In my ENGL 1101 class, I have my students start the semester by reading Caroline Bird’s “College is a Waste of Time and Money” (1975). It is an interesting piece to say the least as I am a big believer in discussing ideology and cultural myths with my freshmen students.  At first, the students are a bit taken aback by my enthusiasm for the piece and they wonder, “Why is my instructor having me read this?” Later, however, they understand the value of Bird’s argument in how she questions the very American ideals (i.e. ideologies and other cultural myths) that we hold near and dear to our hearts; even if you don’t agree with Bird’s premise, her argument is admirable and commands attention because she uses good logic, sound evidence, and does a great job of appealing to the reader’s emotions.

How does this relate to community colleges, you might ask? Well, I’ll tell you: community colleges are the alternative – and that’s if they are even considered at all in pursuit of one’s higher education. The first hope for most college students, especially my students at UGA, is that they get into a “BIG” four-year institution.  And it really doesn’t matter which one – Georgia Southern, UGA, who cares as long as it is a four-year college? When I ask them what other alternatives they considered, they give me a blank stare. “Alternatives? Why would I want to consider alternatives?” And this, my friends, is where the fun comes in….