Talk to Us, Mr. President

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/14/opinion/talk-to-us-mr-president.html

Version 0 of 1.

THERE is one last, great thing President Obama can do this spring for community colleges. It would be a capstone to all of his efforts over the past seven years: the American Graduation Initiative in 2009, when he told the country that the community colleges are “an undervalued asset”; the White House Summit on Community Colleges in 2010, at which he said community colleges were the “unsung heroes of America’s education system”; and last year’s State of the Union proposal “to lower the cost of community college — to zero.”

His critics are right to point out how little has changed in material terms (our graduation rate is still low, and most students still pay tuition), but as a community college instructor I can say that, in spiritual terms, he has helped immeasurably with the one resource that has most needed a boost: school pride.

Take it from my students. When Mr. Obama was first elected, I taught at Washtenaw Community College in Southeast Michigan, a school that was sandwiched between the University of Michigan and Eastern Michigan University. In my classrooms I always saw the bright, bold logos and snarling mascots of those four-year schools on students’ sweatshirts and hats, but almost never did someone wear something promoting our own, dear W.C.C. When I asked them about their pride in our school, some laughed, and most looked at me quizzically.

After one of these class conversations, I spoke further with a student, an Iraq war veteran and a young father. From his writing and from what he said in class, I had known him to be proud of his country, his family and his work, both in the Marines and in school. But he also spoke of his embarrassment at being a community college student. When he talked to people about being in college, he told me, “I tell them I go to a satellite school of U. of M.”

As another student once said in class, “I would say I’m proud of myself for going here, but I wouldn’t say I’m proud of the school.”

Why is there a difference? This is a problem.

What lies within the hearts and minds of students, I believe, reflects our regrettable public image. As much good as two-year schools have done over the last century, our “open door admissions” policy carries a stigma of being a college for students who couldn’t get into a “real” college.

I, too, have felt this stigma as someone who teaches in community colleges. When I was a graduate student, no one mentioned the community colleges when talking about the professorial “job market.” This is strange, considering how big the market is: 1,655 community colleges nationwide (according to the federal Department of Education), constituting 47 percent of all college students enrolled at a public institution. When I started teaching at W.C.C., I would often get an unreadable “nod” when I told people what I did for a living, as if I worked in some necessary but disturbing profession like mortuary science (a profession for which, I might mention, many community colleges have training programs).

The Obama presidency has changed this perception. In retrospect, I see the “unreadable nods” as probably knowing something about community colleges but not being used to talking about it. Only last year did I learn that a longtime neighbor, a university professor, once took a summer literature class “at the local junior college,” as he put it, “and I loved it.” My dental hygienist had always talked to me about a niece of hers who went to a community college, but only recently did she mention her own community college degree.

As for my students: I must confess that most of them didn’t like Mr. Obama’s 2015 State of the Union address because of the line that community colleges should be as “universal as high school.” They felt that this would give the associate degree the value a high school diploma has now, which isn’t much.

Other than that, my students’ responses have been overwhelmingly positive. Here they are, diligently working in the shadow of a negative public image, and they find themselves the subject of great value in the words of the president. I’ll never forget repeating the “unsung heroes” line to my class. “Did you hear that?!” I asked. “Our president thinks we’re heroes!”

“That feels good,” one student answered.

I agree. We may not have a fight song, but it has been extraordinary to have our president as our biggest cheerleader.

So here’s that one last, great thing Mr. Obama can do for us: Speak at a community college graduation. The foundation of community college school spirit will certainly be one of his legacies, and the president should have a crowd robed in bright, bold colors to thank him in return.