O. Schwarz and wish to remove the experience from their minds. Following the trip, they care more about the taxi change than the trip. Others become competitive, understanding that the F. A. O. Schwarz will always cater to the rich and expressing a desire to work hard to one day be a member of the rich consumers the store caters to.

For the children in the story, understanding economic inequality means discovering the inherent injustice of the situation they were born into and realizing that this injustice does not have to determine the rest of their lives.

Miss Moore tries to teach the children about the world that exists around them; there are people who live entirely different lives from them because of their wealth.

Miss Moore is an exceptional member of the Harlem community in which she lives because she has a college education. She feels that she should share some of her knowledge and experiences with the children of the Harlem community in order to take them down new paths of thinking. She organizes a trip to another part of the city called Manhattan; this is where the affluent citizens reside and shop. When the group enters the FAO Schwarz Toy Store, Miss Moore watches as the children browse through the aisles. They look at the expensive merchandise and react with amazement at the cost of such items. When one of the children asks what a paperweight is, Miss Moore purposely asks her if she does not have something to hold down paper at home.

“Don’t you have a calendar and a pencil case and a blotter and a letter-opener on your desk at home where you do your homework?”. . .
“I don’t even have a desk,” say Junebug.

After the children and Miss Moore leave the store, Sylvia asks, “Watcha bring us here for, Miss Moore?” However, Miss Moore only asks her a question: “You sound angry, Sylvia. Are you mad about something?” Sylvia refuses to respond. Then, after they arrive home, Miss Moore asks the children, “Well, what did you think of F.A.O. Schwarz?” Sylvia's friend Sugar observes that the price of a toy sailboat in that store costs more than the cost of the food that they all eat in a year. Miss Moore is pleased with Sugar's observation. She then asks Sugar,

“Imagine for a minute what kind of society it is in which some people can spend on a toy what it would cost to feed a family of six or seven. What do you think?”
“I think,” say [sic] Sugar. . . “that this is not much of a democracy if you ask me. Equal chance to pursue happiness means an equal crack at the dough, don’t it?”

Miss Moore is also satisfied with this response. She looks at Sylvia, but Sylvia refuses to say anything. Instead, she goes off to herself and ponders all that has occurred this day, vowing that "ain’t nobody gonna beat me at nuthin." Sylvia is angered at the disparity between the incomes of those in her neighborhood and the wealth of those who reside in Manhattan. Apparently, she has learned Miss Moore's lesson because she wants to figure out how this difference has occurred and what can be done to change such inequity in her world.

Miss Moore wants to teach the children that there is "more" in life that what their ghetto neighborhood offers.  In showing them there is "more," she hopes they will reach for "more." However, when the narrator says at the end "There ain't nobody gonna beat me at nuthin," we are not sure if she has learned the lesson or not for throughout their trip to the city she resists what Miss Moore has to say because she doesn't want to appear stupid--she wants to be a tough know-it-all.  Miss Moore is concerned that such an attitude might limit the child rather than expand her possibilities in life.

Additionally, Miss Moore hopes to teach the children concepts that are still foreign to them. These concepts capture the realities of economic value and choice. Economic value is based on what consumers want to purchase. Essentially, the value consumers place on an item affects whether they purchase it or reject it. Perceived value affects consumer choice.

When the children question the cost of items in the store, Miss Moore does not immediately address their concerns. Instead, she tells the children what the items are made of and what they are used for.

In the story, Rosie questions why a "chunk of glass" should cost $480. In response, Miss Moore tells her that the item is a "paperweight made of semi-precious stones fused together under tremendous pressure." The cost is based on the materials used to make the paperweight. Semi-precious stones are expensive and, as a result, the market price of the paperweight is high. Also, the costs associated with processing gems are expensive, and this adds to the price of the paperweight as well. 

Next, the children discover that the price of a toy sailboat is "one thousand one hundred ninety-five dollars." They are flabbergasted. However, the sailboat is handcrafted. Handcrafted toys are notoriously expensive because of the possibly hundreds of hours of labor that go into their creation. Skilled artisans must be paid to design and make the items. 

After listening to her friends' comments about the sailboat, the narrator makes an interesting observation:

Who’d pay all that when you can buy a sailboat set for a quarter at Pop’s, a tube of blue for a dime, and a ball of string for eight cents? “It must have a motor and a whole lot else besides,” I say. “My sailboat cost me about fifty cents.”

The narrator's comments perfectly explains the concepts of economic value and choice. Because she sees little value in purchasing such an expensive sailboat, the narrator makes the choice to consider an alternative. Later, the narrator demands to know how much a real sailboat costs, and she directs her question at Miss Moore. The wise educator replies, "Why don’t you check that out,” she says, “and report back to the group?"

Miss Moore's answer irritates the narrator. However, it is an important answer: without fanfare, Miss Moore quietly points out the importance of acquiring knowledge for oneself. This is, perhaps, the most important lesson Miss Moore hopes to teach the children.

The lesson Miss Moore wants the narrator and the other children to learn is about wealth and poverty and the massive inequalities that exist in society. Taking such children, who live in such poverty, to a toystore where toys are sold for money that whole families could live off is meant to instil in the children a sense of the injustice of society and also give them a desire to do well and rise above their station in life. Note what the lesson is that Sugar learns:

"I think," say Sugar pushing me off her feet like she never done before cause I whip her ass in a minute, "that this is not much of a democracy if you ask me. Equal chance to pursue happiness means an equal crack at the dough, don't it?"

The fact that the narrator describes Miss Moore as being "besides herself" with this reflection from Sugar indicates that this is precisely the lesson she was hoping the children would take away with them. This is likewise what the narrator has realised, as is evidenced when she thinks of all that $35 could buy for her family when she sees a clown toy being sold for that amount. Miss Moore thus hopes to teach the children about the bigger picture of society and the inequality that is such an unfortunate part of it. Getting them to realise such an important lesson at this stage of their lives will help them to become more aware of the inequalities they face and to both fight against those inequalities and give them a desire to improve their lot in life.