Texas Teachers Learn From One Another About the Future of Our Economy

In the middle of an economic crisis like most of us have never experienced, it should encourage you to know a group of educators and business leaders are thinking about a big topic for Texas: Going global. Recently I had the chance to visit with a gathering of Texas teachers who were focusing on broadening horizons for Texas students.

“Globalization in America” was the title of the conference presented by the Texas Council on Economic Education (TCEE). The conference gathered educators from across the Lone Star State and offered sessions on international opportunities for teachers, globalization, international markets for Texas products and Texas as the site for international companies.

Texas depends greatly on exports to a global market to keep our economy going. In the agriculture sector alone, Texas ranked fifth in the U.S. with an estimated $4.6 billion in sales to foreign markets in 2007. Overall, Texas exports of merchandise in 2007 totaled $168.2 billion, which was the largest figure among all 50 states.

With the world we live in becoming more interdependent every day, I am grateful to these dedicated teachers and TCEE for teaming up to go global.