Back to School for Mom
This fall, both of my daughters are in high school. They don't need me to work on homework with them, they don't want me to volunteer in their schools. I'm letting go of hovering over them. All of a sudden, I seem to have so much time on my hands. What's a mom to do? I decided to take some classes that might be of interest to me. What classes can I take short of not going back to school?
I get a lot of brochures from schools around me that offer extension classes. For example, UCLA Extension offers many excellent classes in every department. One can take them towards certification, or just for the benefit of learning. However, I've always hesitated because most classes take place in the evenings, when I feel that I need to be home to prepare and have a meal with my family or to help my kids with school work. Those classes are expensive too, going for between $500 and $2000 a class, or more. On top of that, I dislike having to drive to the UCLA campus and contend with parking there at $12.00 a day. UCLA offers online classes too, but even those are in the $500 range.
West Los Angeles College is a junior college close to my house. Its extension classes are definitely inexpensive (in the $49 to $120 range), but are a bit limited in their content. Oftentimes, those classes consist of learning about hobbies and past times such as flower arranging, real estate investing, etc. student and job essentials such as test prep, medical coding and billing, bookkeeping, etc. Online classes are non-credit, but has limited classes in basic biology and languages, etc. There are many more extension classes offered throughout California through the Junior College system at locations close to most people, and are worth exploring.
What I finally settled on is EdX.org, an online free education consortium, taught by college professors from renowned colleges around the world. EdX is a "non-profit created by founding partners Harvard and MIT whose
mission is to bring the best of higher education to students of all ages
anywhere in the world, wherever there is Internet access." I first received the information through an email from my alma mater, Wellesley College because it is part of the online college consortium. When I explored the link, I discovered that the classes consisted of lectures by professors at Wellesley, Harvard, MIT, Cornell, Georgetown, UT Austin, TsinHua University, UC Berkeley, Rice, McGill, Hong Kong U, and many more. The classes range from anthropology, history, architecture, poetry, to neuroscience, computer programming, aerodynamics, solar energy, and many more. More college level classes are added each day, and best of all, they are all free.
I started with an Introduction to Human Evolution class taught by Wellesley professor Adam Van Arsdale. It was easy to sign up online. The lessons are divided into several short 2-7 minutes video lectures, followed by reading assignments and multiple choice questions where students are graded instantly. (So far, after one week, I'm not doing so well, barely passing). Each week, new lessons are uploaded and there will be 12 weeks of class. There will be a midterm and a final, and students will get a pass or fail mark. You can contribute to the discussion forums, get a certification, or just audit. So far, I am thoroughly enjoying the class because I'm learning something I've always thought was interesting, but never had a chance to study. For a mom who's been out of school for a few decades, I'm pleasantly surprised and dismayed that the class is as complicated and difficult as it is.
I will be auditing a couple more classes: A History of Global Architecture (through MIT), and Ideas of the 20th Century (through UT Austin). I might tackle some hard science next, and am looking forward to the day the program offers a Geology class which I've always wanted to take.
As a mom who has had several post graduate professional degrees but in a rut about the mundaneness of daily life, all of a sudden, I am feeling eager to learn again. That can't be bad, right?
I get a lot of brochures from schools around me that offer extension classes. For example, UCLA Extension offers many excellent classes in every department. One can take them towards certification, or just for the benefit of learning. However, I've always hesitated because most classes take place in the evenings, when I feel that I need to be home to prepare and have a meal with my family or to help my kids with school work. Those classes are expensive too, going for between $500 and $2000 a class, or more. On top of that, I dislike having to drive to the UCLA campus and contend with parking there at $12.00 a day. UCLA offers online classes too, but even those are in the $500 range.
West Los Angeles College is a junior college close to my house. Its extension classes are definitely inexpensive (in the $49 to $120 range), but are a bit limited in their content. Oftentimes, those classes consist of learning about hobbies and past times such as flower arranging, real estate investing, etc. student and job essentials such as test prep, medical coding and billing, bookkeeping, etc. Online classes are non-credit, but has limited classes in basic biology and languages, etc. There are many more extension classes offered throughout California through the Junior College system at locations close to most people, and are worth exploring.
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| edX Online Classes Taught by Top Universities |
I started with an Introduction to Human Evolution class taught by Wellesley professor Adam Van Arsdale. It was easy to sign up online. The lessons are divided into several short 2-7 minutes video lectures, followed by reading assignments and multiple choice questions where students are graded instantly. (So far, after one week, I'm not doing so well, barely passing). Each week, new lessons are uploaded and there will be 12 weeks of class. There will be a midterm and a final, and students will get a pass or fail mark. You can contribute to the discussion forums, get a certification, or just audit. So far, I am thoroughly enjoying the class because I'm learning something I've always thought was interesting, but never had a chance to study. For a mom who's been out of school for a few decades, I'm pleasantly surprised and dismayed that the class is as complicated and difficult as it is.
I will be auditing a couple more classes: A History of Global Architecture (through MIT), and Ideas of the 20th Century (through UT Austin). I might tackle some hard science next, and am looking forward to the day the program offers a Geology class which I've always wanted to take.
As a mom who has had several post graduate professional degrees but in a rut about the mundaneness of daily life, all of a sudden, I am feeling eager to learn again. That can't be bad, right?
I'm in week 9 of the Anthropology class taught by Professor Adam Van Arsdale of Wellesley College. I'm getting used to the assignments and reading. While I was barely passing after week 1, I'm going great on my homework and labs now! Love this class. It's quite time consuming though. So much so that I've dropped my other two classes, A History of Global Architecture (through MIT), and Ideas of the 20th Century (through UT Austin). Will try to pick them up some other time.
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