The Benefits of Community College
“Two Years Are Better Than Four”
The essay “Two Years Are Better Than Four” by Liz Addison is a response to Rick Perlstein’s “What’s the Matter with College?” piece. Addison is an advocate of the American community college system, which enabled her to reach her own goals of becoming a veterinarian student. Perlstein’s piece is a nostalgic description of what the four-year college experience used to entail for students, as he laments over the days where “pretentious reading lists was all it took to lift a child from suburbia” and when college “really mattered.” Addison argues that the community college offers a refuge that unconditionally allows students to “begin. Just begin.” The benefits of community colleges are highlighted throughout the essay as Addison explains how they allow students to develop themselves as learners and allow for independent growth. The “priceless springboard” that is the community college is therefore not only a gateway to higher education, but also serves as an institute for self discovery. This system is “America’s hidden public service gem” in which it is still possible to begin your college experience as a “rookie”. There is a chance for every citizen to advance their learning using this system and that that hope begins “with just one placement test”.
Thompson –Hale
2
I agree with Addison’s view on the American community college system. It offers a chance to every individual to begin his or her higher education. If the ambition and desire lies within a person, the community college enables for goals and aspirations to be achieved. As I was born and raised in London, England I too experienced the Great British education system. At fifteen years old I completed my secondary education with ten GCSEs (General Certificate of Secondary Education), which were formally known as O levels. It would seem as though with ten GCSEs as
The essay “Two Years Are Better Than Four” by Liz Addison is a response to Rick Perlstein’s “What’s the Matter with College?” piece. Addison is an advocate of the American community college system, which enabled her to reach her own goals of becoming a veterinarian student. Perlstein’s piece is a nostalgic description of what the four-year college experience used to entail for students, as he laments over the days where “pretentious reading lists was all it took to lift a child from suburbia” and when college “really mattered.” Addison argues that the community college offers a refuge that unconditionally allows students to “begin. Just begin.” The benefits of community colleges are highlighted throughout the essay as Addison explains how they allow students to develop themselves as learners and allow for independent growth. The “priceless springboard” that is the community college is therefore not only a gateway to higher education, but also serves as an institute for self discovery. This system is “America’s hidden public service gem” in which it is still possible to begin your college experience as a “rookie”. There is a chance for every citizen to advance their learning using this system and that that hope begins “with just one placement test”.
Thompson –Hale
2
I agree with Addison’s view on the American community college system. It offers a chance to every individual to begin his or her higher education. If the ambition and desire lies within a person, the community college enables for goals and aspirations to be achieved. As I was born and raised in London, England I too experienced the Great British education system. At fifteen years old I completed my secondary education with ten GCSEs (General Certificate of Secondary Education), which were formally known as O levels. It would seem as though with ten GCSEs as
Cited: Gerald Graff, Cathy Birkenstein et al. “They Say, I Say With Readings” 2nd edition, 2012.