Several core areas of urban educational distress are summarized in this paper. These form the basis for the development of the central theme which is concerned with defining society's failure to produce educated young adults and develop their cognitive learning potential. This failure is discussed in terms of a range of socioeconomic attributes. A model is presented by which students in social studies (current events) or economics classes can be made aware of the effect of the educational crisis upon them. The economics of public finance in urban educational centers is the vehicle chosen for this experiment. A feedback teaching technique is utilized as a tool for implementing the cognitive learning objective. Features of the technique are described and illustrated with respect to the public financing teaching model. It is the thesis of this paper that students can break out from the circular pattern of inadequate achievement through this self learning device. (Author/GC)