C2Comics Blog

Well, January resolutions!  I feel I am more prepared for work!  I am also feeling more uncomfortable with my chosen profession.  Teaching at a community college is absolutely ridiculous.  There is a myth that community colleges are only for students who can’t get into 4-year schools.  That is totally a myth.  But there is also a myth that community college classes that transfer to 4-year schools are equivalent.  That is also totally a myth.

There is a drive in the community colleges to keep coursework intensive, to keep it somewhat at the level of 4-year schools, but even if it were (which based on my cc intro-level coursework and what I saw as a TA for university intro-level coursework is not actually the case) the emotional rigor is not.  Community college profs are supposed to be emotionally supportive of their students, but much of the emotional stress comes from the intellectual work, work that many of these students are not prepared for becuase community colleges are so reluctant to require students to complete prerequisites for many classes.  These prerequisites are viewed by students and administrators as a punishments and the real reason for them – foundation for future studies – is conveniently ignored as well as the requirement for them (something which does not occur in a 4-year college).  The result?  The majority of students don’t have the skills they need to succeed in their coursework, which stresses them out, which leads to them wanting special treatment, special treatment that has come to be associated with community colleges.  What kind of special treatment?  Well okay, here’s a story:

I assigned a paper.  It was a two-page paper based on an experiment the students had done in class.  They didn’t even have to do any research, it could have easily been typed up in half an hour.  I gave my students three weeks to complete it.  THREE WEEKS.  I told my students if they were planning anything on the due date they needed to hand the paper in early.  If a student doesn’t hand in their paper by the due date, they’d better be in the hospital.  A week before the due date I get an e-mail from a student saying there is no possible way he can get his paper in on time because he has to go on a two-day trip.  I tell him he has to get his paper in early.  He says there is no possible way he can set aside a half an hour in the next few days to write the paper.  So anyway, it turns out the two-day trip was not actually overlapping with the due-date – he was present in class that day.  The result?  The administration said I should accept his paper late at absolutely no penalty (by the way, this was a policy originally approved by the administration to keep high standards!).

Also by the way, the trip the student went on?  He was being an ambassador on behalf of the school on how to be a good student.  ….gosh, if he weasels his way out of all his due dates, of course he’s going to have a 4.0.

What pisses me off the most is there are students that don’t complain, the good students, the ones that negate the “communit college is for losers” myth.  They take responsibility for their actions.  These students don’t complain (as they shouldn’t) and as such don’t get the same advantages as the students who do complain.

In the long run, does it work out?  Sure.  The good students will do well in their jobs and the poor students will not.  The good students with their good work ethics will get raises and better jobs the poor students who like to scam out of work and deadlines will get passed over for promotions and fired.  But in the short term it does hurt.  Currently the poor students scam high G.P.A.’s and passing grades.  They’re able to get into classes sooner and programs and jobs more easily.  It waste employers’ times and clogs up the works for good students.

What a pain!