Core Curriculum Statement

Community college is a great institution for students to start their educational journey. Especially when they do not have the funds or lack some of the prerequisite that a university would require. Community college was created to serve the community, traditional and non-traditional students with the best higher education and lifetime learning opportunities. The faculty and staff members at a community college is there to provide leadership in education while going above and beyond to recognize the needs of the students and the community by providing excellent educational programs and support services that are available to all who have the opportunity to take advantage of them. “Student services now include recruitment and retention, counseling, student activities, student health, financial aid, academic support, career centers, transfer centers, and supplemental services such as transportation, child care, and services tailored for specific populations of students” (Cohen, Brawer, & Krisker, 2014, pg. 209). My philosophy in fulfilling the role and mission of the community college, is to establish the mission, vision, goals and values to guide all students on their journey to strive to become successful both in school and in today’s economy.

When it’s time for students in deciding which college they are going to attend, they consider many factors that will go into their learning experience. They take in their housing, meal, and transportation plans, all of which excite students for their college experience. However, the major factor that is a make it or break it deal for many, is if they will be able to afford schooling at a college. Many students take year off or decide to never come back to school due to the fact that college is expensive, even community college. The lack of students from being driven to attend, affects the student population at college. However, if community college were to be free it will cause a more diverse environment for students, causing them to have a different outlook in college. A reporter for US News and World Report, Joanne Jacobs, publishes the article, “As He Promotes It, Some Question Obama’s Free Community College Idea”. Where she is able to provide evidence on encouragement of free tuition. She argues that “with a more diverse group of students, community colleges could gain political capital and the funding that goes with it.” A diverse group of students will help create a new atmosphere for students and help create the college experience they seek. More students who are driven to learn, can potentially lead to new clubs being made, events, gatherings, etc. Having free tuition at community college will not only benefit students academically, but socially as well; which is all part of the development of their character.

It is also a “boundary spanning” activity in that it requires active involvement from people both within and outside of the classroom context, often resulting in participant contributors who represent a variety of generations, ethnicities, social groups, and experience levels (Billig and Furco, 2002, p.vii). Service-learning is designed to reduce the boundaries between an institutional campus environment and the community around it. It is designed to connect learning to real experience through service and reflection (Ball and Schilling, 2006; Becker, 2000). As a baseline to facilitate this development, service-learning is distinct from other types of community service and civic engagement experiences in that the service-learning experience must not only have a service and reflective component but also be clearly tied to the curriculum through learning objectives and theoretical underpinnings (Bloomquist, 2015; Pritchard, 2001). As Barbara Holland, former Director of the U.S. National Service-Learning Clearinghouse, shared, “Service-learning is all in the hyphen. It is the enrichment of specific learning goals through structured community service opportunities that respond to community-identified needs and opportunities.” (Kenworthy-U’Ren, Taylor, and Petri, 2006: 121).

Countless numbers of college freshman transfer out after their first year of studies. Many return, some don't. Unfortunately, many of these students felt displaced and found that their expectations were not met by the university they attended. Attending community school gives students the opportunity to earn college credit while taking the time to select the 4-year institution that is right for them. Because there is little financial investment, most students

Politically, socially, environmentally or one person at a time, how will you give back to society? Day in and day out many citizens change the world, or they do just the opposite and make the world a worse place than when they woke up. The article I chose to review is, “Community Service” written by Robert Coles. The article tells a story of college students who make a difference in the world through peer tutoring, an act of community service, and have such an impact that they act as role models for Coles and he begins to do the same. Briefly in the beginning of the article, Coles states that, “students are likely to express their lofty political and social impulses and practical desires to change the world through community service, even if in limited or modest ways.”(Robert Coles, pg.93) We must make an ultimate decision about the world we live in, will we choose to make a difference in the lives of fellow citizens or discriminate and punish not only them but ourselves by not sharing the knowledge we have been taught.

Do you wish to spend more time with your children and educate them the way you want? Are you dissatisfied with your public or private school? Do you disagree with Common Core? Is your child being labeled and told they are not keeping up with the rest of the class? Does your child complain of headaches, an upset stomach or anxiety? Is it a daily struggle every morning with your child to get them up and ready for school?

In conclusion, community college is an open book for everyone, where students have a self-discovery when learning while being on able to afford tuition and save money. Writer’s Liz Addison and Rick Perlstein wrote an essay for “New York Times” about a topic: college. Perlstein wrote in “What’s the Matter with College?” that college doesn’t matter as it used to be while Addison fired back with benefits and a recommendation for community college on Addison’s essay, “Two Years Are Better Than Four”. Addison called out Perlstein about how Perlstein has given up on self-discovery when coming about to college as an adult. Addison reminded both audience and authors alike that community is rarely brought up in mediums such as social media. Community

Taking time to volunteer at the many nonprofit organizations, homeless shelters, advocacy centers, philanthropic fundraisers, local schools and child care facilities in the inner city is not always at the forefront of young people’s minds while navigating through their college experiences. But, with a little push from student organizations, local nonprofits and passionate individuals, volunteerism and community change can start to take a front seat and become not just an opportunity, but also a priority in the lives of young people.

I spent my previous summer at UChicago attending a summer American Law and Litigation class. Throughout my three weeks in Chicago I faced the greatest amount of academic rigor in my life. Our demanding homework and invigorating class discussions expanded my mental capacity every single time I walked into the classroom. Our assessments did not test us on the arbitrary regurgitation of random factoids, but rather our ability to critically think and analyze. UChicago’s commitment to educating the person is evident by my summer program as we didn't just learn the content of the class, but focused on invaluable skills of analysis and synthesis. UChicago is notorious for its workload and rigor, and that is exactly what I want. I experienced

One of the misinterpretations of the Common Core State Standards is that it is a curriculum and that there is specific criterion in how educators should teach the standards. There is a huge difference between a “list” of things to learn and a curriculum of study. As the author suggests in the article “Rewriting the Common Core State Standards for Tomorrow’s Literacies” people need to veer away from the right or wrong of the standards and focus on what the content of the standards are outlining that educators teach. In other words, breaking down the standards to interpret and reinterpret them and putting those interpretations to work in the classroom are what need to be evaluated (Van Cleave 46). Anyone can access the Common Core State Standards

Community college may seem like a school for underachievers, but in reality, its programs cater to many different individuals: High school students, adults returning to pursue (or finish) a degree, and people who are interested in taking recreational classes. Many community college students are programmed differently and they have different studying techniques and their own set pace for learning. The great thing about community college is that it can accommodate all of these individuals. Community college provides the tools and the know-how to help their students succeed. The affordability of community college, student enrichment programs, and smaller class sizes are just a few of its most desirable attributes. Despite the facts, there is a still a stigma surrounding the

At some point in the life of a high school student, community college becomes an option when applying to colleges. In some cases for those looking to further their education past high school it is still an option, even to students who are already in college. However, not everyone is able to see the benefits of attending a community college. Somehow in the past millennia, community college somehow gained the reputation of being a punishment for things such as having bad grades in high school, sometimes due to things the student can’t control. It is my hope that I will be able to change this opinion of community college and actually encourage the idea that community college can help students to improve their grades and get

The article “Why Community College is not Like High School” by Ben Faulkner surprised me, when Ben says, “your first grades in college might be lower than anything you’ve ever gotten before.” This quote surprised me because I thought that I was the only person that had his first grade in college low, however; it showed me that many other people had been through this issue like me. This article make me feel supported by being in Middlesex community college because how Ben says, “But the grade isn’t the end of the story. (No number ever is) and it certainly doesn’t mean you should stop trying.” This quote showed me that even I got a bad grade in this college, it doesn’t mean the end to the story. It means that I should take it like a lesion

Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano, got together with State education chiefs and governors from 48 states in December of 2008 to create the Common Core curriculum, a set of clear college and career-ready standards for grades K-12 in English language arts/literacy and mathematics. Napolitano’s main goal for setting up the meeting was to improve student’s Math and Reading scores in the U.S. public school system. Today, only 43 states have voluntarily adopted and have worked to implement the standards, which is designed to make sure that students graduating from high school are prepared to take credit introductory courses in two-four year college programs or in the workforce. The Common Core drafting process relied on teachers and standards experts from all across America. The National Education Association (NEA), American Federation of Teachers (AFT), National Council of Teachers of

I am a freshman philosophy major at UCLA; I chose to major in Philosophy because I read some of Plato’s Republic in an English class in high school and I fell in love. Previously, I assumed I would major in English, but Philosophy has added another dimension to my college experience that English never could have offered. Majoring in Philosophy often requires deep, analytical and often out of the box thinking. It is also an excellent major when preparing for law school because it is teaching me to connect the dots across a multitude of disciplines and concepts, as is needed when practically applying Law. I’m currently interested in specializing in not for profit law because I have worked with various non-profits since I was in middle school.