Buy My Duck Testimonials
Rensche Diggeden
Teacher
Formerly of St Stephen's Primary School
This competition is a fantastic way to teach young people about consumer issues. The task gave so many opportunities to assess a range of learning outcomes in a manner which the students found engaging and relevant. I found that their level of knowledge regarding consumer issues increased dramatically as they researched and shared information. They learnt valuable life skills which will stand them in good stead as they enter the consumer market.
Kieran Noonan
Teacher and winner of 2007 Teacher Incentive Award
Bunbury Catholic College
In Term 3 and 4 of 2007 the two Year 10 Economics extension classes at Bunbury Catholic College participated in the Department of Commerce's Buy My Duck 2007 competition. This was done as an assessment for the College, as the competition guidelines dovetailed well with our program which focused on personal finance decision making.
After spending some time examining the DOCEP website to develop a greater awareness of some of the traps or scams that young consumers should be aware of, students selected the areas they wished to explore in more detail. Students chose topics that included Scamnet - internet scams, REVS - Register of Encumbered Vehicles, Product Recall Lists, Credit Card Advice, Mobile Phone Plan, Advice, Health Club Membership Advice, Travel / Holiday Advice, Workplace Safety Advice, Fair pay / employer / employee rights and responsibilities.
I was very pleased with the enthusiasm and endeavour the students displayed in pursuing their chosen topics. They were impressed by the work of previous winners which was available for them to see on the DOCEP competition website. The students appreciated that these are issues that they are now or soon will become involved with, and that the choices they make could have serious financial implications for them.
They were aware that many young people do get caught out, and that personal experience provided the inspiration for the song "Scammed on the Internet" written and performed by one of our groups, the 'Impossible Island Band'. The students and I enjoyed participating in the competition; it was interesting, informative and well organized. We thank the Department of Commercefor this great learning opportunity and look forward to being involved again in 2008.
