The end of August signals the annual trek back to school for students all over the country.  My youngest has started her fall semester at college, and I now get to navigate all of the daily school bus traffic on the local roads twice a day (be careful out there).

My youngest is taking a Microeconomics course this semester, and I thought it would be interesting to follow along.  So, while she attends her classes in person down south this fall, I am also taking an undergraduate course online in the same subject via the MIT OpenCourseWare website.  That’s right, technically, I’m going to MIT this fall.  The best part about it?  The MIT courses are free and accessible from anywhere that I can get a good internet connection.  They have video lectures, a PDF of the textbook material, and even problem sets, so its almost like taking the class, but it doesn’t really count for anything (but my own enrichment).

I’ve been busy reading the first few introductory chapters, taking notes (yes, I am a total egghead and fully committed to this thing), so if my daughter has any questions during the semester, maybe I’ll be able to answer them.  Heck, she may even set me straight if I get stuck.  I’m deep into introductory topics like comparative advantage, normative statements, and the production possibilities curve.  It’s been very illuminating thus far, and I had forgotten the commitment one has to make in learning something new, especially when you get to be a dog of my age.

This is one of those instances where the internet is a magical place.  In addition to the MIT classes, I’m also supplementing the material with the Microeconomics videos and lectures on Khan Academy (also free to use online).  Between the two sources, I hope I have things covered.

If you’re looking to add to your own knowledge base, both the MIT and Khan Academy websites have a ton of different classes, covering everything from history to mathematics, and again, it’s all free.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to get back to reading Chapters 3 and 4 of the online textbook.  The Supply and Demand curves are up next and I’m sure my first quizzes are only a few weeks away!