Lower Education

Even the XXXL Clothing company is making fun of us

I have mixed feeling about the new NBC comedy Community. On the one hand, I am extremely flattered they made a show about my unexpected return to education. On the other hand, I disapprove of the writers’ characterization of the student body as a mélange of misfits and people with behavioral disorders.

Having attended both private art academies, with their hefty tuitions and the entitled students that can afford it, as well as community college, where the students often have to work to put themselves through school and most certainly will have to get a job afterwards, I feel more than a little defensive about the assumptions that are made in the name of comedy.

Granted, community college is not like a typical University. The student body varies widely in age, demographic, and general background. As a 30 year old returning to school, I am certainly not among the youngest students, but I am also not alone. I am one of many adults that have decided to reorient their career path towards something more stable or more lucrative. I am usually about the median age in a class, and I am not the only person who has already graduated from college.

I know where the shows’ creators are coming from. (I once referred to a friend's former community college as his alma mater, much to his embarrassment). There is, without a doubt, a stigma attached to community college. For one thing, there is often not really an admissions policy—I was “accepted” to the school merely by registering online and saying that I had completed high school—so the pride one might feel by getting accepted to a University is a bit watered down. For another, the sense of ‘community’ that one actually feels is lessened by the fact that many students are only attending part-time. This means it takes them much longer to complete their curriculum, and it means their schedules are more erratic—a reflection of the students’ work schedules outside of school. Ironically, a 4-year college is going to be much better at fostering a community, where friends and peers move in lockstep towards graduation and often remain friends for life.

This is not to say that I haven’t made any friends at my new school. I sort of have. The point is the very attitude of many of my classmates is different than it was among the fledgling artists I schooled with previously. Whereas college was a social rite of passage and an excuse to experiment, community college is just one more thing we have to get through to get paid. It’s not an escape from your parents’ house, or a place you go to party. It’s a goal-based education, and it feels like job training. It’s ok to make friends, but that isn’t why we’re here.

So, why are we here? If the show or the clichéd opinions surrounding community college are to be believed, it is because we fucked up. We dropped out of highschool. We got kicked out of a better college, or are too poor or too stupid to get into one. We made horrible decisions when we were younger. We invested $100,000 in an arts education and can’t seem to get a good return on it.

In a way, these things are true. But I worry they are voiced in a way that belies the optimism inherent in trying to get an education. By cynically sneering at someone who has changed their mind, or is trying to change their life, we miss the point and with it all the good aspects of community college.

You won’t find a lot of wealthy students at community college. You won’t find a lot of former valedictorians, or even the kind of people who could have coasted through their schooling. But this is exactly why community colleges are so important—they are an opportunity for those less fortunate and less prepared for a University education straight out of high school. They are an affordable way for people to better their lives.

Making the decision to go back to school, and to stick with it, is a difficult and worthy endeavor. For many of my classmates—myself included—this is their second chance to have a career they can be proud of. They can earn a decent wage for once. They can learn better study habits and complete something. They can accomplish their goals. The effects of these things cannot be measured. They are invaluable to the individual that achieves them. And the attempts at this are certainly nothing to make fun of.

It is true that not everyone will make it. Some of the people will just not have the skills or the support to finish. But this is no different than the fancy art academies I attended, or the University where I teach. None of them are foolproof, and they all have plenty of fools. I only hope that the writers of Community understand this and, in subsequent episodes, will attempt to portray some of the characters with the bit of pride and dignity they deserve. After all, no one is making us go to community college. We chose to do it, and I doubt any of us will regret it.

I would like to thank David Brooks, who wrote an inspiring article about Obama's spending bill to fund more community colleges. He made me feel proud of my decision.