College Knowledge for the Community College Student

Chapter 5. Beyond the Basics: Get a High-Quality College Education

1. Make Yourself Part of the Scholarly Community Community college connotes different things to different people. We hope you’ll be one of those students who thinks of college as a scholarly community in which you get to spend a few years of your life with a group of people who are deeply engaged with ideas, exploration, questioning, discovery, analysis, and problem solving. To do so will most definitely put you in the right mindset for a successful community college experience. 96 5 CHAPT ER 5: Beyond the Basics 97 Consider for a moment some other ideas about college. We appreciate the fact that for some students, it is strictly a professional training ground where they are working on a certificate or credentials or are preparing for a career change. Still others think of it as a place of competition and endless judgment, tests, exams, and grades. Why are you encouraged to approach your community college experience as a scholarly or professional community? Even if you are taking a single class, it’s important to learn what you can from knowledgeable people in your field. As you continue your personal, social, professional, and intellectual growth, it’s healthier to do so in a supportive environment of thinking, caring people. Personal and social growth is, of course, essential, but what makes community college unique is the attention to analytic thinking , books, lectures, discussions, critical insights, discoveries, and information. You have the opportunity to be an active, contributing part of a collection of people, faculty, and students who are focused on learning, exploring, and thinking deeply about all sorts of issues and topics and inquiries. In terms of this aspect of community college, it’s important that you begin to self-identify as a scholar or a scholar apprentice. This piece of advice is not intended to pigeonhole you or limit you socially; in fact, it will probably do just the opposite. It will prevent you from becoming overly parochial by allowing you to grow and expand exponentially. College Knowledge/Community College Student 98 Once you enter community college, it’s actually very easy to become a part of the scholarly community. The hardest part is to make a shift in your mindset. Instead of thinking of coursework as a series of assignments, tests, and homework, think of it as a great opportunity for learning. Instead of thinking of your teachers as people who judge you and have control of grading, imagine them as mentors, fellow thinkers, senior colleagues, and scholarly friends and allies. Then look at bulletin boards or the school website to find different ways of joining the scholarly community. Attend guest lectures and talks on campus. Go to theater productions, art exhibits, and classical concerts. Read national and global newspapers. Peruse scientific and popular magazines that address intellectual issues. Visit instructors in their offices. Go to receptions, book signings, and poetry readings. Hang out with friends from your classes and talk about an exciting or controversial idea from your class that day. 2. Choose Good Instructors over Good Class Topics Always choose the best instructor when you are planning your class schedule for the next term. Course topics and descriptions will catch your attention in college, and you will have hundreds of courses to choose from each term. Course topics are without a doubt important; however, a good instructor will always trump a good course title or description. 5: Beyond the Basics 99 A good instructor will make any topic interesting and any course a worthwhile experience for you. You can get information and read about any topic or idea throughout your life. But a good instructor —or especially a great instructor—is a rare find, and you want to take full advantage of such an opportunity. Good instructors force you to think and learn. They will be demanding of you, but they will be even more demanding of themselves. They will expect you to contribute to the success of the class and come to class prepared each day. They will be available and accessible to you, and they will be interested in what you are learning from the class. Good instructors can be entertaining, but that’s only occasionally the case. In fact, although you may want to sit back in lectures and be entertained, you should make a careful distinction between faculty who stand out as good entertainers and those who are good instructors. Good...