Why this exists
Economics usually arrives in grade 11 as a wall of vocabulary. It does not have to, and it does not have to wait that long.
The usual assumption is that economics is too difficult for younger students. That is the wrong diagnosis. The subject is not difficult — the language is unfamiliar.
A twelve‑year‑old choosing between two things at a store already understands opportunity cost. A student who watched a sneaker sell out understands demand outrunning supply. The intuitions are there. Only the vocabulary is missing, and vocabulary is the cheapest thing to teach.
We move fast on concepts and slow on jargon.
Four rules for every session
Constraints, not aspirations. A session has to satisfy all four before it gets taught.
Real economics, not simplified economics
Actual demand curves, payoff matrices and cost curves. A diagram a student has to grow out of later was never worth learning.
Discovery before definition
Students work the idea out, then get the word. The name is a label for something already understood.
Half the time is activity
Concepts get tested by doing. If an idea cannot be turned into a game, we have not explained it clearly enough yet.
Local and concrete
The Bank of Canada, the Competition Bureau, Canadian carriers, the hydro utility. Students recognise the companies being discussed.
Two high school students who got there first
We are not teachers. We are students a few years ahead, which turns out to be the useful distance — recent enough to remember exactly which part was confusing.
Mingming Yu
Co‑founder · Grade 12, Appleby College
Mingming Yu is a Grade 12 student at Appleby College with a passion for business, economics, and financial literacy. A top‑ten scorer on the DECA exam and second‑place winner at the Appleby College Business Competition (ACBC), Mingming brings strong competitive experience in economics and business to the classroom. As a chapter leader in DECA, he has helped guide fellow students in business and economics education, and is passionate about making financial literacy accessible and engaging for young learners.
Michael Yang
Co‑founder · Grade 12
Michael Yang is a Grade 12 student interested in economics and business. He enjoys studying how people make decisions and how markets work. He has attended various economics competitions, and he is excited to help students explore the concepts he has learned through fun, interactive activities and real‑world examples.
Both of us scored 4 to 5 in AP Microeconomics and Macroeconomics. That is where the curriculum comes from — we are teaching the material we just finished, which is why the diagrams in a session are the real ones rather than simplified stand‑ins.
Young Economists is a volunteer project, not a company or a tutoring service. The only thing worth optimising for is whether students actually understand the material.
The best argument is an hour of it
Saturdays, 10 to 11 am at the Glen Abbey Community Centre library in Oakville. New students welcome in any week.