Economic Democracy Curriculum · Teacher Routines · 250 Voices Anthology
For teaching with the 250 Voices Anthology — the map of how America has argued, for 250 years, over a single question: who holds economic power, and to whom is it accountable? Open every class by surfacing what students already believe about power; close by checking whether they can place a figure, hear the argument, and take a side.
Drop these onto any voice or section on any day. Print them once and keep them by the projector. The central question and the placement matrix do most of the work — these routines just point students at them.
Warm-Ups · open the class
Forced Choice
Where should power sit?
"Before we meet today's voices: should economic power sit mostly with private individuals and markets, or with public and collective bodies?" Pick a side, one sentence why. Revisit at the exit.
Quick-Write
Who do you already know?
"Have you heard of any of today's figures? Write what you think you know — even a vague impression or a guess." Surfaces prior knowledge and the myths attached to famous names.
Forced Choice
Builder or critic?
Name the day's figure. "Gut call: were they someone who built economic power, or someone who challenged it?" Pick before reading — then test it. (Some are both.)
Quick-Write
The question, in your words
"Rewrite the anthology's central question — who holds economic power, and to whom is it accountable? — as if explaining it to a friend." Primes the lens before any figure appears.
Quick-Write
A voice from now
"Name one person alive today who is arguing about economic power — in politics, tech, music, anywhere. What are they saying?" Anchors a historical section to the present argument.
Forced Choice
Whose century was it?
For a time-period section: "In this era, was power moving toward ordinary people or away from them?" Take a quick vote, then read the figures who fought over exactly that.
Exit Tickets · close the class
Placement
Put them on the grid
"Place today's figure on the two axes (Private↔Public, Elite↔Democratic) and defend the placement in one sentence." The core anthology move — placement is the argument.
Reform Test
The smallest reform
"Based on what this figure argued, what's the smallest change that would grow the economy while expanding democracy — and what would it cost?" The curriculum's signature closer.
Pairing
Put two in a room
"Pick two figures from today. What would they argue about, and where would they actually agree?" Checks whether students hear the argument between voices, not just within one.
Temperature Check
One voice that moved you
"Which voice today did you find most convincing — and did it move you from where your warm-up answer started?" Fast read of engagement and of mind-changing.
Quick-Write
Steelman the one you reject
"Take the figure you most disagree with and give their single strongest argument — fairly." The course's core habit: hold the view you don't hold.
Temperature Check
Still foggy
"Name one figure or idea from today you couldn't yet explain to someone else." A direct map of what to revisit tomorrow.
Each section of the anthology holds its own tension. Find the section you're teaching, grab the warm-up and exit ticket built for it. Forced-choice openers are marked; the rest are quick-writes. Each exit ticket leans on placement, pairing, or the central question.
| Section | Warm-up (open) | Exit ticket (close) |
|---|---|---|
| Architects of the ExperimentI · founding–reform era | Forced choiceHamilton wanted strong central financial power; Jefferson feared it. Before reading — whose instinct do you trust more? | PairingThe founders disagreed from the first Congress. Name the argument between two of them that we are still having today. |
| Ideas That Built the WorldII · the economic theorists | Quick-writeWhere do your ideas about how the economy "should" work come from? Name one belief and guess who you got it from. | PlacementPlace today's thinker on both axes — then name one real economy or policy that ran on their idea, and how it turned out. |
| Scale, Labor & the MachineIII · industrial power | Forced choiceThe great industrialists: builders of national wealth, or robber barons? Pick a side before you meet them. | Industrialization created enormous wealth and enormous exploitation. Who captured the gains, and who paid the cost? |
| The Digital Revolution & Its CriticsIV · the platform age | Quick-writeName the tech platforms that shape your day. Who owns them — and what do they get from you? | PairingPair a platform builder with one of their critics. Whose account of the digital economy do you find truer, and why? |
| Money, Wealth & Who Controls ItV · finance & capital | Forced choiceWho should control the money supply: elected governments, independent experts, or markets? First instinct. | PlacementPlace today's figure on the axes. Does controlling money belong with experts, the public, or private hands — and to whom should it answer? |
| Power, Accountability & Democratic RenewalVI · reform & renewal | Quick-writeWhen economic power gets too concentrated, what actually brings it back to account? List every check you can think of. | Reform testFrom today's reformers, name the smallest change that would expand democratic accountability over the economy — and its cost. |
| Economic Anger, Identity & MobilizationVII · movements & protest | Quick-writeWhat's one economic injustice that would make people you know take to the streets? Why that one? | These voices turned economic anger into organized power. What made some movements build lasting change and others fade? |
| Who Tells the Story of the EconomyVIII · narrative & meaning | Forced choiceIs "the economy" a neutral set of facts, or a story someone is telling for a reason? Pick before we read. | Whoever frames the economy shapes what feels possible. Whose story of the economy do you live inside — and who wrote it? |