One Mother’s Journey in Discovering Economics: Finance Accounting with the 36 Hour McGraw-Hill Course Book

After accidentally becoming exposed to the true nature of economics a few years ago, I determined to teach my children about this oft neglected subject. We began with Thomas Sowell’s book Basic Economics: A Common Sense Guide to the Economy. I quickly realized why nothing beyond personal budgeting is generally taught in government run schools. An understanding of economics would result in a less “pliable” population – that desired less government interference in their lives.

The next step was investigating how economics works in the flow of business interactions. Could this information be practical to us in our savings programs and our kids’ potential business futures? How could we both filter the politically correct propaganda and be prepared for the accounting made necessary by government meddling? I read a couple of books that were geared specifically toward stock investors, and they were helpful, but we needed more to study. I tried an audio accounting class course for one high school senior of mine, but it was dry and tedious. Further hunting on amazon.com prompted me to order The McGraw-Hill 36-Hour Course: Finance for Non-Financial Managers. It looked meaty, but understandable. It turned out to be one of the most fun course books we’ve read together!

I wish I had known about this book for my other children. The title and cover give no clue of the humor that  pervades the whole text. The writer basically tells the story of a unique, imaginary business to hang all the accounting concepts on. (no more clues about that, you’ll have to see for yourself!) The interwoven stories and personalities are brief, but colorful, and give life to the material being learned. My then 16 year old and I spent many hours laughing at the absurd examples as she read it aloud to me.

She did the reviews and simple math exercises herself. There are answers in the back of the book. There were a couple of errors, but the teaching information was presented so well that those instances were more like a “pop quiz” to see if the student understood.

This would be an excellent book for anyone trying to increase their understanding of accounting for investment purposes. For me, it now falls in the category of “books you shouldn’t leave home without.” It is also one in a group of titles that I’d love to give all my friends as Christmas or birthday presents! Would they understand how much it is from the heart? I’m going to miss all of this type of reading when our youngest child graduates from high school studies in a year. Maybe I can get some of my friends to form a club for continuing education for former home school moms with me?