the fact that community colleges are seen as less valid and for “stupid” people is a result of classism and in this essay I will-
ppl in the tags saying that it’s “genuinely a lesser tier of education because people go there for trades and nursing and thats about it” are just proving that its classism. bc a) no thats absolutely not correct. a good chunk of people that go to community colleges do so to knock out their gen eds at a lower price than they’d be if they went to a four year, then transfer to a four year. and more importantly b) trade professions are not lesser than other professions that take higher degrees. people who go into things that take associates degrees are not “stupid”.
if you think ppl who are too poor to attend a four year university for all four years, or that ppl who are too poor to/don’t want to get their bachelor’s/master’s/doctorate are “stupid” then i have news for you:
thats classism, babe
Mmmyeah, despite the fact I had to because I decided to just take my GED rather than finish up a couple of classes I slept on while in HS (I went to continuation, and if you aren’t aggressively working to graduate once you turn 18 and are no longer their problem they expel you anyway) so I could go to community college, this ended up being an auspicious culmination of events because I left CC w no debt when I transferred to UC Berkeley (yuuuuup, nobody gave a fresh fuck what I did in HS when I had a 4.0 at CC), and therefore ended school w exactly half the debt.
I tell anyone who will listen to me that if they are planning on going to for a four year degree and beyond to start at CC because for sure the education I got there was commensurate with what I would have gotten at a four year.
And for anyone who 👀👀👀 the idea that this is the case even when compared to “elite” schools I can tell you that some of the best, most skilled, and most rigorous professors I ever had were at my CC.
Also, there was only slightly less students that were absolutely average or demonstrably not interested in studying at Cal than at CC.
Anyhoozle, anyone who shits on community college can get bent.
ALSO given the wild unavailability of tenure-track teaching jobs at major colleges and universities, a lot of brilliant, talented people teach at community colleges. you can get a good ass education at one, even by “ivory tower" standards. for real.
Hi, I went to a university and got two degrees, which are both useless and which I'm still paying for 17 years later. I then went to a community college and got a two- year degree in a "trade" that got me a job that is allowing me to pay off my loans for my useless degrees while actually making enough to live comfortably (for my needs). I'm happier with this job than with any I got with my "real" degrees. The only reasons I don't regret university are the amazing people I met while I was there.
