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Martha L. Olney's HomepageDepartment of EconomicsUniversity of California, Berkeley Office: 691 Evans Hall Phone: 510-642-6083; Fax: 510-642-6615 email: molney@econ.berkeley.edu Mailing Address (click here) Office Hours, Spring 2008: |
 Photo credit: Peg Skorpinski |
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Econ 1: Introduction to Economics Econ 301: Pedagogy Seminar Econ 154: Economics of Discrimination |
Fall 2008 Economics 301: Pedagogy Seminar |
Previously Taught Courses |
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With an Econ Major: Advice from Alums |
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Some Photos of My Son |
Go Bears!
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During my second month of nursing school, our professor gave us a pop quiz. I was a conscientious student and had breezed through the questions, until I read the last one: "What is the first name of the woman who cleans the school?" Surely this was some kind of joke. I had seen the cleaning woman several times. She was tall, dark-haired and in her 50s, but how would I know her name? I handed in my paper, leaving the last question blank. Just before class ended, one student asked if the last question would count toward our quiz grade. "Absolutely," said the professor. "In your careers, you will meet many people. All are significant. They deserve your attention and care, even if all you do is smile and say 'hello'." I've never forgotten that lesson. (Taken from a listserve, mid-September 2001)
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| One summer, walking along
Telegraph Ave in Berkeley, I crossed paths
with a former student. He had always been a very upbeat and
enthusiastic guy. He had graduated about a year before – near the
height of the Silicon Valley boom – and gone directly into a job he
enjoyed. But when I saw him, he looked about as glum as a boy who
had
lost his puppy. “Hey, how are you? What’s up?,” I asked him
(in the
middle of crossing Durant Avenue!). He had been laid off and
hadn’t had
any
success yet in finding a new job. He was terribly depressed,
feeling –
as I suspect most unemployed folks feel – that he was somehow
responsible for being unemployed. If only he had worked harder,
more
hours, more diligently. If only he hadn’t been sick for three
days one
time. If only he were smarter. If only . . . I
listened for awhile
and then reminded him of what he’d been taught: unemployment is due to
insufficient aggregate demand. “It’s not about you,” I told
him.
“It’s about the economy.” Yeah, he supposed, but it sure felt as
if it
was about him. “But it’s not. You’re part of the rising
unemployment
in the Bay Area, and that’s not your fault.” Yeah, he began to
acknowledge, maybe that's right. He gave me a hug, thanked
me, and we went our separate ways. And that is why I teach economics. |