So being inside added with the value you will get with learning outweighs being outside. However, when the Spring is here, and the weather is more perfect than you could imagine, being inside on a day that would only overcome being outside by a small amount.
As much as I dont enjoy learning every subject, (ahem physics) I know it is extremely beneficial to me to be in the classroom so I can get my diploma, so even though the weather is perfect outside, I still view being in the classroom a higher opportunity because it is bettering us and teaching us to be adults.
April 24th, 2009 at 9:53 am
Spring changes the cost/benefit in many ways. Just the season itself makes some people feel good, and not to mention the beautiful weather, after we have cold rainy weather from winter. Personally, since it’s now Spring and heading towards the end of school, I’m excited about getting to summer and then preparing to leave for college. Since I am thinking ahead, I am starting to slack back on my work in school because I’m day-dreaming about the months to come. Senior year is packed with events that I can’t wait for; especially towards the end of the year. Therefore I believe that Spring changes almost everyone’s view towards school work. Since at the beginning of the year the weather is awful and the school year is new, people buckle down and are trying to get the year started off right, they are focused. Once second semester comes, they see the sun shining outside and summer creeping up. In senior students, not only does spring change the cost/benefit equation, but so does Senioritis. People just start to not care about their work anymore because their heads are in the clouds. In the end, I really enjoy Spring because its beautiful but we have to remember that there’s still a little over a month left of school and there’s still work that needs to be done.
April 24th, 2009 at 10:05 am
I do not think the season of the year has any relation to my education. Whether it’s 72 degrees or 20 degrees I’m still going to get the same benefit from learning. The cost/benefit from education completely outweighs any other investment. Knowledge is a lifelong investment. Although a beautiful sparkling car may seem like a good investment, a car depreciates. Your education will not.
April 24th, 2009 at 10:43 am
The change happens as when on a stormy cold day in winter is the average day compared to spring when it is a warming up scenario. The opportunity comes into play as so many want to play outside instead of spending the day inside all those thoughts of fun outside can sometimes slow down the learning process, for the want of outside sunshine and happy feelings. On the cold day or stormy months of winter you can not go outside so learnings’ opportunity cost is increased because after school you will only be able to just go home and do nothing so why not live every second in the now and learn.
April 24th, 2009 at 11:58 am
THE ROAD NOT TAKEN
Two roads diverge in a wood, I took the one less traveled by. And that has made all the difference.
Spring opens up choices for the ones with less freedom. A spring vacation purhaps to the distant countries, or just a picnic on a saturday afternoon. Spring offers more chances for transactions of all kinds, and one transaction has a repel effect that can change the world. If I win the lottery tomorrow, the dollar spent on that lottery ticket would go to the texas taxes, the 5 million or so I get will be spent and saved which will effect the recesion and there for the rest of the world.
The time spent on anything is only helpfull if you can do it better than the other guy or if its never been done before. But honestly no one really cares about the outcome fifty miles down the road it travels they just want the primary outcome. So in the end time may efect the outcome of the choice but it also can effect the ability to make the chioce. Spring brings a variaty of choices to the table, it could end all problems with peace and balance or the opposite. What will you do?
April 24th, 2009 at 12:39 pm
The cost is a little higher for some people (not everyone would make good use of the weather and go outside). But the benefit of education would still be so much greater than the cost of missing out on the temperate climate that it should continue. School should go on despite the pleasant weather outside. Taking away summer is another issue, but spring is for school!
April 24th, 2009 at 12:59 pm
This changes because the more time you spend learning, the better benefits you get from it. When you learn you can also teach or spread the word that you just learned or hold on to it to use later on in your life.
April 24th, 2009 at 1:04 pm
Spring not only distracts kids from learning at school, it can also cause them to not go to school at all. When a student is at school they need the smallest amount of distractions as possible. Therefore I believe we should completely ban the season of Spring. Spring is only a transition between winter and summer, why do we need it anyway? All it does is distract students. Plus, all the raining that happens can be depressing. Without Spring, students will learn better and faster and be able to benefit the world greater. Goodbye Spring!
April 24th, 2009 at 1:08 pm
the total expected costs of staying inside on a beautiful spring day is the loss of various activities including physical and relaxing. against the total expected benefits of learning which are the advancement of your quality of life and the quality of those around you. spring brings about this dilemma. when the weather is unbearable, the inside of a class room is a comforting sight. however, when the sky is blue and the sun is shinning, the class room can be viewed as a prison cell. The cost of staying inside may, to some, be to high for the expected benefits of a growing education. my thoughts on this are highly personal and hardly complementary to anyone else…..i think. my opinions are hardly linear and change as much as the weather. instead of going into detail about it i will just say seize the day….according to how you happen to feel that day.
April 24th, 2009 at 1:25 pm
On an ordinary day the opportunity cost of being at school is that I am unable to enjoy being outdoors or doing the various fun activities that are available in my community, this cost is easily outweighed by the benefit of receiving an education. With the arrival of spring, however, the desire to be outside increases exponentially, thus the opportunity cost of being inside learning also increases exponentially. As I in class I will constantly wish I was out frolicking in a meadow of daisies with a loved one, my inability to do so seems tragic. When a closer look is taken, however, this is a silly thought. Were I to abandon my studies in favor of my dream of frolicking it would cost me the opportunity to go to college and receive a degree and would in the end cost me the millions of dollars that I will undoubtedly be earning in my lifetime and would cost the world whatever vital services I will undoubtedly be providing. To conclude, although the cost is exponentially higher with arrival of springtime, the benefits of being in the classroom to myself and the world at large greatly outweigh the benefits of frolcking in the fields.
April 24th, 2009 at 2:41 pm
Spring does bring a higher opportunity cost to being able to enjoy the day. It would be fantastic to spend the upcoming spring days outside learning, however it would increase the opportunity cost for gaining a proper education. There aren’t as many resources outside as there are in a classroom. Depending on the material of the lesson in class teaching outside could be beneficial. Some classes need to be in classrooms for a purpose and opening the blinds should be sufficient enough
April 24th, 2009 at 3:37 pm
The cost/benefit relationship is changed as Spring comes around and Winter goes away because it is actually nice outside. The temperature is decent and there are beautiful flowers outside, while I have to look at people who just don’t quite compare. No offense to anybody of course. I’m sure everyone agrees that the view is much better out there than in our school of white/beige walls. Also, the school deteriorates over time while Spring brings about new things.
The effects of the above increase the cost value of going to class, instead of enjoying the great outdoors.
I believe on the other hand that my time is better used learning something that will affect my future, rather than in admiring the colors outside like a blithering idiot. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and a pink, yellow, or blue flower doesn’t exactly compare to the green color of money. Greed is good!!! Along that thought path, lies the fact that living in a beautiful enviroment takes money… You can admire those flowers until the police kick you off the park at night, or you can heighten your education, get a good career and have that nice scenery to look at when you get home.
In my opinion the value of learning outweighs everything that I would get out of making pictures in my head of what the clouds look like. I can use my education to progress, or my five senses to waste away in a vegetative state.
April 24th, 2009 at 4:16 pm
When spring time comes around, the opportunity cost of learning becomes higher. The next best thing to learning is being outside, and with beautiful spring weather, it’s easy to forego learning in order to bask in the sunshine. The benefits of learning are still the same, gaining knowledge and expanding the mind, but the cost is higher now. Now, instead of being inside of a classroom just to learning, you must suffer through looking out the windows as the sun shines into the classroom and the wind subtly blows the trees and blades of grass creating the perfect spring day while you are trapped inside.
I personally feel that learning and spring should be combined together, in an effort to get the best out of both things. It is not hard to walk outside, sit on the grass, and read a book or listen to a lecture while taking in a few rays, listening to the birds chirp and watching the clouds pass by. Spring is good for the soul. If it is nice outside, people are naturally in a better mood. While the spring showers are not so much fun, it is fun to put on some galoshes and go splash around in the puddles. It is much easier to learn on a rainy spring day than a sunny one, because you are not as inclined to go outside like you are on a warm spring day.
April 24th, 2009 at 9:00 pm
The opportunity cost would increase since Spring is here. While it is still a beautiful day outside, the cost of learning is priceless. Instead of spending the day outside, you can go to school and learn. This will allow you to get further in life and be able to live a more fulfilling life. At the end of the school year, people think back on how thier teachers made an impact on their lives and vice versa. This usually benifits the student and the teacher.
When looking at today’s politicians, they studied many years at school before they ever had a chance to reach the public. After doing so, they’ve greatly impacted people’s lives, whether it be for better or worse. The point is that having an education can get you anywhere. The downside is that people need to spend time outdoors. You can still learn without being inside the classroom, it’s just not the same kind of learning. While being outdoors, you can learn about the environment and the things living in it. That is also priceless. But for the greater good of the population, everyone needs to learn as much as they can in the classroom so that they can apply it to life outside of school.
April 24th, 2009 at 10:22 pm
Well after thinking about the new element here-Spring, we have to factor that in to the cost/benefit equation. Spring, a beautiful time of year, has made us all yearn to be outside and out of the classroom. But to be outside would cost us an our and a half in the classroom. So…what costs more? Being outside and paying with valueable classtime, or learning inside and missing the wonderful weather? In logistical terms, we SHOULD be in the classroom, learning at a pace and level to expand our minds. Yet I know we’d all rather be outside enjoying Spring. My personal answer to the equation: Have class outside.
April 24th, 2009 at 10:35 pm
When it is nicer outside, rather than rainy and/or cold it is obviously going to be more enjoyable to be outside. Although this may true school is for one purpose and that is to learn. If we spent our day as a class outside with no educational benefit it would almost be like a waste of time. The benefit is much greater of learning inside than that of going outside although the opprotunity cost is higher for stepping outside int othe beautiful spring air. It may be fun to go outside and have a nice little break but staying in the dull classroom has its advantages and will affect the level of success reached in the future.
April 25th, 2009 at 4:24 pm
Personaly,
Yes, there is obviously an opportunity cost created by the nice spring summer day. However. Right now is such a critical time for us in our lives. Our actions right now are predetermining so much of our futures. I will gladly give up a spring day right now in order to engage myself in an environment that will stimulate my mind. I would like to be able to achieve a career that would allow me to retire someday. I would rather spend those spring days fishing off the deck of a beach house rather than handing out stickers to youngsters at walmart. Yes, there is a marginal cost but the marginal benefit that you will reap from your work doesn’t even compare to that cost.
April 25th, 2009 at 11:54 pm
Spring significantly increases the cost of learning for the students who have to remain confined in their desks rather than roaming free in the sunshine. It also increases the cost of teaching for teachers who have to expend more effort to keep students from staring longingly out the windows at the bright blue sky. However, though the cost has increased, because paying attention has become exasperating, the benefits of learning have not changed. The students would benefit from being outside, but they are really the only ones who would gain from reveling in warm breeze and playing basketball at the park (well, perhaps the people who work at the snow cone stand would benefit with an increase in business). Unfortunately, the positive externalities from the students staying inside greatly out way the benefits of the students surrendering to the call of spring. The Universities and all of the people who work for them will benefit if the students continue making good grades and are able to pay billions of dollars to go to college. The bankers will benefit, because they will have to loan money to the students who have to pay billions of dollars to go to college. The businesses surrounding the colleges that the students attended will benefit by gaining workers, and buyers. Then, when the students graduate, their employers will benefit from all of the discipline and brilliance that the students have gained at the Universities. So, I guess it would be best, in the long run, if the students sacrificed their happiness and stayed at their desks.
April 25th, 2009 at 11:54 pm
So I momentarily forgot about this. And when I say momentarily, I mean…till now.
When spring comes to mind, I think about flowers, lemonade, and the eagerness that school will be ending soon. A plague sweeps the school yards and classrooms, it comes the moment the calander switches to March. So many fellow classmates, as well as myself, would much rather be enjoying the fresh air or takeing the long walk that has been calling our names since mid November. We suffer from what most people call ‘Senioritis’. A neglect of our homework and the urge to ditch school for another day of fun. But what really suffers? Who really suffers? The answer is: society and those that surround us.
During the winter, there isnt much to indulge our time with. Therefore we are most productive to society. We achieve our homework, we conquor our classes. We are ready to be active members along with the people that surround us. But when spring comes our cost/ benefit equation changes. We seem to think the cost of being inside and working is much more than what we will get out of it. Hanging out sounds much better than doing work. But we infact have it reversed. When we choose to hang out with our friends for a couple of more hours rather than do our homework, the benefit isnt as great as it would have been if we had spent that time studying. Our grades fall, school becomes less enjoyable. Spring equals the death of all high school students. And with that, a less productive society. By not staying with our study habits, we suffer in the end, and with it all who surround us. We arent as productive to society as we could have been if we had just stayed on course.
I think if we all constantly reminded ourselves about what we are costing, not only ourselves but those around us, than it would keep us reminded that when spring comes, what it could do to the productivity of society now and in the future. Spring fails us, yet we keep persuing it. The deffinition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results. Every year we expect spring to be different. “Oh I’ll do my work after school.” But when we step out of the doors, it slips our mind, or we choose to put it off. Insanity.
–Alright. Now that I’ve talked in circles and I probably havent really even answered the questions… Have a good day Mr. Whittey
April 26th, 2009 at 10:17 am
The cost of going to class for me, is all the work i miss and therefore the lost wages. While i am in school making money for the school i am not putting cash in my own pocket. This is a negative externality created by the school.
If i did not come to school, then i would be working on the ranch. During the spring i would be sawing up trees, aerating the soil, feeding the cows supplementary minerals, or mending fences. All these things are missed when i go to school and so i miss the opportunity to make money for myself.
When i go to school i try to further my education and in coming to school i avoid a truancy citation. I learn things i otherwise never would have learned and make myself more attractive to future employers. The things i learn here i will take with me to my university of choice and from there use them to start a career. This is a positive externality created by the school. The positive vastly outweighs the negative for me because i could be making so much more money with a college degree than i am now. While Spring does increase the cost part of the equation, Spring does not have a higher benefit for me.
April 26th, 2009 at 11:01 am
For me individually, the attitude toward learning does not much change whether the weather is beautiful or terrible outside. For the most part, even though the opportunity cost rises, raising the cost of learning while the benefits remain static, I do not notice much. The purpose of school is to learn, and that involves forgoing what we would rather be doing. It’s all part and parcel of the same package.
April 26th, 2009 at 3:48 pm
I don’t believe that the opportunity cost of being in the classroom at this time of year changes that much at all. It is easy for one to assume that because Spring is such a beautiful time of year, students are sacrificing more by being in the classroom instead of enjoying themselves outside. Who wants to learn when the climate has provided such a perfect opportunity for outdoor antics? But one must consider that an average high school student could have just as much fun outside of school in another season. Said student could go home an play video games, watch TV, or go bowling with their friends. An individual can accomplish sans-school chores and miscellaneous life-enrichment activities at virtually any time of the year. Spring doesn’t automatically increase the value of things done outside of the classroom just because the weather is pleasant. And in the end, the benefit of a complete education is more fufilling, proactive, and lasting than days spent outdoors. The latter is something one will have plenty opportunity to do later in life. It would make economic sense for one to take advantage of an educaton in their youth, while they are still free of adult responsibilities. As mentioned in the prompt, education is a positive externality which allows those who have completed it to more effectively benefit the world in which they live. Due to the above stated reasons, the opportunity cost of an education remains low and constant, regardless of the season.
April 26th, 2009 at 8:21 pm
All right here we go. Its late but hey I was in Lubbock on the two days after I learned this blog was up.
the cost of learning indoors huh? interesting topic which (you’ll never see this coming from me XD) has no real answer, only pros and cons.
Lets start with pros and cons for the glorious outdoors. The good includes it being beautiful outside thus allowing us to revel in its splender, all that sunlight helps build up vitamin D which helps build strong bones and the fresh air will help our minds be cleansed and absorb knoledge. On the bad side, though, we have that beauty again which can be very disrtacting fomr economics, then we have sunburns from all that sunlight and the cleansing of minds sometiems results in teporary brain loss otherwise knwon as space out.
Now for inside, Pros include that very nice AC to cool us down and keep us awake, a white board for writing notes and such down or for drawing charts, and anyone who trys to leave early is easly stopped by the door. Bad stuff is that that same AC can keep us preoccupied with being cold instead of economics, its also not very pretty in the classroom or very interesting, and being inside all this time sitting down could casue us to become pale and muscle deprived.
The cost is how you see it. There is not and can not be a set oppurtunity cost for being inside or for being outside. The cost is always the other choice you could have made.
there you go my (always) two sided argument. Seeing both sides to an argument is useful but as can be seen by this also confusing. Hope you this helps you see the conflict in every question and my two faced opinion.
April 26th, 2009 at 9:02 pm
I don’t think Spring changes much of what is being learned in the classroom, and what is being missed outside. Students don’t really get to choose to run aroudn outside instead of going to class. Well you COULD skip, but that’d be bad… An education is an education and you have to go to class no matter what the weather is like. You don’t loose much from learning if the weather is wonderful, and vis-versa.
April 26th, 2009 at 9:38 pm
The oppurunity cost of being inside on a beautiful day learning is higher. Its so pretty outside and being outside would be much more pleasant. all though learning inside is also good.
althouh it is much easier and preffered to go spend some time in the beautiful weather of our earth.
April 26th, 2009 at 10:56 pm
I think the cost/benefit equation is changed dramatically in spring. When you live in Texas there is a period of about two months where the weather outside is pleasant. The rest of the ten it is either scorching or freezing! Sure the benefits of learning are substantial but, I could easily teach myself by grabbing a book while sunbathing… BTW I may be absent like every other day the rest of the year. No, seriously.
April 26th, 2009 at 11:02 pm
When it comes to opportunity cost, I should think that it is a matter of what type of person you are. Let’s say the reader of this blog were a student who enjoyed learning. Academically involved so much that a day spent in class seems like a party. The opportunity cost lessens for that student who would prefer to be in class on a gorgeous spring day. Obviously, something is wrong with the kid who chooses to remain cooped up in a dingy classroom than venture to the great outdoors/ cities with friends. But nothing is wrong with the kid who decides to learn instead of diddle daddle their day away. (“Excellent alliteration, Jennifer. Thank you, Jennifer.”)
Looking at this same idea but from another perspective. There are the teenagers who could find better ways of using their time instead of class. Excuse me, i think I should choose a better word than better. There are teenagers who could easily find more ways of using up their time. Teenagers have jobs. That is one important reason why spending time in class could be an opportunity cost. It’s also summer. Teenagers hang out at the mall, in a park, at a concert, and other reasonable activities for a hot texas day. Classtime cuts into that funtime. Spring an summer only last for about 4-5 months. Every opportunity should be spent having as great a time as you hoped.
Then there are the bumbs. You can hardly do anything to push the bumbs to or from school. A bumb will not want to sit at a desk all day, sleeping to a teacher they care nothing about, not trying to listen and soak in what they are hearing. However, a bumb will get out of school, head home, and sleep (or watch TV, play video games, eat, play on the computer. A bumb will not care what they do when school is not in session just as long as they can sit back and relax.
So you can see there are different ways to see the opportunity cost. It will cost for some while it won’t cost anything far others. It’s a matter of what you, as a human, consider to be important. What you decide is more important, that will signify your opportunity cost.
April 27th, 2009 at 12:11 am
The fact that it is Spring does not increase the opportunity cost at all for me, however, the cost is still there. There are plenty of other things I could be doing besides going to school and getting a free education. For instance, I could renew my World of Warcraft account. WoW is an activity that brings me much entertainment. If I skipped school everyday I would be able to enjoy the endless gear grind and face-melting PvP that is World of Warcraft. However, that would bring about some negative externalities. For one, I would fail high school and would not be able to go on to college. My fiance would no doubt leave me after the third or fourth time being stood up because I had to go to a raid. In the end I would become an old hermit that lived with his parents forever. Looking at it this way the opportunity cost of going to school is lower than at first perceived. I know that getting an education will provide me with many more opportunities later on in life. Though I may have to give up a few afternoons and evenings of free time with my fiance, an education will create a situation where I can get a job that can support me and my family, I can spend many more care-free afternoons and evenings with my wife.
Don’t do drugs, stay in school.
0_o
April 27th, 2009 at 7:59 am
I believe the opportunity cost isn’t much different just because of where the class takes place. I think with the class being one that is AP, the students involved would pay just as much attention, while being in a more enjoyable climate condition. However, the benefit would not change much either in my opinion. Educationally, one can learn just as much outside as in, it just depends on the willingness of the person involved. Both the cost and benefit of the location of learning, should be about equal as long as the student maintains the drive to learn.
April 27th, 2009 at 8:41 am
The benefit of learning at school is by far greater than spending an afternoon outside basking in the sunlight. Although the latter would be much more enjoyable to most people, no real work would be getting done. Outside work could be accomplished much easier but not many teenagers will choose to build a house, work on the highway, or garden on their day off. While the beautiful sunlight outside is not very beneficial to high school students, it creates quite a distraction to all. Everyone will be day dreaming of the summer months to come and not thinking at all about what our history, science, and english teachers are rambling about. This is the cause for sloppy, hasty work done in class. Outside classes would help to subside the daydreaming occurring in classes during spring, but not completely. Sometimes it’s just unavoidable, especially with seniors who only have a month left of their high school career.
April 27th, 2009 at 9:27 am
Spring time is a very distracting time for all young adults in the classroom solely because it is the home stretch for seniors to graduate. The benefits to learn and pay attention in class are that it broadens your capacity to learn and also it will help get you into a great college. Many students dont have the “want-to” or the desire to sit through such stimulating lessons that Mr. Whittenberg and Mr. Allard give daily because they are too distracted by the sunshine and the birds outside that everything goes in one ear and out the other. Like mentioned already the oppurtunity cost doesnt decrease at all it stays constant throughout the year.
April 27th, 2009 at 9:32 am
The oppurtunity cost for being inside a classroom is much less in the winter because the weather is cold and you aren’t missing out on anything you are spending your time worth while learning. However during the spring everyone would much rather be outside because it is nice and sunny outside rather than stuck in a classroom. Education is important but the oppurtunity cost in the spring is much greater.
April 27th, 2009 at 10:32 am
For the purpose of this argument, I would like to state that the opportunity cost of a beautiful day versus learning in the classroom is similar to comparing apples to oranges. You can eat an orange after an apple, but you cannot compare the two according to the same standards.
The opportunity cost of a beautiful day far trumps spending time in a classroom learning, as you can learn just as well outside (like eating an apple and an orange together), not to mention everyone will be in a much better mood. The postitve externalities would multiply a thousand times if the apples and oranges were consumed together:)
April 27th, 2009 at 10:41 am
First off, I’m sorry this blog is late. I didn’t have access to a computer when in Nashville this past weekend.
So Spring is a season of change. Flowers are blooming, bears are emerging and Senioritis is kicking in bigtime. As students we suffer major opportunity cost by giving up the beatiful spring daylight in order to sit in a dark, dank, atrificially lit classroom. Even though it is spring, however, the value of the education remains constant. The only change that occurs along with the change in season is that the satisfaction that we could gain from being OUT of class is much higher. However, by staying IN class, we gain an education (at the expense of time in the daylight) and can thereby give back to the community with our newly accredited knowledge. This effect is a positive externality that can be felt by a audience that ranges from our teachers, family and friends all the way to the nation as a whole (varying of course on the extent of our personal application of this knowledge).
April 27th, 2009 at 11:30 am
The opportunity cost of being out side doesn’t change that much when being outside this time of year. I believe that the outside environment can broaden a students amount of learning. Change in our surroundings can make the ideas that we learn in the dull completely white classroom extensively more interesting. I do not know about most people, but colors keep me more engaged and inspired. Being outside may take away from some of the resources that can be used to teach, but it also forms others.
April 27th, 2009 at 11:56 am
I believe to spend a breathtaking spring afternoon locked inside a stuffy damp classroomis important for learning is important. Though the personal cost may be greater in the spring time rather than in the winter due to the often frigid temperature, as opposed to butterflies fluttering, basking in the bright morning sun of a beautiful spring, it is imperative to have appropriate residence in this room. To be in this stifling, oppressive environment is significantly more beneficial to your life than not having the opportunity to acquire such information vital to individual success in this current society. Though my inner desires may suggest my craving of the exploitation of a beautiful day, I would rather have the ability to have more leisurely days later in my life as opposed to being forced to work 60 hours a week at Wal-Mart for the rest of my life.
April 27th, 2009 at 1:11 pm
In our society today, education is priceless. We currently have a scarcity of jobs available in our work force, so the more qualified you are, the higher the chance of attaining a job. Yes the weather is beautiful right now, but there will be an endless amount of beautiful days over the course of our lives. The same cannot be said of a free education. Unless one has a free ride to college, there will never be another time to receive free schooling. Knowledge is enriching in many ways, and though it can be very laborious and boring at times, life is always better with an education. Therefore the opportunity cost of spending a day outside instead of learning very costly.
April 27th, 2009 at 4:14 pm
Teach Us Outside!
Despite The Fact That Our Young And Aimless Minds Would Have Difficulty Concentrating On Economics, There Could Be Much To Gain From Experiencing A Well Taught Lesson While Enjoying Wonderful Mother Nature Herself. Kill Two Birds With One Stone.
I Must Say, However (If I Had To Choose One Or The Other), I Believe That Our Education Greatly Surpasses The “Benefit” Of Being Outside. It Is Critical That We Accomplish The Purpose Of Being In High School, Which Is Ofcourse To Be Taught. In The Long Run, Had We Used The Education Successfully, We Could Be Powerful Millionaires By Age 30. In That, We Can Hire A Slew Of Migrant and/or Underpaid Workers To Do Any Tasks That We Should Be Doing Ourselves, And Enjoy The Sunshine Then.
April 28th, 2009 at 12:51 pm
I believe that the oppertunity cost of being inside in class during a beautiful day is very costly. We should be out outside soaking up the beautifully warm rays of sunlight which gives us much needed vitimens that increase the standard of living for everyone. which is why we should have class outside.