In case you haven’t noticed, I really enjoy learning about government and economics. So when I had the opportunity to review an online high school economics curriculum that is written from a Christian perspective, I thought this would be a great thing to share with my readers and explore as an option for Caroline in a few years.
I received this course for free for the purpose of writing this review. I am being compensated for my time to write this review. All opinions are my own and I was not required to provide a positive review.
Boundary Stone High School Curriculum
Boundary Stone offers a clear explanation of why they chose this name for their organization. It is based on Deuteronomy 27:17 which states, “Cursed is the man who moves their neighbor’s boundary stone.” (NIV)
Boundary stones have long been used to mark property lines. The biblical curse above was one among many that Israel’s priests called out when the people were entering the promised land in the Old Testament. This served as a warning that God had given the people his law and he expected it to be observed. If it was not, the people would be cursed. Among the requirements of the law was the affirmation of private property, which is rooted in the eighth commandment against theft.
The name for our organization, Boundary Stone, is taken from this Deuteronomy passage because we live in a society where people are beginning to routinely move their neighbor’s boundary stones. Today we live in a culture that plays fast and loose with the property rights of others. The proposition that the powers of government may and should be used for the purpose of redistributing property from one person to another has become commonly accepted. However, there is no biblical justification for such action. In essence, this kind of activity undercuts the legitimate property rights of individual people and is, therefore, a legalized form of theft.
Boundary Stone offers a government and economics curriculum duo that is designed to meet the need for a one-year curriculum for one high school credit.
Online Economics Class for Homeschoolers
In this review, I’m taking a look at half of that bundle – Basic Economics Course Bundle.
This is a meaty course. This isn’t one of those courses where the student reads a watered down chapter in a dumbed down book and then answers ten multiple choice questions at the end of each chapter. This course will require effort and time as it contains solid content at a higher reading level.
That’s a good thing because our kids need to be thoroughly educated in these topics.
The textbook is Basic Economics – A Natural Law Approach to Economics (Fourth Edition) by Clarence Carson and Paul Cleveland. (It is super high quality!) The book has three sections.
Section I – The Framework of Economics
- Chapter 1: Why Basic Economics
- Chapter 2: In the Nature of Things
- Chapter 3: Government
- Chapter 4: Society and Morality
- Chapter 5: Property
Section II – The Production and Distribution of Goods
- Chapter 6: Scarcity and Economy
- Chapter 7: How We Get What We Want
- Chapter 8: A Medium of Exchange — Money
- Chapter 9: The Age of Inflation
- Chapter 10: The Market and Prices
- Chapter 11: Failed Attempts to Control Prices
- Chapter 12: Monopoly and Competition
- Chapter 13: The Means of Production
- Chapter 14; The Entrepreneur and Production
- Chapter 15: The Distribution of Wealth
- Chapter 16: International Trade
Section III – Political-Economic Systems
- Chapter 17: Manorial-Feudal System
- Chapter 18: Mercantlism
- Chapter 19: Free Enterprise
- Chapter 20: Corporatism
- Chapter 21: Welfarism
- Chapter 22: Communism
There are a few other books and documents that are required for the course as well as links to additional online articles.
The online portion of the course is quite detailed. There is a short high-interest video that introduces each lesson. There are video lectures, study guides, quizzes, and tests.
At this point, I haven’t had the time to go through the course (although I did have access to all of it). And even though Caroline is way ahead of her peers when it comes to topics like this, it is too advanced for her at this point (eighth grade).
That said, if you want a thorough economics curriculum from a Christian perspective, I have no qualms saying you should seriously look at this one. Even if you don’t agree with every view advanced by the authors, you will have an excellent course that will launch many excellent discussions.
Boundary Stone also has options for homeschool co-ops so they encourage you to feel free to inquire about that if you have a need in that area.
Free Economics & Government Resources for Your Homeschool
Boundary Stone has a number of interesting free resources you should check out to use with your learners. They include:
- 2020 Household Budget Mini-course
- The Law Mini-course based on the essay The Law written by Frederic Bastiat in 1850
- Navigation Point Videos which are five minutes videos about various topics related to economics and policies
- Economics Myth Quiz
- A whole bunch of thought-provoking articles that could start some great conversations with your kids
You should definitely click over and check out these freebies.
While you are there, also be sure to sign up for their newsletter. They will send you Dinner Table Economics discussion starters to use with your family.
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