Chapter 3: Your Role as a Consumer "Learning on the Job"

Introduction
In Chapter 3, students learned how public and private consumer agencies educate and assist consumers. In this lesson, students will focus on one of the many state agencies, the Georgia Governor's Office of Consumer Affairs, to learn its purpose and activities.

Lesson Description
Students will use information from the Georgia Governor's Office of Consumer Affairs Web site to learn about the role of the agency and its activities. They can browse the site to collect information and answer four questions. They will then use what they have learned to write letters to the Georgia Governor's Office of Consumer Affairs to apply for a job.

Applied Content Standards (from the National Council on Economic Education)
Standard 16: There is an economic role for government to play in a market economy whenever the benefits of a government policy outweigh its costs. Governments often provide for national defense, address environmental concerns, define and protect property rights, and attempt to make markets more competitive. Most government policies also redistribute income.

Instructional Objectives
1. Students will understand the role of a federal consumer agency: its purpose, its activities, and its limitations.
2. Students will be able to use this knowledge to write a job application with the agency.

Student Web Activity Answers
1. The mission statement is: "Our mission is to enforce Georgia's Fair Business Practices Act and other consumer protection laws, civil and criminal.... This office truly believes that the effective and efficient administration of Georgia's consumer laws will create a better quality of life for all Georgians." Students' definitions of the mission statement will vary.
2. Students' answers will vary.
3. Students can find this information in the "FAQ" section of the Web site. Consumers should submit complaints in writing, answering as completely as possible the questions who, what, where, and when. They should also provide detailed information on names, dates, addresses, and actions taken so far.
4. Georgia provides a number of detailed brochures addressing individual issues, such as "Automobile Repair" and "Retail Store Policies." Some of these brochures are also available in Spanish.
5. Students' letters will vary, but they should include information about the agency, its purpose, its activities, and how the students will be able to contribute to the agency as interns.

Go To Student Web Activity