Rigging Monopolies, Teaching Economic, Financial and Social Awareness

In these tumultuous times, what’s the best way to get students interested and vested in the many issues which can and have already affected their lives.  One of the best ways is through gaming.  So, let’s start with “Rigged Monopoly”.  It may look like the original Monopoly, but as soon as you pick a token starting the game, you’ll find the rules are different and your life in this version of the game changes.  This “Rigged Game of Monopoly” is about issues such as efficiency, inequality, freedom, growth, security and stability as well as debt, anxiety and frustration.  It’s about looking at the “social goals” of our economic systems and linked to lessons from Econedlink and other resources such as podcasts.   This rigged version can get very contentious, but isn’t that the real world?  With the new rules in effect, this monopoly game ends with the bell or when the first person goes bankrupt which can happen even sooner.