Writing in a Community College

This is a passage that I wrote in response to a comment on the JCCC faculty association list that we should perhaps focus more on a business model at the school than on a "'pure' academic model."

It seems to me that the strength of a community college is that it has the potential to serve the needs of the community and, I would argue more importantly, stimulate its growth and development--intellectually as well as financially. Clearly, in addition to workplace readiness, a major perceived need of this community is to provide a jump start or re-start or re-configuration of transfer credit courses. That, in no way, diminishes the complementary mission of work readiness, business preparedness--whatever. But they are not the same.

I think a community college is unique in that it can offer a "'pure' academic model" and a workplace model side by side. The purposes and stakeholders are different. I suggest that we already do this to the extent that we offer particular science classes, let's say, for professional programs or targeted writing practice for certain certificate programs. It's not such a challenge to co-exist and to intermingle--universities do it day in and day out. The challenge, here, is for faculty and administrationto put students--instead of Banner--first.

The fact that I felt a need to explain the viability of co-existence of two complementary purposes reminded me that our faculty tends not to think in terms of the various functions of writing. They, I believe, perceive Comp I and II as do-all courses, when, in fact, we see these as prep for academic writing. I thought it especially interesting that on the trial version of their -- not my -- skills levels, the wording was such that almost all faculty saw Comp I as a prereq for their subject-area and certification classes when those of us in English teach Comp II specifically for that purpose.

We could, of course, design our courses to consolidate our divergent purposes, but that would mean that we had to start with an understanding of our purposes--and that simply won't occur. The arbitrary changes on the skills level statements that English had proposed is clear indication of that. What was approved looked like something out of the 1950's, and when I complained, I obviously hit a nerve, given the "energy" of the responses. The bottom line to me is that everyone thinks he/she understands English, but that we don't.