<p>“don’t think they should give up and do nothing. I am advocating a remedial program. You say, well it exists. I say, it should be separate from a degree track. Classes, courses, practice, tutoring, whatever.”</p>
<p>30 years ago, I used to teach at the Community College of Philadelphia. It had open enrollment to all high school graduates of the city. There were two parts of my job:</p>
<p>The first part of my job was to read 5,000 entrance writing samples every term, required of every student for placement purposes. The reasons for this, primarily, were to make sure we could help students improve their skills, and second, that students who eventually went on to a four-year degree would have the skills and tools needed to succeed. The average student came in at what we called the “seventh grade” level. We went as low as the second grade. We hoped to get everyone to the “eleventh grade”. We had many, many levels of remediation - and they often worked!</p>
<p>The second part of my job - I taught the very last course in critical writing/thinking that was required before students could pass on to the university level. My students at the time were usually older than I was. Many lacked the preparation that I had experienced in my UChicago students, obviously. But every year we would pass two, sometimes three, students on to the Ivy League. Usually a couple at Penn. They were exciting, exciting students - some of whom finished summa cum laude. Clearly their early education had failed them, and life had intervened. And, as Poetgrl correctly notes, courses in basic writing are now often required at even the very top universities. </p>
<p>I thought the community college did a GREAT job, both in remediation and in four-year college prep. But I do know things have changed; the college population is even older than when I was there, community needs are much greater, and funding is much poorer. </p>
<p>Perhaps I’m missing the problem? From what I can see, the main problem is lack of funding. We need many, many more nurses, and the nursing program at my local cc is very small, and, seriously, more difficult to get into than Harvard. The basic bookkeeping classes have waiting lists. Most of the voc. ed programs are oversubscribed. Vets are being turned away. The writing teachers with Ph.Ds are paid a bare pittance, and have huge classes. Science lab space is at a premium. It is still a wonderful, wonderful place, a treasured community resource - I just wish we’d give it the respect (and the funding) it deserves.</p>