Today I would like to salute community colleges. To be honest, what is the first thing we think about when someone says "community college"? I can tell you one thing, whatever they say is probably not anything particularly positive. Community colleges come with the stigma of serving poorer students or students who maybe don't do that well academically. At risk students, right?
When I was straight out of high school, I was a wreak. I didn't know what to major in, where to transfer to, and I lacked the passion that I needed to excel. My first semester was rocky at best. I took too many classes, not to mention I skipped alot of them. But then my second semester came around and something magical happened...I actually went to class. And had I gone to class my first semester I would have realized how amazing some of the teachers who teach at community colleges are. They actually care about their students, but not in some cheesy "Dangerous Minds" or "To Sir With Love" kind of way (no offense to those delightful films). If you're willing to put in the effort, they are there with you every step of the way. When I first started going to community college I thought that it was the lamest place in the world. But after being there for 2 years, I realize how much I have grown since I first arrived there. And now as I'm preparing to transfer to a 4 year college, I feel like I'm going to miss CLC (thats the name of my community college). I'm gonna miss the teachers, counselors, class sizes and most of all, the students.
The students at community college are so dynamic. There are women who were teenage mothers. They aren't your typical college students (who are probably at some frat party getting wasted right about now). They are completing school even though they might have to come straight from work and, on top of caring for their child, they have coursework to do. There are also older students who aren't happy with their career and they decided that they would rather go to night school and work hard for a few semesters so that they can get out of their unfulfilling job. Hey, I say the more power to them.
Now, don't get me wrong, I'm excited about getting to go on to a four year university and complete my degree. I'm just happy that I got my start at a community college. And I'm not dissing you if you happened to start out at a 4 year university. For me, though, I don't think I would be the same person I am today if I had gone straight from high school to a 4 year institute.
Community college has helped me realize that my dream is to major in English and, somewhere along the line, to teach at a community college my self. You never know where the road you take is going to lead you.
Community Colleges Get No Respect
By alexg - Posted on October 19th, 2008
Tagged: College
• financial difficulites
• lower class
• middle class
• minoritys
• school
• Teachers
• university
I'm working on a project about cc's and respect--your posting is great work.
I agree.
I'm attending a community college, and to be honest, I'm getting the same education that my friends at a university are getting--for less money and without having to move away. Sure, I might be missing the college "experience", but I was never intending on living the college kid's dream anyway.
I still know people who snub community college, like people who go there can't go anywhere else. Funny, because I could absolutely be accepted to any of the other colleges I was considering. It doesn't make anyone any less capable of attending other colleges. Most people at community college plan on transferring anyway.
We only have one State University in Wyoming but we have an excellent network of two-year Junior Colleges across the State.
A couple of years ago there was a study done on third year (Juniors) at the University of Wyoming which compared the performance of kids that had spent the first two years of their college experience at the University against the performance of kids that spent two years in Junior College and then transferred to the University to complete the final two years of their four year degree.
The Junior College kids performed substantially better.
This was attributed largely to smaller classes and more personal attention from teachers in the 101 and 102 Introductory level courses at Junior College vs the very impersonal and uncaring large lecture classes at the introductory level at the University.