People are questioning the benefits of community college lately.
- One study found that, “Students are much less likely to earn a four-year degree if they first enroll at a community college. A key reason, according to a newly released study, is lost credits in the transfer process.”
- Michael Petrilli writes that the reality is that most low income or high risk students will never graduate from college. So, let’s provide them with high quality technical education, instead.
- I read a great personal essay from a community college professor a couple of weeks ago, who tried to make peace with the fact that most of her students will fail. Can’t find the link. Arg!
Apt. 11d 
“Michael Petrilli writes that the reality is that most low income or high risk students will never graduate from college. So, let’s provide them with high quality technical education, instead.”
Most low income or high risk students will never manage to complete a high quality technical education.
Also, lots of community colleges already provide high quality technical education.
Remember, a lot of the problem with students not being successful in community college classes is they don’t show up to class.
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To expand that thought, the higher quality a high quality technical education is, the more students will fail.
There’s a local state technical college that prepares laser technicians. I suspect that’s a really HARD program and that not everybody makes it through.
Places like Harvard have almost no dropout rate, but they do that by being really selective on the front end. The less selective a program is, the more failure one should expect.
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Say what you will of Woody Allen, I really love his quote that says, “Eighty percent of success is showing up.”
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In Roman Polanski’s case, it was not showing up after the trial.
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True, true.
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This is the best college ad ever. It probably deserves its own post:
http://www.neatorama.com/2014/02/27/An-Honest-University-Commercial/
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Please read “The Great American Psychedelic Hash Brown”!
“The Great American Psychedelic Hash Brown” is a story about Capital Community College in Hartford Connecticut, one of America’s most diverse educational institutions. It is also the title essay of the upcoming collection: The Great American Psychedelic Hash Brown: Stories and Essays from Connecticut’s Caribbean Capital, due out summer 2014.
Please note that the class described, English 013, will be terminated under the “education reform” law PA 12-40 as of next semester, fall 2014.
Enjoy.
Click to access The%20Great%20American%20Psychedelic%20Hash%20Brown.pdf
Number 9, 1949
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