Topic 3: Where Choices Lead

Coming to PAS was my very own decision by doing so; I gave up what I had in America in order to come to Taiwan for this education. Being placed in this class as well; it was completely forced onto me by the head of the school and not of my own choices. Money is only one of the opportunity costs of the decision of coming to this school. An intangible opportunity cost of what was forgone was the ability to take the actual class that I have wanted to instead of being placed in the class of economics.

My decision of attending this school has not been a bad experience at all compared to my original school back in the states, but the decisions from the head are exceptionally irrational in most cases. But take for example of being in economics; this was utterly decided by Pamela, therefore removing me from my original class I expected to attend to but was placed into economics. Although this idea did not please me at first, I have not come to hate economics but to come to accept it as a useful class for my future. This choice in moving me from a class that she thought was useless for me may actually benefit me. 

Topic 2: Scarcity at School

In PAS scarcity occurs extremely often and nearly everyday. Students, teachers, office staffs, and even the janitors at our school has to make a trade-off for something they desire. Students trade their time and freedom to come to school for their education. Teachers and office staffs also trade their time and freedom in order to maintain their wages given by PAS. As well as the janitors who spend their time to earn their wages.

I as well spend 7 hours of my time at school to get the education I need, and then another 6 ~ 8 hours finishing the given work and studying for future tests after school. The scarcity here is education, and in order to make this trade-off; I spend lots and lots of time as well as money to secure it.

The resources that I want more of are the lunches provided by the school, and what keeps me from getting a better quality of food is the office staff. They make the overall decisions for the school environment and needs to improve on their food. In order to get the higher quality lunches I enjoy; I took the extra time to order from outside restaurants instead of purchasing school lunches.

Topic 1: Big Questions

In PAS, the goods being produced are anything you use in this school, ranging from the chair you sit in and the desk you use to write on to even something as broad as the school infrastructure. The services provided in PAS, are the educational classes given by teachers and for the future of any individual to be able to attend college. The office also offers services; the staff members give you a wide variety of classes to choose from for your future occupations as well as guide you through these necessary steps. These goods and services are created for us, the students and all decisions are made by the head of the school, Pamela.

The choices Pamela has made are extremely important to us, yet it cannot totally satisfy our needs. Unlike other public schools, PAS is a privately owned school, therefore costs money for its purposes. The money being spent towards the school is supposed to be able to help us in everyday life during school hours, but it does not. Why? First of all, our “school” is not a real school; it is only one floor of a building after all. Second, the lunch being provided may just not taste as appetizing. Finally, the rules set by this school go beyond limit compared to all other privately owned schools. We can also conclude that our money is not being spent at its full potential even though we do have to pay high expenses in order to attend this school.