1. What is the mission of the community college?
2. Does the United States view the achievement of a college education as
a right?
3. Does an open admission policy by community colleges and state 4 year
colleges provide no incentive for self directed student academic
motivation in the secondary schools?
4. Does the open admission policy invite or foster a "Peter Pan"
attitude among our high school students and graduates? (I can grow up
later)
5. Is there no economic benefit to the community colleges which accrues
from offering developmental courses?
6. What is the history of offering developmental courses? Was it the
brainchild of an admissions officer and comptroller who saw the
potential to increase revenues through increased admissions?
Other observations-please pardon any perceived cynicism. I intend none.
My perception is that many members of this list, and your colleagues owe
your positions-to greater or lesser extent-to the existence of
developmental math courses. Undoubtedly, the position announcements for
a great many of these positions included reference to developmental math
teaching. I believe two options present themselves. 1. Community
colleges can quit offering developmental courses, reducing the necessary
amount of college math teachers for a (all?) time (possibly resulting in
many of you joining me in the k-12 public education sector), or; 2.
lobby diligently for k-12 education monies to subsidize the community
college developmental math courses thereby reducing student, parent,
community, administrative and faculty committment to mathematics in the
k-12 curriculum to even lower standards than are currently popularly
perceived.
Richard Kern
Napaskiak
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