The race is long, but in the end it’s is only with yourself

At the beginning of every semester I ask my students why they are taking my course. One student replies that he wants to learn how to make money (and I disappoint him when I tell him that economics is not about money), two students say that they want to learn about the economy (and make me happy), and the rest 47 students answer that it is required for their degree so they have to. This simple exercise shows that while teachers offer education, most students come to college to buy degrees. Indeed, I have a much better reason for them to be taking my course [why study economics?]

Of course education should not be confined to a classroom. College should not be a mere opportunity for economic growth, but an opportunity in itself. An opportunity that will challenge students to do things they have never done before, reach the limits of their imagination, fulfill their curious natures, meet new people, and confront their own assumptions about the world and themselves.

I can’t teach students how to appreciate and pursue life, and I shouldn’t. But I can show them with my attitude that college is not only about abstract models and overpriced textbooks. I can show them that boring is only one step away from interesting, relevant, and fun; that true knowledge costs only one’s time; that if they work hard they can be successful in anything they want to pursue.

Thus, I always try to share with my students interesting and insightful experiences that I have found valuable—even if they are unrelated to economics sometimes. For example, a few years ago I discovered TED: Ideas Worth Spreading. Their website publishes short (usually no more than 17 minutes) talks by leading scientists, journalists, activists, and artists, and I have learned so much by watching their presentations that it will be a crime not to share it with my students. I have been very pleased to find out that many of my students find the website beneficial in their own pursuit of knowledge. Over the years the list of online learning centers that I visit regularly has grown [click here to see it].

Another great resource is Top Documentary Films [visit here]. Some documentaries that I have shown in my classes are: IOUSA [watch here], The Ascent of Money [watch here], The Century of the Self [watch here], and many others.

I also try to share with my students my multicultural experience. Learning some geography and bizarre facts about Bulgaria and European soccer may be the last thing an economics professor should do, but those moments can break the monotony of a lecture and you would be surprised how much economics can be extracted from them.

Another way to stimulate students’ interest in the course and provide them with incentive to work, but not in a forceful way, is to give them plenty of extra credit opportunities. This is an excellent alternative for students to learn, earn points, yet at the same time not feel pressured that they had to do this assignment. After all, what matters at the end is that students do their work and realize that if they invest time and effort they can still be successful. I am always pleased to see the enthusiasm my students show for these extra credit assignments. Usually, I list additional extra credit assignments in the TOPICS page of the course webpage, at the end of each section [click here for an example].