It’s Not Just A Degree
Before I get attacked for this, I’m not saying everyone has to get a college degree. If everyone had degrees in neuroscience there wouldn’t be anyone working the bank, mowing our lawns, or fixing our AC.
Construction, HVAC, retail, automotive, etc., are all essential jobs and I believe everyone who works these should be paid a good wage with benefits. None of this “non-skilled work” crap. Have you ever changed a transmission? Deal with asshole customers all day without blowing a lid? Those are hard skills. These are important jobs, and if no one worked them we’d all be paying the price.
This is why I’m focusing on Community Colleges. Community College is not always about the degree.
A good community college will have certificate programs, workforce development programs, job fairs, community events, and other valuable possibilities. Because a good community college is built for the community, hence the name.
Even if we did just focus on the degree fields, community colleges allow for a transition from dependence in high school to complete freedom in adult life (or university). It allows for specialized help as class sizes tend to be smaller and overall attendance isn’t at the same volume as a university. It is much easier to speak directly with a professor or get help from a disability or consulting center quicker. It is also a great way to knock out pre-recs or gen-eds at a cheaper price. As well as gives students the ability to grow their character and skillset before being thrust into an environment where help is not easy to come by or certain information is expected.
In my own experience, I’ve seen young students fail classes because they were not used to the freedom college classes give. No, your professor isn’t going to remind you twenty times about the paper that is due like your high school teacher did. Sometimes chunks of homework won’t be due until finals week, and I’ve seen students wait until the last minute to finish it all off. It’s much better to make these mistakes on a class that’s a few hundred dollars as opposed to few thousand.
I’ve been able to grow myself in ways I wouldn’t have guessed because of the specialized attention community colleges provides. I’ve had lots of one-on-one time with professors, faculty, and advisors, allowing me to take on research, leadership, and public speaking opportunities. Hell, I’ve gotten to meet, and talk to, the dean of the entire college. She went to the movies with us!
I am a lot different than the man I was two years ago. Sure, I put a lot of work into myself and my skills, but I wouldn’t have had the push I needed if I had gone straight to a university instead of a community college.
But enough about me, let me talk more about the reasons community colleges are so important.
Good colleges provide free classes to high school students and seniors. While it’s always great to provide students with room to grow if they need it, it’s also crucial to have learning opportunities open for the older generation.
Not only is keeping the mind sharp a great way to stay mentally healthy, but these options also foster intergenerational connections that society is quickly losing. Older and younger generations can connect through classes, college events, or just by being in the same space.
(As just a short summary, intergenerational connections are super important. It benefits both old and young people with better health and wellness. It’s great for communities because mentorships are more likely to occur and information is shared more often. I’m thinking about writing a whole article about it.)
Good colleges have wellness clinics and food banks. Yes, these tend to only be for the students, but if someone is able to get a scholarship to pay for classes they will then have access to these resources. In a perfect world, everyone could have these resources, but this is a step in the right direction.
Good colleges have internship programs. This can be for a degree program or certificate. This can be a specialized course for HVAC or automotive work. These internship programs are great for pulling in workers for jobs that desperately need them, or give students experience in a safe environment before sending them off into the real world.
Good colleges have community events. Non-college related groups may use the grounds for their meetings. Theatre plays might happen at the school. Informational lectures about finance, taxes, resources, etc. might happen in the lecture halls.
Aside from a degree, there are other things one can earn at a community college. The certificates I’ve mentioned could be in something like bookkeeping, certain types of nursing, culinary, and so much more. Certificates are usually for a job instead of a field. If I wanted to go into bookkeeping, I’d do the handful of classes for the bookkeeping certificate which would make me more hireable in that job. Letters of Recognition, or the named equivalent, are like a certificate but tend to need fewer classes. So, if someone was already in a job and wanted to progress in the field, LoRs could be used as a stand-in for training or give the skills to progress. Some community colleges also have driving classes for motorcycles or trucks.
These alternative options give people the choice to specialize in a job they want instead of going through years of study and racking up thousands of dollars of debt.
With all of these points, it’s easy to say community colleges are important. Community colleges provide a space for learning, community, and enjoyment. I almost always see students and families walking around the campus grounds. I almost always see events of all kinds going on. There is always something happening at a good community college and the resources are always in use.
And, not that this should be a deciding factor, but the return on tax dollars for community colleges is great. I don’t remember exactly what I was told, but the one I go to, for every few cents put into the college, there’s a return of about a dollar. This makes sense because community colleges allow for easy investment into future endeavors which means more people have social mobility, which means more people paying back into the system.
So yes, community colleges are important to the community, more so than funding hoards of police or anti-homeless architecture. So next time there’s a hearing for your local community college’s funding, go check it out. And if you live by a community college, check out the grounds! See if there are events happening that you can take part in. See if there are resources you can use. Similar to libraries, the more use a community college has, the more funding opportunities it will be given.
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