Responsibility. Respect. Integrity. These are the core values that our school staff embraced some years back when asked to re-imagine our school discipline policies. A big emphasis of the PBIS (Positive Behavioral Interventions Support) system is to basically catch kids doing good. When students are exemplifying the core values, we are to recognize them for it, and tell them why. One of the ways we do this is to give out Charger Cards, which act as a sort of currency that students can exchange for items at the school store, or privileges such as getting to the front of the lunch line. It’s a positive way to encourage and reward students doing right.
Inspired by this, one of the things I aim to do with this blog is to give out Charger Cards to people, programs, and institutions that I see doing well and making the world a better place. It can be really easy to complain about all the problems in the world of education. Those who know me well can attest to that, as I’ve had many frustrating venting sessions with my friends and family, especially during Covid. Instead of focusing on what’s wrong, I’d like to shine a light on what I see as going right (or at least, the right direction).
Therefore, I hereby give my first Charger Card to…community college!
I love community college. Specifically, Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa, California. I absolutely struggled and clawed my way through middle and high school in my youth. Dealing with ADD and chronic depression during my teen years did not empower me to succeed in my academics, and I barely graduated with nary a superfluous credit on my transcript. While most of my friends were going off to four-year universities, I was just glad to be leaving high school with a real diploma. I distinctly remember my friend group stressing about SAT tests, while I couldn’t care less, since I knew I would never need them. You only need those if you plan on applying to university (activate galaxy brain meme here). Enter O.C.C.
Attending Orange Coast College was one of the best decisions I have ever made. It allowed me to further my education, stay at home and save money (there was no chance that I was mature enough to live on my own at that point in my life), and pay for it all with a part-time job. Back then a single credit cost $11 (yes, you read that correctly), which meant I could take 12 credits of classes for the low low price of $132. Heck, the textbooks cost more than the actual courses! I could go to classes in the morning, stop at Wahoo’s Fish Tacos for lunch, then work my part-time job from 1-5pm. Life was pretty great.
In addition to the low cost, O.C.C. gave me the opportunity to explore different subjects and careers. I wish I had the classic origin story of always knowing that I wanted to be a teacher, and that it called to me from an early age. Truth is, I had no clue what I wanted to do with my life. After completing much of my general ed courses, I stumbled into an elective called “Introduction to the Teaching Profession”. “Teacher” always came up as a possible career whenever I took those aptitude tests, so I figured I would give it a try. As part of the course I had to log observation hours in a school setting. I managed to do my hours at my old elementary school with my previous 4th grade teacher. I was hooked. It was just so much fun. I went home after that first day and realized that teaching was for me. This epiphany was delivered by a $33 elective course I could take on a whim because of its low cost.
Now, this was back in the mid-90’s. Today, at least at O.C.C., two years of community college tuition are actually free using the Pirate’s Promise program. I can’t imagine a better start to your higher education journey than free. Compare that with two years at Cal State Fullerton (about $14,000 for two years), UC Irvine (about $33,000 for two years), or Chapman University (about $165,000 for two years). I just can’t fathom graduating from college after four years with up to $330,000 in student loan debt (go Panthers!). I tried to figure out how long it would take to pay that off, and the online payoff calculator app just produced a sad face emoji.
Obviously, community college makes way more financial sense than most other options. The problem is, most of my students today laugh at the idea of attending schools like O.C.C. I bring these examples up in class all the time, especially when teaching about compound interest, and even when presented with the facts, they dismiss the idea. Keep in mind, these are middle school students. Long term planning is not exactly a strong attribute in a 13-year old. For whatever reason, community college still has a reputation as “not a real school” or “school for losers and dropouts” (real quotes from my students). Whether it’s societal, cultural, or familiar, these attitudes and misconceptions about higher education persist, and it drives me crazy.
Community college provides a low-cost, high value education to anyone who desires it. It features a flexible system that can work with many types of schedules, offering all who seek it ways to gain more education, skills, and opportunities. It is an amazing place to explore at low risk and perhaps find a career you never even considered. Because of this, community college receives my first Charger Card for being awesome.
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