The Mission of Junior Colleges

Becky Nicolaides’ article “Open-Door College Admission Is an Unkindness to the Ill-Prepared” (Opinion, April 28) illustrates the naivete shared by a few university professors who, for one reason for another, occasionally teach in a community college, while knowing little about the several missions of those colleges.

I’ve taught in community colleges much of the time since 1961, and most of my community college colleagues will agree with me when I say that community colleges are the last and best democratic statement about post-secondary public education that California is making.

Nicolaides complained that many of her community college students could not read beyond the third-grade level. She might be right. That’s one of the reasons that community colleges have remedial reading classes.

Nicolaides also complained that many of her students could not write. OK. So why not send them to a remedial writing course? We in the community college system are quite well prepared to teach anyone how to write. That is one of the missions of our colleges, to give some students a second chance at education.

I rejoice in knowing that California’s community colleges have taught welding technology, construction technology, radiologic technology, sonography, computer repair, automobile repair, business data processing, computer and office applications, emergency medical technology, neuro-diagnostic technology, quality production planning, court reporting, diesel technology and dozens of other well-paying skills to thousands of students over the years. I also rejoice about our sending other thousands to four-year colleges and universities quite well prepared for the academic work expected of them.

As a matter of fact, our transfer students from Orange Coast College do academically better on average in their junior and senior years at upper-division institutions than most of the students who attended those same colleges and universities as freshmen and sophomores. That’s because community college instructors care about preparing their students.

DON K. PIERSTORFF

Costa Mesa