Taking College Classes Without Breaking The Bank.APRIL 21, 2017
Ten years ago when I left my last job as a human resources director for a non-profit agency, I wasn't quite prepared to be staying home for good. I wasn't ready to be a permanent stay at home mom. I wasn't ready to be retired. My daughter was struggling with a condition called ADHD, and I felt that I must do everything I could to be with her and help her through her problems.I thought I'd return to work after a couple of years after we know her medication worked properly and that she is more settled in her emotions and becomes matures. I was happy to get off the treadmill of work and was glad that financially I could afford to take some time off with only my husband's income to support the family. I spent my time with my daughters, shuttling them around their various activities and enrichment programs, helping them with their home work, and cooking, so the family can have a sit down dinner together every night. I took it upon myself to manage the family's finances and investments.
Yet, after a few years, I start wondering about what I had given up by not working. Financially we were doing fine. However, without my second income, I didn't feel comfortable spending without inhibition. While I was never an extravagant spender, in "retirement", I became more frugal, financially aware, and always looking for a deal. I didn't miss spending lots of money, but I missed the intellectual stimulation of work . I missed learning about things, whether it it's about aspects of my job or implementing programs. As my daughters grew older and more mature, they don't need me as much anymore. All of a sudden, I seemed to have too much time on my hand with nothing to spend it on. I was filled with conflicting thoughts about going going back to work: I'd look up all the employment advertisements online, yet when I see a job that is suitable, I didn't want to apply. Or, if I applied, I back out when a potential employer responds. As time went by, I started to lose confidence in my employment ability. I felt depressed
One of the easiest things to fill my days and get ready to either go back to work in my trained profession in employment law or human resources management, or social work (this topic will be for another day) was to learn by taking a class. Since I wasn't keen on returning to my profession just yet, I thought it would be a good time for me to explore classes that interested me but never got a chance to take.
I get a lot of brochures from colleges near me that offered 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 and Santa Monica College are community colleges near home. 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. There are job preparations classes such as test prep, medical coding and billing, bookkeeping, etc. Online classes are non-credit, but there are limited classes in basic biology and languages, etc. There are many more regular college classes offered throughout California's Community College system at locations close to most Californians, and their topics are wide ranging and are worth exploring.
What I finally settled on in terms of taking my first class as a "stay at home mom" is through a MOOC, an online course aimed at unlimited participation and open access via the web. MOOCs are a recent and widely researched development in distance education, first introduced in 2006 and emerged as a popular mode of learning in 2012. They are mostly free of charge too.
I picked 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, economics, and many more. More college level classes are added each day, and best of all, they are all free unless you want to get certification from EdX.
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 are be 12 weeks of class. There is a midterm and a final, and students gets 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 about the evolution of our human ancestors and learning about the raging debate over who are the Neanderthals or the Denisovans. This is a topic I've always found fascinating, 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 stay at home life, all of a sudden, I am feeling eager to learn again. That can't be bad, right?
Yet, after a few years, I start wondering about what I had given up by not working. Financially we were doing fine. However, without my second income, I didn't feel comfortable spending without inhibition. While I was never an extravagant spender, in "retirement", I became more frugal, financially aware, and always looking for a deal. I didn't miss spending lots of money, but I missed the intellectual stimulation of work . I missed learning about things, whether it it's about aspects of my job or implementing programs. As my daughters grew older and more mature, they don't need me as much anymore. All of a sudden, I seemed to have too much time on my hand with nothing to spend it on. I was filled with conflicting thoughts about going going back to work: I'd look up all the employment advertisements online, yet when I see a job that is suitable, I didn't want to apply. Or, if I applied, I back out when a potential employer responds. As time went by, I started to lose confidence in my employment ability. I felt depressed
One of the easiest things to fill my days and get ready to either go back to work in my trained profession in employment law or human resources management, or social work (this topic will be for another day) was to learn by taking a class. Since I wasn't keen on returning to my profession just yet, I thought it would be a good time for me to explore classes that interested me but never got a chance to take.
I get a lot of brochures from colleges near me that offered 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 and Santa Monica College are community colleges near home. 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. There are job preparations classes such as test prep, medical coding and billing, bookkeeping, etc. Online classes are non-credit, but there are limited classes in basic biology and languages, etc. There are many more regular college classes offered throughout California's Community College system at locations close to most Californians, and their topics are wide ranging and are worth exploring.
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edX Online Classes Taught by Top Universities |
What I finally settled on in terms of taking my first class as a "stay at home mom" is through a MOOC, an online course aimed at unlimited participation and open access via the web. MOOCs are a recent and widely researched development in distance education, first introduced in 2006 and emerged as a popular mode of learning in 2012. They are mostly free of charge too.
I picked 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, economics, and many more. More college level classes are added each day, and best of all, they are all free unless you want to get certification from EdX.
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 are be 12 weeks of class. There is a midterm and a final, and students gets 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 about the evolution of our human ancestors and learning about the raging debate over who are the Neanderthals or the Denisovans. This is a topic I've always found fascinating, 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 stay at home life, all of a sudden, I am feeling eager to learn again. That can't be bad, right?
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