ECON 104 Intro to Macroeconomics. Spring 2013. Professor Garett Jones

Two years ago, I would have said that I would never recommend economics on my worst enemy.  What most people don’t understand—I being one of them—is that everyone is already an economist.  We make decisions everyday that rely on the minute understanding we have of economic theory.  This is what I learned from Professor Jones.

There is no amazement in telling you that Jones has a Ph.D. in Economics, but you would be surprised if I told you he began his academic career as a history undergrad. On the first class of Econ 104, Jones explained how important his B.A in History was to his critical thinking and that he wishes to give the same to us.

Jones wanted to be a professor because it was a way for him to think about big ideas all the time.  When he noticed that I seemed surprised by his answer, he told me that he was lucky to have the colleagues he has at GMU.  “Most professors at other elite schools don’t talk or share ideas with their colleagues,” he said. 

Jones has been teaching freshman economics since 2000 and he credits the advancements in technology with improving the teaching of economics.  However, he mentioned that watching his colleagues in the classroom was very educational for him because of the amount of students he saw playing Candy Crush and browsing Facebook.  

I proceeded to ask him about comments on his RateMyProfessor page.  As a side note he told he that women would actually look at his ratings before they went out on a first date with him.  I asked him if he expected students to describe him as insightful, entertaining, or passionate like the comment below.

"I always expected to be passionate and its great to hear that I can convey this material to students much younger than I am," Jones said.

Professor Jones left me with a little bit of insight for when I graduate.  He believes that education and human capital are essential to economic growth.  The next time I go to a college graduation, I must ask myself "How much of my diploma's value are they destroying?" Thank you, Professor Jones.

Oh, I almost forgot.  I wanted to ask Professor Jones about this comment, but did not get a chance to. I'll let you all decide if he does look like [Jared].  I am sure he would get a kick out of this.

Photo Courtesy of fresostatenews.com

Photo Courtesy of Mercatus Center