Free Community College

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Clarissa

January 9, 2015

Sometimes people annoy me to an extraordinary degree. Just as Obama announced the truly phenomenal plan of offering free community college education to all Americans, everybody and their uncle started yes – butting the idea to death.

If before it steps back for good the state decides to do one last thing for the people to prepare them for the new state form, how can this possibly be a bad thing? A massive effort to educate those who are likely to be left behind by the new order is exactly what we need. It is crucial that we all get behind this plan and make sure it is carried out as soon as possible.

Time is running out. This needs to start happening now. I think I have written enough on the collapse of the nation-state to make it clear why education is the only thing that can mitigate the effects of the transformation for the people.

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11 responses to “Free Community College”

musteryou

January 9, 2015

You can’t stand in the way of a flood of stupidity. You will be swept away if you try.

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1. Clarissa
  
  January 9, 2015
  
  Musteryou: you are absolutely right. But I can’t stop trying.
  
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  1. musteryou
    
    January 9, 2015
    
    I used to have such philanthropic urges. Then I changed. I think the only way to speed change is not to help the people who do not want to be helped, but to get them out the way so that those who do want to help themselves are much more free to do so
    
    20.
    
    O my brothers, am I then cruel? But I say: What falls, that shall one also push!
    
    Everything of today- it falls, it decays; who would preserve it! But I- I wish also to push it!
    
    Know you the delight which rolls stones into precipitous depths?- Those people of today, see just how they roll into my depths!
    
    A prelude am I to better players, O my brothers! An example! Do according to my example!
    
    And him whom you do not teach to fly, teach I pray you- to fall faster!
    http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/westernauthors/nietzschezarathushtra3c.htm
    
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musteryou

January 9, 2015

I have the view that if people want to sabotage themselves, I should help them to do so. I am helping a troll right now to promote his views of the world, because I think he could take a lot of his ilk down with him.

He has had this to say:

Waker Up 13 minutes ago
a real shaman is the CHILD that michael faust described, someone spreading joy; its not enough to go to another site on the internet, ive been contaminated by ur feminazi pink flamingo CAMEL show, atonement for u would be to get over ur own image & delete these rotten videos before others see them, and start acting like a human being. Now that’s growing up.

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Shakti

January 9, 2015

… everybody and their uncle started yes – butting the idea to death.
I’m just imagining a herd of goats bleating, “Yes-but! Yes-but!!” while headbutting each other off the mountain. Sometimes the uncle wins. Sometimes the uncle loses. When there’s a draw, the goat and the uncle filibuster. :p

I get it: sometimes I don’t want to think about “why we can’t have nice things” because someone will remind you anyways. When I first went to college, every semester I’d look at the course catalog like it was an enormous buffet full of good and novel things.

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1. Clarissa
  
  January 9, 2015
  
  That’s exactly how I looked at course catalogs. 🙂
  
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cliff arroyo

January 10, 2015

At first glance the idea of free community college seems wonderful and I heartily approve. I think cc’s are a wonderful idea period. If it wasn’t for a community college I might never had made it out of my hometown (metaphorically if not literally).

On the other hand, it’s important to carefully vet ideas in the public sphere.

“how can this possibly be a bad thing?”

Who knoww? That’s why it’s important to look at it from all angles.

One possible… unintended consequence. given the gpa requirement, might be some cc’s instituting tougher grading to get marginal students into the ‘has to pay’ column which could easily lead to lawsuits and other unpleasantness. And that took about 30 seconds to think up.

So my position is I’m provisionally for it (massive understatement). But scrutiny is good and it needs careful scrutiny before and during implementation.

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1. Clarissa
  
  January 10, 2015
  
  Yes! That’s precisely what I want. A careful discussion of this in the public sphere. There is nothing more important to discuss at this moment than the collapse of the nation-state and the measures we can take to make it less painful. We’ve been having great discussions here on the blog but this has to be more mainstream.
  
  Unfortunately, most people are so wedded to their overfed drama queenishness that no discussion is possible. One blogger I follow publishes regular features called “the worst people in the world ” about minor figures in politics or business. By now, half the country has been labeled the worst people but the blogger chugs along happily. Another blogger uses as his regular tag ” and this why we can’t have nice things. ” Is it any wonder why this caliber of thinker isn’t producing any insights?
  
  I’m in a crabby mood today. But yes, we’ll discuss this here on the blog and be brilliant as usual.
  
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2. Z
  
  January 10, 2015
  
  What worked under the CA master plan was that you were CC eligible if you had a high school diploma. CCs also had GED classes and vocational classes, and recreational classes, as well as academic classes. Cost was very very very low. I mean, when I was paying $600/year for the University of California, the CA state system was cheaper and the CC system still cheaper. So you never had to pay for CC although of course you could flunk out, get put on probation, etc. What is this about GPA requirements and “has to pay” columns? Everywhere that has free education has academic standards, and places that serve non elite students have academic amnesty programs and things like that for people who insist on flunking out.
  
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  1. Clarissa
    
    January 10, 2015
    
    The very idea that free access to higher education might be offered to everybody makes me happy to the point of tears. Can’t everybody see how sorely this is needed? Come look at my students who transfer from CC and how hard they work!
    
    I’m not directing these rants to my readers, obviously, but to the universe.
    
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  2. cliff arroyo
    
    January 10, 2015
    
    “What is this about GPA requirements and “has to pay” columns? ”
    
    I saw somewhere (don’t remember where) that maintaining a 2.5 GPA was a requirement for continued free access. That doesn’t seem too demanding but it could be a challenge in the beginning for those adapting to more serious education.
    
    I can imagine both some people thinking their grades are lowered on purpose and some administrators urging “higher standards” to increase the number of students below 2.5
    
    Not a huge problem but one worth thinking about some.
    
    Again the idea in and of itself is amazingly good (an Obama idea I like I must have a fever) but there will be kinks to be worked out.
    
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