Tuttle Twins: The Miraculous Pencil

What is an economy?

• A network of individuals who produce, distribute, and use goods and services.

• A group of politicians who decide how people should do business.

• A group of businesses that work together to make a profit.

• The big corporations that provide the most products and services.

Is it possible for you to make a pencil without the help of anyone else? Why?

• No, because making a pencil requires materials from all over the world, and the cooperation of people in many countries and industries!

• Yes, because I can do anything I set my mind to!

• No, because you have to have a factory to make a pencil.

• Yes, because pencils are just wood and a few other things—it probably wouldn’t take very long to make one.

What is spontaneous order?

• When countless individuals act in their own best interest to meet their own needs and in turn meet the needs and wants of others.

• The order that is achieved by government organizing and controlling the economy.

• The way things work out when you just stop worrying!

• When everyone gives up what they want in order to give other people what they want.

Why can’t economies be centrally planned?

• Because an economy is made up of individual people all working together to provide for the needs of themselves and others, one small group of people can’t decide what is in the best interest or meets the needs of everyone else.

• Yes, it’s always better to have a few people in charge of everyone else.

• As long as people vote on who gets to be in charge then it works to centrally plan an economy.

• It doesn’t work to centrally plan an economy because having a few people in charge of everything is too confusing. It’s best if just one person is in charge of it all.

What gift did each student get at the conclusion of their field trip?

• A pencil.

• A new backpack.

• A hardhat

• A toy ailrplane

Has your life been improved by the division of labor?

• Yes! When lots of people work together to make everything we use, it gives us more products and more choices!

• My life hasn’t been improved by the division of labor.

• The division of labor makes my life easier because it means that I can always have what I want without having to pay for it.

• The division of labor only affects people who have jobs.

Why does competition in business make life better for customers?

• When there is competition in business, companies work harder to make better products and offer them for lower prices. This means customers have more choices and pay less for what they want!

• Competition only makes things better for people who have a lot of money—not everyone.

• Competition makes it unfair for some businesses. There should be rules that force all businesses to charge the same prices.

• Competition makes life better for customers because they don’t have to pay for things. They can get what they want for free!

In the book, Ethan asks, “Do all those people even know they’re making a pencil?” Carl answers that, “No, they don’t!” What is it called when lots of people work together to create a product without realizing that they’re all working together?

• Spontaneous order

• Central planning

• A corporation

• A worker’s union

What job does Ethan want to have when he grows up?

• A basketball player

• A house builder

• A scientist

• A musician

What job does Emily want to have when she grows up?

• A doctor

• A farmer

• An astronaut

• A basketball player