The struggle is the blessing.
I worked my way through CC (working at a golf course during the day, delivering newspapers in the wee hours, classes at night). I started three companies while I was earning my bachelors that are now collectively worth over $50 million.
I wouldn't trade that struggle for anything. It's what made me.
Free rides will be valued like anything we get for free.
I say, let people struggle. It's good for the soul.
I worked my way through CC (working at a golf course during the day, delivering newspapers in the wee hours, classes at night). I started three companies while I was earning my bachelors that are now collectively worth over $50 million.
I wouldn't trade that struggle for anything. It's what made me.
Free rides will be valued like anything we get for free.
I say, let people struggle. It's good for the soul.
20
Thank you Tom Hanks for your timely piece on the importance of community college education. And thank you Pres. Obama for your new initiative in providing such an education to all Americans. Finally, thank you readers for sharing how community college set you on a path and changed your lives. As a CC teacher, I love all your stories and I'm proud to be part of an institution that helps shape the lives of others who then go on to make great or small yet still positive changes in society and in others' lives. In a world sometimes bent on its own destruction, we can find contentment in all of your precious words and deeds.
40
Reading about his experiences in classes, especially paraphrasing the encyclopedia, only depressingly reminds me that, even back then, most college instruction is garbage.
2
FWIW, My daughter had mediocre high school grades, she enrolled in the local community college (not from from the school Tom Hanks attended), then, two years later, transferred to and graduated from a university rated in the UNWR top 25!
17
Tom Hanks, you are a mensch! Thank you.
18
Saint Petersburg Junior College, 1969/70, after four years military. Matriculated USF, BA 1972. Four USPTO patents and two successful companies. Happily, comfortably retired. The Obama program is a no brainer.
26
Thank you Tom Hanks, you are a builder of hope and dreams. Yes, we may not all turn out to be a Tom Hanks, but your article takes the stigma and the thumbs down off the community college. By personalizing your experience you have shown us how fine, honorable and mind expanding the experience of college can be, giving a great thumbs up to your alma mater's teachers, curriculum and range of mind enhancing courses at the local, all accepting community college that took you on and gave you your everything. Thank you, thank you!
took you on and gave you everything. Thank you, thank you!
took you on and gave you everything. Thank you, thank you!
16
He makes a great case for the liberal arts as well. Some folks just want to talk about technical schools or trade schools, but we know the liberal arts are as necessary as any STEM class in our schools. Life is art and we'd all be better off remembering this!
28
But if we have free community college, where will we have the money to give tax breaks to corporation and the rich? I mean, private planes and yachts aren't going to sell themselves...
43
Neither Obama nor this article nor any of the posts here tell us how "free" community college will be paid for. The average college freshman now reads at a 7th grade level and we have the lowest SAT scores in history. Can we put aside the emotional binging and be serious adults for a minute? Will more "free" top down, government run, public education really fix anything?
$19 trillion in debt...ooops sorry for intruding any reality into the discussion.
$19 trillion in debt...ooops sorry for intruding any reality into the discussion.
12
I'm so pleased to read this that I'm practically in tears! While we have 2 amazing, high-achieving daughters, every kid is different, and if a basketball coach at DeAnza Community College (across SF Bay from Chabot) hadn't noticed our son in a CIF play-off game, I have no idea what turn his life would have taken. He saw at DeAnza that there were kids far worse off than he was, struggling for their education, and he transferred and graduated from the school where Tom Hanks studied theater, Sacramento State University. He was an English major and graduated this past May. I tell anyone who will listen how great it can be to take the path of community college and see where it leads. Our son had two wonderful English teachers at his public high school (Menlo-Atherton) who believed in him and let him into their AP classes; otherwise, he barely scraped by, and didn't apply to ANY 4-year colleges! Community college and the CSU system in California are wonderful resources, and I'm happy Tom Hanks expressed it so well!
20
I attended GoldenWest College in Huntington Beach 1976-1977 not because I could not get into college, but because I could afford it - free - it was in my neighborhood, and it allowed me to get 2 years of requirements out of the way and then move on to a 4 year school. I loved my time at GWJC and I aced everything I took. It gave me the confidence I lacked in high school where it was not cool, at the time, to be smart. At GWJC I saw that I could be as smart, and do as well as I wanted, without anyone telling me it was "not cool." I went on to a 4 year school, graduate school and my Doctorate on scholarships propelled by the lessons I learned at my JC. I am not an exception to some rule. I believe many people who go to JC can learn the same lessons I did.
It has been sad to see the JC system changed in California putting it out of the reach of the people who need it most. I have learned that in order to be competitive in the employment marketplace it is imperative to have a College, if not a Master's Degree. Short of this, we are creating a class of people who will be marginally employed and incapable of scraping enough money together to live in my home county of Orange.
The lessons I learned from GoldenWest JC also played an important role in guiding my children's education both of whom are attending 4 year colleges on scholarships. They worked hard in high school and excelled in all their subjects making both their Mom and I proud parents.
It has been sad to see the JC system changed in California putting it out of the reach of the people who need it most. I have learned that in order to be competitive in the employment marketplace it is imperative to have a College, if not a Master's Degree. Short of this, we are creating a class of people who will be marginally employed and incapable of scraping enough money together to live in my home county of Orange.
The lessons I learned from GoldenWest JC also played an important role in guiding my children's education both of whom are attending 4 year colleges on scholarships. They worked hard in high school and excelled in all their subjects making both their Mom and I proud parents.
11
Wow - thank you, Mr. Hanks! I read this with tears in my eyes. What a concise, sweet-natured reminder of what education is all about: bringing the world to each of us hungry enough to receive it. It doesn't have to cost an arm and a leg to change a life.
13
If this is what democratic socialism looks like, sign me up.
I want to live in -- and have my taxes go to -- a more egalitarian country that provides all its citizens education (pre-K through grad/trade school), healthcare and a standard of living akin to places like the Netherlands, Denmark and the Scandinavian countries that value their citizenry.
Thank you, Mr. Hanks. Great piece.
I want to live in -- and have my taxes go to -- a more egalitarian country that provides all its citizens education (pre-K through grad/trade school), healthcare and a standard of living akin to places like the Netherlands, Denmark and the Scandinavian countries that value their citizenry.
Thank you, Mr. Hanks. Great piece.
34
American River College in Sacramento; Sacramento State; studied abroad at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand, and got my MA at the University of Missouri. ... I'm a long-time high school teacher who has also dabbled as a community college adjunct professor, and I tell students all the time that if they get a four-year degree, they don't put an asterisk on it noting that you started at a community college. It's a great option for many students, for all kinds of reasons. I hope President Obama's proposal survives the process at least somewhat intact and goes into effect ...
13
Hear, hear!
I too left high school in England with indifferent grades and was lucky enough to have forbearing parents who allowed me to let off some steam. Three years later, I enrolled in a community college in South London that sadly no longer exists, worked hard, got good grades and ended up at the State University of New York. Masters degrees at McGill and Columbia Universities followed and then a career in journalism.
Now I have returned to teach writing part-time at the Community College of Rhode Island - the biggest in New England despite our diminutive iceberg size - and could not be happier. I have nothing but respect and affection for these colleges and the heroic stories being enacted within.
The move to make them tuition-free for a couple of years is a magnificent idea - generous and far sighted. Bravo!
I too left high school in England with indifferent grades and was lucky enough to have forbearing parents who allowed me to let off some steam. Three years later, I enrolled in a community college in South London that sadly no longer exists, worked hard, got good grades and ended up at the State University of New York. Masters degrees at McGill and Columbia Universities followed and then a career in journalism.
Now I have returned to teach writing part-time at the Community College of Rhode Island - the biggest in New England despite our diminutive iceberg size - and could not be happier. I have nothing but respect and affection for these colleges and the heroic stories being enacted within.
The move to make them tuition-free for a couple of years is a magnificent idea - generous and far sighted. Bravo!
17
Both my husband and I graduated from Suffolk County Community College in Selden, NY. He subsequently graduated with a degree in Engineering from SUNY Stony Brook. After three children, I eventually graduated from SUNY Empire State College (a wonderful experience!), and then went on to the Theological School at Drew University where I received my M.Div. As an ordained minister I have known many young people to flourish at community colleges. Like Mr. Hanks, I, too, frequently think of and give thanks for the fine professors who changed my life.
14
Wow, do all people who go to community college become successful movie stars?
2
What a wonderful article.
I do hope congress will read it!
Thank you for sharing your experience.
I do hope congress will read it!
Thank you for sharing your experience.
15
Freaking brilliant. Thank you, Mr. Hanks, for this thoughtful and candid piece. I try to convince students, particularly those with lower GPAs, that community colleges are a very good option and great stepping stone.
17
I attended The Fashion Instutute of Technology in New York back in the mid 70's (graduated in the Spring of 75) when it was still a two year Community College. I studied commercial photography there. I'm proud and happy to say that to this day, I'm a working professional photographer at Hudson Valley Community College in Troy New York. Another fine community college in the SUNY system.
13
I graduated from Chabot as well. I attended at the same time that you did Tom. Otto Mielenz (spelling?), the choir conductor and musicology instructor changed my life. He trained Jimmy Webb, writer of many of Glen Campbell's best recordings. I went from Chabot to the army and back to Chabot to graduate. Then off to Chico state at $95.00 a semester and then to a much more expensive ($30K) MBA years later. And I can honestly say that I learned more at Chabot and had better instructors than I did borrowing $30K for an MBA. Today I make a good living as a financial advisor (one of my clients is your friend Sunny from Sac state). I still sing in the choir and think about Otto often. I am all for anything that helps more people get the kind of training available at schools like Chabot College, Hayward, CA.
22
Mr. Hanks' essay is eloquent testimony and support for what our community colleges can provide to those who want to pursue a college education, but may not be ready or have the means to go directly into a 4 year college experience. I hope our elected representatives in DC can see their way to support this initiative because it will lay a great foundation for addressing many of the ills facing our country.
10
Yup. Graduated Bakersfield (CA) High School 1963, did a year at the local J.C., went to Europe for 3 years, came back, did another year at the J.C. to show colleges I could *do upper level work, was accepted at UCLA, transferred to UC Berkeley, graduated and onward and upward. Well, sort of upward. In retrospect, I'm glad I had that opportunity since my kids haven't all had it. The world has changed in the meantime and excellent degrees from prestigious universities don't necessarily mean anything.
2
Community college changed my life! I never imagined I would be teaching at a community college but here I am after retiring from law enforcement and attaining a masters. I am having the time of my life!! I look forward to going to work with the same enthusiasm I had as a cop. I not only teach criminal justice but bring it to life in the classroom having been immersed in it for years!! Others did research from the outside while I had the inside scoop!! I enjoy opening up my students eyes to the reality of the justice system versus what they often see on television or in the media ( sorry NYT's). To the Congress of this nation, education can only help our future....while you may be only concerned with the here and now, students are taking on debt that will go with them to the grave....this is unacceptable and not what this country was built on! To the academics at 4 year universities...stop looking down on my students....they were actually smarter by going to the community college...they saved money and learned from individuals who care and will have your university's name on their degree. To the taxpayers, support education to show support for self sufficiency!
Thank you Mr. Tom Hanks!!
Thank you Mr. Tom Hanks!!
8
It really is a small world..I attended Chabot College around the same time,and also took a public speaking class there..I don't remember Tom,but really felt much the same as he has reflected in his observations. Hats off to Mr. Hanks for sharing his thoughts regarding the importance of community colleges and the need to keep them available to all...
9
Right on Tom Hanks! I attended Chabot College the same time as you (back in the day). I had to drop out because, well, life got in the way. I was able to return and earned my first college degree in 2011, transferred to CSU East Bay and earned my second degree. Chabot still remains a top-notch school just a bit more pricey! As well, I hope President Obama is successful in creating a free community college experience for all.
5
At 50 I'm attending for the first time community college. While back in my office, quickly scarfing down my lunch, just one hour removed from attending new student orientation at Schenectady County Community College I find Tom's article. What an inspiration! Thank you Tom and thank you NYTimes for publishing it.
14
I have to show this to all my friends who attended state and city colleges and universities in NY and ask them how they became conservatives and now advocate shutting down public higher education. Thanks to Tom Hanks!
10
It looks as if Chabot also taught you how to write, Mr. Hanks. What a lovely piece. It also reminds of the generous side of America. We forget what a huge leg-up the GI Bill gave to everyone, including people who became great artists. To go to art school at a university nowadays, it helps to be a scion of the one-per-cent. I hope President Obama's initiative works.
11
amen, amen, amen!
thanks for writing this, tom.
thanks for writing this, tom.
4
Wonderful!!! The same can be said for the 36 Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCU). I worked at a Tribal College for nine years and saw first hand how they can transform the lives and communities of American Indian students. For more information on TCUs visit http://www.aihec.org/
4
Thank you Tom Hanks for sharing your experience with Community College. What is not said in your piece, but is implied, is that it is no longer enough to have a high school diploma in order to thrive in our economy Our democracy has seen fit to not question the free access to k-12 to everyone who can attend. It makes complete sense, in today's technologically dependent and global economy, to guarantee access to at least some level of college education, when we know, having anything less would be irresponsible.
3
Two years of free community college tuition? As Bill Murray once asked: "Is this a trick question?" Like David Sheppard, I was a classic underachiever. I went to Bakersfield College (almost for free in those days). Then on to UC Santa Barbara, Boston University and University of Nevada. BC offered the best teaching I had ever received, squared away my wandering, still-adolescent brain and set me on a life-long pathway of self-learning, and productive taxpaying. Next to ACA, this is the best idea to come out of the Obama Administration. This is a no-brainer, and the GOPs should get the hint. Go BC Renegades!
6
I love Community Colleges BUT.....when something is free it is never valued as much. Students should have some sort of copay. My children all put themselves through college (utilizing community colleges at various times) and I don't think they would have the appreciation for their education that they now have if it had been handed to them.
BTW Tom, veterans get a free education. When my son got frustrated trying to pay for college he joined the military. Now he has a degree from ASU.
BTW Tom, veterans get a free education. When my son got frustrated trying to pay for college he joined the military. Now he has a degree from ASU.
3
I attended West Palm Beach Junior College after returning from Vietnam. I loved geography and, strangely, physics ... subjects I still adore. Junior College was free for me courtesy of Uncle Sam. It was my one and only shot at higher education. It proved to be enough.
3
As to the costs of education (vs. endless war!), Derek Bok made this very wise observation: "If you think education is expensive, try ignorance".
13
In the early 80s I was in my mid 20s, visiting the unemployment office for the first time. And like Tom, I was no scholar in High School. In fact I wasn't included in my yearbook because nobody thought I'd graduate with my class.
Anyway, to make a long story short, a future mentor of mine was there at the office with literature about a state program that would let me take a few Comunity College classes for free while I was out of work.
That changed my life.
Now, for all of "boot strappers" out there, I likely would NOT have gone on to college if not for that little helping hand. I was too busy trying to support myself - the idea of spending when I was broke, down and out just would not have occurred to me!
I did well at North Shore Community College, transferred, and got my BA. That opened up a world of opportunities I otherwise would not have had.
And I PAY my TAXES with GRATITUDE, hoping some other "less entitled" folks will get a break like I did.
Thank you Tom Hanks for sharing YOUR compelling story!
David Conners
Anyway, to make a long story short, a future mentor of mine was there at the office with literature about a state program that would let me take a few Comunity College classes for free while I was out of work.
That changed my life.
Now, for all of "boot strappers" out there, I likely would NOT have gone on to college if not for that little helping hand. I was too busy trying to support myself - the idea of spending when I was broke, down and out just would not have occurred to me!
I did well at North Shore Community College, transferred, and got my BA. That opened up a world of opportunities I otherwise would not have had.
And I PAY my TAXES with GRATITUDE, hoping some other "less entitled" folks will get a break like I did.
Thank you Tom Hanks for sharing YOUR compelling story!
David Conners
9
Times are different and while it is great to show that even the humble community college can exert a great influence on a person's life, there has to be both a desire and and an OPPORTUNITY to succeed. I have no doubt that there are many with the desire, but even now the Senate is going to present legislation to make it EASIER for American employers to hire FOREIGN STEM graduates via H1B visas. SO while the government on one hand wants to blow billions on "free" education" it is also backhanding those potential graduate/employees by allowing their educations to go to waste by not providing job incentives.
I too am a product of the local CC, started in 1961 and many years and 3 degrees later got a job in what turned out to be a very tough job market. The market seems to be even worse today for our college graduates. We still have PhDs driving taxis and who knows, maybe even for Uber.
The nature of the world has changed and yes, we need an educated worker/citizen/voter class who should be able to afford their local CC because they can afford iphones, and the costs for them, game consoles,
cable tv so they can watch the movies produced by you, Mr Hanks. It may be that this generation just wants too much for free, and the president wants to make political gestures, but I think that the USA needs to first put their efforts into making certain that ANY current graduate will get a job he /she is qualified for before an H1B visa holder.
I too am a product of the local CC, started in 1961 and many years and 3 degrees later got a job in what turned out to be a very tough job market. The market seems to be even worse today for our college graduates. We still have PhDs driving taxis and who knows, maybe even for Uber.
The nature of the world has changed and yes, we need an educated worker/citizen/voter class who should be able to afford their local CC because they can afford iphones, and the costs for them, game consoles,
cable tv so they can watch the movies produced by you, Mr Hanks. It may be that this generation just wants too much for free, and the president wants to make political gestures, but I think that the USA needs to first put their efforts into making certain that ANY current graduate will get a job he /she is qualified for before an H1B visa holder.
4
Thanks, Tom Hanks!! This is my story too, with a few substitutions - Monterey Peninsula College instead of Chabot, I didn't avoid the math classes, I kept on through grad school, and I am notably not a movie star.
BUT - community college was the first step to a long professional career in international finance. Who'da thunk.
BUT - community college was the first step to a long professional career in international finance. Who'da thunk.
7
I was really moved by this essay.....it is my experience as well. I now have a PhD but I owe so much to that first state school I attended with tuition of $95 a semester (it was not free in NJ). We need to encourage our kids to go to school.
2
Thanks Mr. Hanks for writing this article. Many children are late bloomers and need to mature before going lock-step to college at age 17 or 18. I think this is the best idea I have heard in a long time!!! We need to invest in our citizens for once.
6
Like Tom Hanks, I graduated high school (1964) as less than a stellar student. I flunked out of San Jose State after one year. Three years in the Army motivated me. I enrolled at Modesto Junior College where, again like Tom Hanks, I found I was actually a good student. I eventually made it through grad school - then taught for 3-years at El Paso Community College where I saw students just like myself. After retiring from the business world, I now enjoy tutoring at our local community college - hoping to give back to the system.
Today’s community colleges cost a lot more - often an obstacle.
President Obama’s initiative would give today’s students the same access I enjoyed 50-years ago. It will be the best investment ever!
Today’s community colleges cost a lot more - often an obstacle.
President Obama’s initiative would give today’s students the same access I enjoyed 50-years ago. It will be the best investment ever!
4
Beautiful. Thanks, Tom. As a student you probably were not in a position to know that Mr. Coovelis, Ms. Fitzgerald, Mr. Kennedy, and the “wonderful professors” and “great teachers” some of the commenters describe from their community college experiences were in fact exhaustingly overworked and sadly underpaid. It would be great if the new Obama program and the new attention to community colleges brought greater respect and remuneration for these dedicated professionals.
6
Very nice article. Tom Hanks is a kind and thoughtful soul. There are many roads to success. Some are shorter and less traveled. No one other than God and the traveler get to decide how it will all turn out.
1
A beautiful reminder that, for all of our culture's glorification of athletes, pop stars and Wall Street titans, there's nothing like a dedicated and inspiring teacher when it comes to changing lives for the better.
8
THIS: "I hope the idea sticks, because more veterans, from Iraq and Afghanistan this time, as well as another generation of mothers, single parents and workers who have been out of the job market, need lower obstacles between now and the next chapter of their lives."
3
Me too. Thank you, Tom Hanks.
I went to Jr. College as an unmotivated student after High School. Got married at 20 and decided to be a serious student. Then I went to Texas State U and made deans list for 5 semesters while there. Applied to Cornell, was accepted and eventually got a Ph.D. there with the financial assistance of the GI Bill after serving 5 years in the USAF. I ended my career recently having been a college professor for 37 years.
Jr. College is a great place to start one's college career, but heed the caution however: if you do really poorly in Jr. College, you will not have the GPA to transfer to a 4-year college...you'll be stuck! I almost was.
I went to Jr. College as an unmotivated student after High School. Got married at 20 and decided to be a serious student. Then I went to Texas State U and made deans list for 5 semesters while there. Applied to Cornell, was accepted and eventually got a Ph.D. there with the financial assistance of the GI Bill after serving 5 years in the USAF. I ended my career recently having been a college professor for 37 years.
Jr. College is a great place to start one's college career, but heed the caution however: if you do really poorly in Jr. College, you will not have the GPA to transfer to a 4-year college...you'll be stuck! I almost was.
3
What a wonderful story and it became even better after I read the author's name at the end. Three cheers for Tom and junior colleges.
2
As a proud alum of Cabrillo College in Aptos, California (which just announced free tuition to Santa Cruz County residents) I had a very similar experience as Mr. Hanks. I got my grounding and moved on to university. I LOVED LARRY CROWNE and it reminded me of my community college days. Thanks Hanks!
5
Of course the right will oppose this. Anything that will contribute to a better educated populace capable of critical though – enough so that they can comprehend when they are being persuaded to take a position against their own best interest (like free community college) is something they’ll refuse to back and they'll attempt to support their position with arguments like “cost too much” or “government intervention”. Looking forward to hearing the talking heads on Fox News attempt to demonstrate how free education is communist and/or unpatriotic. The sooner the U.S. can obtain a better educated group of voters, the sooner this country’s poor and middle class can make much needed progress in terms of wages and quality of life. $60 billion - is that all? Replace the line on the 1040 for presidential election campaign fund contributions and substitute it with a request for funding this initiative.
8
Tom says "...Congress will squawk at the $60 billion price tag, but I hope the idea sticks, because more veterans, from Iraq and Afghanistan this time.....need lower obstacles between now and the next chapter of their lives." But, Tom, that money, like the trillion tax dollars already spent on the War in Iraq, could be so much more constructively spent on sending more soldiers to fight and die in more unnecessary wars.
1
Thank you for this column, Mr. Hanks! As an alum of Portland Community College I can also attest to the transformative and important role community colleges play in providing opportunity for those not ready for, or unable to attend more costly, four-year institutions. I also whole-heartedly support President Obama's initiative to expand access to these invaluable institutions!
3
Right on! Obama has made no better decision in all his years in office.
1
popularize community colleges to the masses and they will become an extended high school. these anecdotes are from the past when you didn't have a nanny state and students at community colleges were motivated , responsible adults in every sense of the world.
2
Like Mr. Hanks, I too, was an underachieving high school student who wound up in a community college in the 1970s. I, too, gained valuable exposure to a student body comprised of veterans, mothers, and other people not normally found in regular undergraduate programs. And I discovered what I would do professionally for 35 years after I graduated from a 4-year college. I'm no Tom Hanks, but I'm grateful for what a community college provided me.
I am appalled that the community college system has come to be so expensive that people like my godson are becoming buried in debt just because they want to explore educational possibilities after high school. President Obama's initiative is a step in the right direction to make higher education affordable to everyone.
Thanks, Mr. Hanks, for your spot-on essay.
I am appalled that the community college system has come to be so expensive that people like my godson are becoming buried in debt just because they want to explore educational possibilities after high school. President Obama's initiative is a step in the right direction to make higher education affordable to everyone.
Thanks, Mr. Hanks, for your spot-on essay.
6
If this program can get more welders, pipe fitters and carpenters along with some auto mechanics and small engine repair then I'm all for it. I just want my tax dollars paying for real skills to make folks have jobs that will give them a life they can enjoy.
You should see what a welder can make these days.
You should see what a welder can make these days.
4
Thank you for publishing Mr. Hanks' useful comments. The $60 billion price tag is, however, for 10 years, so it's a pretty cheap program at only $6 billion per year. If Congress objects, it shouldn't, considering that corporate welfare in the form of tax breaks to industry totaled $154 billion in the single year 2013 (http://reclaimdemocracy.org/corporate-welfare-tax-breaks-subsidies/). The community college plan is a bargain!
6
The author betrays a certain facility of expression. But he errs in at least one crucial respect: the plural of anecdote is not data. There is ONE Tom Hanks; a substantial number of community college students have no business being anywhere near a college.
Leave aside that the author apparently studied John Adams, yet utterly fails to comprehend the proper limits on federal authority. He attended; I taught. Far too many students (in an exceptionally wealthy portion of an exceptionally wealth state) couldn’t write, reason, or think.
Statistics confirm my professorial experience. Roughly half of the beneficiaries of NJ’s program for our “best” students required remedial ed. And it’s worse in urban areas.
Another author with a flair for language – Jean Shepherd – once called the GI Bill the bane of many a competent plumber’s helper. But those men served in return for their education. Nothing is ever “free”; presumably Profs Coovelis, Fitzgerald, and Kennedy expected to be paid.
Mr. Hanks appears to have been a lazy student; many of us share that dubious distinction. Perhaps he (as I) took a while to comprehend the value of a good education. But the taxpayers do not exist to underwrite the collegiate education of those who offer nothing in return.
Soldiers already – properly – have their GI benefits; they earned them. People who want something from someone else should be prepared to pay for it. One would think Captain Miller would understand that.
Leave aside that the author apparently studied John Adams, yet utterly fails to comprehend the proper limits on federal authority. He attended; I taught. Far too many students (in an exceptionally wealthy portion of an exceptionally wealth state) couldn’t write, reason, or think.
Statistics confirm my professorial experience. Roughly half of the beneficiaries of NJ’s program for our “best” students required remedial ed. And it’s worse in urban areas.
Another author with a flair for language – Jean Shepherd – once called the GI Bill the bane of many a competent plumber’s helper. But those men served in return for their education. Nothing is ever “free”; presumably Profs Coovelis, Fitzgerald, and Kennedy expected to be paid.
Mr. Hanks appears to have been a lazy student; many of us share that dubious distinction. Perhaps he (as I) took a while to comprehend the value of a good education. But the taxpayers do not exist to underwrite the collegiate education of those who offer nothing in return.
Soldiers already – properly – have their GI benefits; they earned them. People who want something from someone else should be prepared to pay for it. One would think Captain Miller would understand that.
Tom Hanks for President in 2016!
2
I wonder how many people understand how bold Mr. Obama's proposal really is. Bold as in "traditional Democratic-Party values," which many living American voters have never seen coming from the White House -- or from much of anywhere for that matter. Friends, that's bold. Senator George McGovern would be pleased.
2
AWESOME article. I'm a Chabot Alum myself! Praying that our President can get this bill passed. I work in Higher Ed, at a Community College and it's disheartening to see students drop out, just because they cannot afford college!
6
I wonder if Tom Hanks would so cheerfully recommend all who want to go into acting since it worked so well for him?
1
I think I saw a movie about an undergraduate Tom Hanks at MIT. In fact, I think Tom Hanks was in it.
Lost in translation: Mr. Hanks was born to a special Mrs. Hanks who shared the family lineage with another Mrs. Hanks, mother of President Abraham Lincoln. Thus may be he was genetically destined to shine in life, community college or not, just thinking out loud!
Wow without community college we wouldn't have Tom Hanks…a great actor indeed..but actors are not education experts and/or policy makers.
Nothing in this world is Free and Community College shouldn't be either..you want an education at a CC…pump gas on the night shift and you can afford it.
Once it is free, the unions will get hold of the it and ruin it just like public K-12 and most of our colleges as well. Pie in the sky ideas again from the President…taking more tax payer money and giving it to people who may or may not need it and making the producers pay for the slackers is exactly why the country is on the down side on a huge mountain.
There is no free lunch unless of course you are a worthless taker. The Government should not be in the business of redistribution wealth from those that pay taxes to those whose lives rely on government intervention.
Want college …you pay for it.
Nothing in this world is Free and Community College shouldn't be either..you want an education at a CC…pump gas on the night shift and you can afford it.
Once it is free, the unions will get hold of the it and ruin it just like public K-12 and most of our colleges as well. Pie in the sky ideas again from the President…taking more tax payer money and giving it to people who may or may not need it and making the producers pay for the slackers is exactly why the country is on the down side on a huge mountain.
There is no free lunch unless of course you are a worthless taker. The Government should not be in the business of redistribution wealth from those that pay taxes to those whose lives rely on government intervention.
Want college …you pay for it.
1
Thank you Tom for telling your story.
2
You would have LOVED my human sexuality class. Now....there's a script for ya!
As a professor, my greatest fear is that colleges and universities are becoming more and more "elitist" institutions. When today's student fills out the government required FAFSA (federal student aid application), the student is given what is referred to as the family's "EFC"--Expected Family Contribution.
My husband and were middle class and had *four* children in college simultaneously. Our EFC? $30 thousand PER STUDENT. Yes--the federal gov't expected that we had an extra $120k out on a tree that we could easily attain and send our boys off to school...and still have money to live on ourselves.
The current system is broken and is in desperate need of change. There are many of us within the institution who do our best to help students who financially struggle, but the need is so great and the ways in which to help are so few.
Hats off to a well written column, and here's to hoping for a brighter future for ALL who desire to obtain a college education.
As a professor, my greatest fear is that colleges and universities are becoming more and more "elitist" institutions. When today's student fills out the government required FAFSA (federal student aid application), the student is given what is referred to as the family's "EFC"--Expected Family Contribution.
My husband and were middle class and had *four* children in college simultaneously. Our EFC? $30 thousand PER STUDENT. Yes--the federal gov't expected that we had an extra $120k out on a tree that we could easily attain and send our boys off to school...and still have money to live on ourselves.
The current system is broken and is in desperate need of change. There are many of us within the institution who do our best to help students who financially struggle, but the need is so great and the ways in which to help are so few.
Hats off to a well written column, and here's to hoping for a brighter future for ALL who desire to obtain a college education.
3
Thanks for this great essay. I am stunned and disheartened by the snobbism people exhibit in discussions about community college. I try my best, in my small way, to correct folks' thinking with stories of the community college in my hometown in New England. This column should straighten out many doubters' thinking on the subject.
1
Me too. I put myself through community college by driving tow trucks and working as a third shift pipe fitter.
Opportunity is where you find it. Today I employ over 900 workers and never have to go hungry again.
Opportunity is where you find it. Today I employ over 900 workers and never have to go hungry again.
2
Tom Hanks, This piece is spot on. You Da Man!
BB Kaplin (Big cheerleader for Bronx Community College)
BB Kaplin (Big cheerleader for Bronx Community College)
1
Thank you Mr. Hanks! One of life's most important lessons: It's the character and determination of the person, not the status of a school! We need to give every person the right to try!
3
A love letter to the LIBERAL ARTS as much as to affordable access to college. We're so focused on job outcome and preparation, it's great to read a story that reminds us all that not all paths are linear, and that studying the arts, reading great writers, learning critical thinking enriches and prepares in ways that are not always quantifiable.
3
I read the article, loving every word. Yes, I got my teaching start at a community college is California. The former student wrote everything I knew was true about a community college. Later, when I taught political science at San Diego State University, I continued to teach at Grossmont College, telling my students at the end of each semester, "When you transfer into SDSU, do not become a SDSU student."
It was only after I finished reading this article, that I read the author's name.
Julie Sullivan
It was only after I finished reading this article, that I read the author's name.
Julie Sullivan
1
Catch the bus to downtown and go to class. Repeat until graduation. I never got any dumber at Cuyahoga Community College. They had everything there but a football trade school.
1
Thank you Mr. Hanks,
I will say only as to myself, me, too! And as to your conclusions, absolutely!
Again, thanks! And thank you NYT for your similar-minded editorials. Education was important in my day, but seems even more so in these times. It's perhaps the strongest basis for hope that we can restore equal opportunity and be prepared for even faster technology changes to come.
Right on, Tom!
I will say only as to myself, me, too! And as to your conclusions, absolutely!
Again, thanks! And thank you NYT for your similar-minded editorials. Education was important in my day, but seems even more so in these times. It's perhaps the strongest basis for hope that we can restore equal opportunity and be prepared for even faster technology changes to come.
Right on, Tom!
1
I wholeheartedly agree with Mr. Hanks.
My older brother convinced me to, at the very least, get a Liberal Arts Degree so that by the time I did know what I wanted to do, the credits would transfer. I did and they did.
I'd be curious to know how many in Congress attending Community College. Any fact-finders out there know the answer?
My older brother convinced me to, at the very least, get a Liberal Arts Degree so that by the time I did know what I wanted to do, the credits would transfer. I did and they did.
I'd be curious to know how many in Congress attending Community College. Any fact-finders out there know the answer?
1
Oh what a glorious column! One of my favorite lines is, "Elizabeth Warren and I both were able attend college because it cost us $50 a semester and we could live at home." Now comes Tom Hanks!
It is clear that we three (!) all share the same sense of gratitude that our parents and their neighbors thought to give us an affordable chance in life that we otherwise would not have had. Yes, that's right...their taxes made the lives we've led possible. Okay...so I'm no great shakes, but wow! Those other two...and I'm sure many more.
It is clear that we three (!) all share the same sense of gratitude that our parents and their neighbors thought to give us an affordable chance in life that we otherwise would not have had. Yes, that's right...their taxes made the lives we've led possible. Okay...so I'm no great shakes, but wow! Those other two...and I'm sure many more.
2
Republicans are trying to gut social security and medicare and now we expect that they will approve free community college? Great idea - will never happen.
3
As a librarian at a community college--for 20 years now--I am grateful for Tom Hanks' words about community colleges. I, too, hope President Obama is successful in providing free community college education to all interested in attending. Every year at our graduation ceremonies I watch students walk across the stage and shake our president's hand. Some I do not recognize because they did not frequent the library. Others I recognize and they brought a tear to my eye because I realize that I have had a very small part in making a difference in helping that individual on their road to a better life. Thanks so much Tom (It doesn't hurt that he is also one of my very favorite actors.)
1
I earned a double Honors Degree from the University of Oregon. Other than being encouraged to go to graduate school, there really was no employment (1973)(and the graduate school graduates went unemployed). I drifted and found my self in San Francisco where I went to the SF City College. There I leaned a medical skill and I have been employed for the last 40 years now with a 6 digit income and full benefits. I just think the world of CC because they teach skills.
2
I went to Chabot soon after Mr. Hanks. Mr. Coovelis was the best. Good times. Go Gladiators !
3
Tom Hanks, thank you for writing this. NY Times, thank you for publishing this. I forwarded this to my aimless 24-year old dropped-out-of-everything-and-doesn't-know-what-to-do-next daughter. I hope you don't mind.
1
Investing in people. Yes, I think that's a good idea! Thanks for the this piece, Mr. Hanks. Sadly, I fear that our legislators just won't get it.
1
Hooray for Tom Hanks for using his celebrity to support community colleges. I hope he is as generous financially.
1
A free --or affordable-- public education, pre-school to graduate program, is largely available in most industrialized nations, but not the U.S. And it shows...
3
Tom Hanks is an impressive actor. But, as this piece makes clear, he has at least one other characteristic as well: wisdom.
4
Hi Tom. I was a high school dropout, then after a couple years of tree work in the winter, I was led by a friend to get a GED, and a BEOG (basic ed. opp. grant) and went to a community college. Your essay reminds me that several of my fellow students were newly back from Vietnam, it was the mid 70's. In my first 2 semesters, I was a smarty pants and disruptive in class, my transcripts reflect that. But then my History teacher, who taught basketball, took me aside and politely asked me to grow up. It was the politeness that made me succumb. Great teachers worked at the college because of the bucolic setting, I was in a Law Enforcement program and NYC captains taught my courses. My English teacher asked me to work at his farm, he and his partner were Syracuse alumni. They were friends with well known poets and introduced me to the literary world. I am sitting in the house I inherited after caregiving them, Bob died last year at home with me, after 7 intense post-stroke years. He was 92. I tell all young people to go to community college at least for the first year, and if your teachers ask you to cut trees at the farm, say, "Yes!"
4
My current and former students will be delighted to read this.
1
Gee we might have to forgo an obsolete aircraft carrier or two and postpone some congressional junkets to come up with the 60 billion dollars. This is chump change compared to what we spent bailing out undeserving banks. Community colleges and trade schools are what keep our middle class vibrant and it deserves all the help it can get right now. Get with it Congress!!!
3
If Tom Hanks was a student right now he'd be in the Division I lead at Chabot College. Thanks for the wonderful article!
2
Thank you sir. I have similar great memories of community college.
This could be as explosively positive as the G.I. Bill was after World War II. But with Republicans now in charge of the purse strings, I can't imagine they would go along with it. That is tragically unfortunate.
I hope enough voters--the ones who will lose this opportunity after the GOP kills it--can remember that, get to the polls, and vote them out next time.
This could be as explosively positive as the G.I. Bill was after World War II. But with Republicans now in charge of the purse strings, I can't imagine they would go along with it. That is tragically unfortunate.
I hope enough voters--the ones who will lose this opportunity after the GOP kills it--can remember that, get to the polls, and vote them out next time.
1
Great essay and very inspiring, thank you Tom Hanks. I've always believed that a higher/secondary education should be a right, not a privilege.
1
This is the type of coordinated propaganda that makes Conservatives want to barf, when articles like this show up in the NY Times. Only a day after Obama announces his grand plan to (somehow) give every kind in America 2 free years of education at a community college, we have the appearance of an article by Tom Hanks--saying how he just couldn't have made it without his 2 years at community college.
It just makes us thinking people wonder: how many celebrities did the Obama Administration approach--in order to be assured an article like this would be ready so soon after the President's announcement. And was there a 3-way conference call--between the White House, Mr. Hanks and the NY Times?
Aside from the obvious fact that this nation is running billions of dollars in the red each day, and is 18 trillion in debt, somehow the idea that if we don't do this, the world will one day be deprived of the talents of Mr. Hanks--this is supposed to motivate us to spend even more money we don't have.
It just makes us thinking people wonder: how many celebrities did the Obama Administration approach--in order to be assured an article like this would be ready so soon after the President's announcement. And was there a 3-way conference call--between the White House, Mr. Hanks and the NY Times?
Aside from the obvious fact that this nation is running billions of dollars in the red each day, and is 18 trillion in debt, somehow the idea that if we don't do this, the world will one day be deprived of the talents of Mr. Hanks--this is supposed to motivate us to spend even more money we don't have.
3
Yeah, how are we going to keep paying for wars if we go and educate our kids, our subsidize their healthcare costs? Some people need to think their priorities!
3
It seems that we do have money for SOME things. Education is never a bad choice. It "might" even help the economy!
2
Could you possibly be more of a "Regular Guy" Tom Hanks?
It makes all of us who watched you on "Bosom Buddies" and said "I like that guy" feel liked kindred spirits.
As to the $61B price tag. The numbers work out that if the 9 million people who go through the system each increase their income from the average of the HS Grad v. the CC Grad and they pay 10% tax on the increase, the $61B is paid back in 3.5 years!
If the Gv't BORROWS the $61B at 2.5% for 30 years, and the debt is paid off (to the Gov't) in 7 years (figure 2 years to go through and 4 for the revenue bump from taxes, an extra year for the interest over the 7 years) that's 23 years of profit. At around $18B/yr that translates into $414B in profit from this program!
One last thing... Dropped Astronomy because of the math... A Star is now expert in that most mystical of all math "Hollywood Accounting"
Just sayin'; there's a joke in there somewhere!
It makes all of us who watched you on "Bosom Buddies" and said "I like that guy" feel liked kindred spirits.
As to the $61B price tag. The numbers work out that if the 9 million people who go through the system each increase their income from the average of the HS Grad v. the CC Grad and they pay 10% tax on the increase, the $61B is paid back in 3.5 years!
If the Gv't BORROWS the $61B at 2.5% for 30 years, and the debt is paid off (to the Gov't) in 7 years (figure 2 years to go through and 4 for the revenue bump from taxes, an extra year for the interest over the 7 years) that's 23 years of profit. At around $18B/yr that translates into $414B in profit from this program!
One last thing... Dropped Astronomy because of the math... A Star is now expert in that most mystical of all math "Hollywood Accounting"
Just sayin'; there's a joke in there somewhere!
3
My husband and I both attended a local CC. He went from a student-worker to a full-time employee and retired after almost 40 yrs. of a good career. I transferred to a state college and was able to complete a science degree in two years since I had maxed out my credits with 3 yrs at the Community College. That degree resulted in a teaching credential and career in the classroom. The Federal Government got a s**tload of money from us over our working careers via taxes. It was a really good investment for the country as it yielded a huge return over the decades. This is truly what the President is talking about.
Many have criticized the president's proposal: There is no such thing as a free lunch. Well, in this case, it is NOT a free lunch, it is the country investing in its future. Conservatives seem to be OK with giving big business huge tax advantages/write-offs for R & D, but don't seem to connect the education of its citizens with the same advantages.
Many have criticized the president's proposal: There is no such thing as a free lunch. Well, in this case, it is NOT a free lunch, it is the country investing in its future. Conservatives seem to be OK with giving big business huge tax advantages/write-offs for R & D, but don't seem to connect the education of its citizens with the same advantages.
7
Reading through the 500+ letters to this article, I didn't find many contributors who went to community colleges, complaining about the tuition. So why does the Federal government need to create another estimated $60 billion entitlement? It seems that the typical student worked a job and squeezed in classes when they could. I'm sure that community college tuition set many students back, but it was cheap and didn't saddle them with excessive student loans. "Free" (government handouts) always wins votes and Obama certainly understands this.
1
Nothing is free. And just look at the State of California's debt and the US Treasury's debt. Further, students should work hard no matter what. Offering them free college is easy for the President who is millionaire and will finish his life with a large, taxpayer funded pension. When will politicians start looking in the mirror and ask why are we doing this?
2
As a grsduate of a 4 year CUNY college in the mid 70s I remember that Baruch would not accept the credits for courses taken in a 2 year school. There were also scholarships based on need as well as TAP for lower income & middle class students. There is no such a think as "free" because the cost will be shared by the feds and the states which in turn means th tax payers. NYers already pay too much in taxes.
1
If President Obama wants Congress to approve community colleges, he should come out against the idea.
7
We USED TO have a system of state universities with reasonable tuition for in-state students.
I am dismayed that we are now proposing something that's far below what we used to have and still finding it controversial.
I am dismayed that we are now proposing something that's far below what we used to have and still finding it controversial.
9
Taxpayers can't afford everyone's wishes and desires. It's called personal responsibility. Work save and pay your own way.
We can afford to educate people without equating that, rather bombastically, to "affording everyone's wishes and desires." Me, I like how a better educated society improves my own quality of life. With college being virtually unaffordable without loans, and with people unable to get jobs that permit them to save without that degree, we should all be willing to assist, rather than condemn people you don't even know, essentially, as moochers.
2
I read this with thoughts I had not had in a long time! I was a single mom with no high school degree and I was accepted by El Centro Community College in Dallas in 1968 I was able to gain the knowledge and confidence to see myself in a new light and went on to a four year college and graduate,without the Junior College System I doubt my life would be as satisfying as it is today! Thank you El Centro!
1
Although I went to a 4 year university, it has been the practical skills learned at courses at community college that have allowed me to find work. I am so glad you published this.
1
Oh, it's nice. Clever, snappy, humorous, self deprecating, and all that. But why did he wait until now to tell us? "Hey, and we'll get Tom Hanks to..." I wish I weren't so cynical. I'd have felt better with a collage of not famous, wealthy people offering their testimonials.
Mary,
The point is that he was neither famous nor wealthy when he attended the school and that it was there that he found his métier.
The point is that he was neither famous nor wealthy when he attended the school and that it was there that he found his métier.
5
If you read these comments you will find many comments from us regular folks (not famous or wealthy) regarding community college.
3
The GI Bill tuition is earned by service in the military. Free community college (a misnomer, nothing is free, another entitlement from liberals) means no skin in the game. Even scholarship winners must maintain certain grade levels to keep their scholarships. You get what you pay for, or earn. i predict the community college drop out rate will increase significantly because of Obama's new gift.
1
Community colleges are valuable for structured learning, but there are many free or low-cost resources for the self-motivated student. The local public library. The internet. Newspapers. Public lectures. I learn everyday from these long past my structured learning days.
How cab we afford to pay the tuition of qualified students in community colleges?
How about reducing the orders for the troubled, possibly useless, F-35 aircraft, which go for $400 million a pop. How about building 7 instead of 8 aircraft carriers at $500 million each? How about refraining from failed projects like the "coastal cruiser" for $1 billion. How about buying off the shelf Airbus airborne tankers instead of paying Boeing to develop a tanker from an inferior, obsolete air frame, the 767.
The US military is a goldmine of harmless cost-cutting opportunities. Now, how do we tap it?
How about reducing the orders for the troubled, possibly useless, F-35 aircraft, which go for $400 million a pop. How about building 7 instead of 8 aircraft carriers at $500 million each? How about refraining from failed projects like the "coastal cruiser" for $1 billion. How about buying off the shelf Airbus airborne tankers instead of paying Boeing to develop a tanker from an inferior, obsolete air frame, the 767.
The US military is a goldmine of harmless cost-cutting opportunities. Now, how do we tap it?
4
That's a new idea. How many decades have Democrats been pushing that stale idea?
Thank you Mr Hanks
As a 70 year old who benefitted from a NY city and state nearly free undergrad and Law School education I would like to point out that this concept will cost nothing when you consider the taxes that Mr Hanks and others pay on the income they earn compared to what they would have earned without this opportunity. The concept pays for itself.
As a 70 year old who benefitted from a NY city and state nearly free undergrad and Law School education I would like to point out that this concept will cost nothing when you consider the taxes that Mr Hanks and others pay on the income they earn compared to what they would have earned without this opportunity. The concept pays for itself.
2
Aren't there already many federally funded programs for attending community colleges? Why create another administrative behemoth to layer over the other administrative behemoths?
Rather than just proposing one new program after another, he should instead making the ones we have work better.
The problem is that Obama doesn't know how to manage anything.
Rather than just proposing one new program after another, he should instead making the ones we have work better.
The problem is that Obama doesn't know how to manage anything.
3
I believe students should have to have some skin in the game. Giving valuable things away for free does not seem to say that a community college education is important. If you are going to achieve something you have to really want it and do what is necessary to get it.
1
I am a community college student, and work at a community college. I am a mother, struggling to make ends meet. Two years ago, I was in the wrong place at the wrong time and caught in a drive by shooting and nearly killed. I am on a mission to make my life better and the life of my kids. As of tomorrow, my mortgage is late and I have $2 in the bank and a quarter tank of gas. My husband was hurt at work and the company denies any wrong doing. We do not how we will pay our bills. I have faith in God, and going to this community college has given me hope of a better future for me and my children. I may end up homeless, but at least I am working towards bettering myself and defining who I am. My instructors have been invaluable. My co-workers at the college have taught me so much. One of my co-workers started out as a janitor and he is now the book-keeper for the entire college. Dreams begin at the community college level. I will make something out of myself. Going to my community college will take me somewhere...anywhere...I just want a better chance for me and my kids and I am open to EVERY opportunity.
4
Another lefty giving away someone else's money. Sooner or later your guys are going to run out of our money to give away and then what? Going to school is a good idea and working to support that education is even a better idea so that way you actually get into something you want instead of just going to school for going to school sakes. Right now we have a flux of educated kids that are educated to do nothing and yet they have spent thousands of dollars and are in debt up to their eyeballs and still living with mom and dad. What we need is money better spent in primary education that actually helps to advise and plan a future for kids but making sure they are prepared and heading in the right direction upon graduation. I have worked in the education field and the amount of students coming into our college that were not college ready is a joke. They end up spending thousands just to get up to speed in math and English on a college level. Primary school use to have guidance in helping you get into your chosen profession. That meant whether it was secondary schooling or a trade school What happened to that? School for school's sakes on someone else's dime is not the answer. Preparing for your life's work starting in primary school is. BTW, I worked my way through community college myself too and ended up with a good education and a career that allowed me to provide for my family with steady income and steady employment for over 30 years. I paid myself because CCAC was affordable
One small correction, or maybe just an improvement, to this fine article: Mr. Hanks writes, "Of course I goofed off between classes ... looking at girls; such are the pleasures, too, of schools that cost thousands of dollars per semester." Today, that last word could have been "weeks".
1
Community colleges with an overall graduation rate of about 20% tell us a different story. We don't seem to learn that if you don't have 'skin in the game', a freebie will solve nothing.
1
Wow. What a great read. The line about "lack of comics" resonants. The GOP, who is already howling over this, can't understand anything complex. Their Corporate Masters do not want and educated populace who can make decisions on their own. The GOP is loaded with members who are looking for the funny pages every day- and only Fox meets that need.
1
I expected a dry-as-dirt public service column, and read it as a civic duty. Surprise: Mr. Hanks also learned/was taught to write very, very well. I've been a hard hat looking forward to the passage of the community college bill. Now, I'm also looking forward to Mr. Hanks' forthcoming compilation of short stories which I just learned about. I'm very proud of you as a member of my generation, Mr. Hanks. You've done so much for others. I wish I could have as well. Thank you for your humanity over the years.
1
My son went to Suffolk Community College on Long Island. He worked at the grocery store and DEDICATED himself to succeed. He just graduated from Cornell. Giving a "free" education is not the answer. Community colleges are not expensive. Expanding the entitlement society will only dig us in a deeper financial hole. Teaching your kids responsibility is the right way to lead them into the future. There is also plenty of financial aide (not loans) available if there is a need.
3
Great article, if all community colleges could be like this one then Obama's proposal makes sense.
1
Mr. Hanks eloquently extolls the benefits of community colleges for those starting out on their career paths. For another population - those at the end of their working lives - community college offers a marvelous chance to experiment with learning experiences that we might have wanted to try over our lifetimes but never had the time to explore. Retired seniors can make great use of community colleges to do that experimenting (I discovered my inner ceramicist at Monterey Peninsula Community College) and, in the process, to mix with younger folks and be rejuvenated.
4
I'm a a conservative and make no fuss about. Yet I celebrate and support the idea of free community college. However, my only condition to that is to not make LICs (Liberal indoctrination Centers) of them. Seem to me that most of higher education institutions are becoming just social engeneering labs in this country to the extent of suppressing the free speech of those who disagree with the liberal dogma.
Said that, and since is very rare to send messages to a celebrity and talented artist of your calibre, I will say this: I absolutely adore you. Thanks for sharing this experience with us.
Said that, and since is very rare to send messages to a celebrity and talented artist of your calibre, I will say this: I absolutely adore you. Thanks for sharing this experience with us.
Congress managed to bail out the bankers' bad debts, so why can't they bail our student loans? What this country needs is to dismantle the present student loan system, forgive most of the loans, dismantle the for-profit and online "college" scams, build-up community colleges and state universities, and make absolutely sure young people can get a higher education for less debt in the end than the cost of an average new compact car.
5
Anti-intellectualism is the new black.
We are about to see that on display once again when the R's load up the clown car for debates and start poo--pooing the advantages of 'learning'.
R's don't want an educated pubic. It would force them to abandon their jingoisms about 'Liberty', 'Freedom' and 'God', and force them to intelligently debate the plethora of problems confronting the Country.
They will ensure that any legislation of this sort is dead on arrival.
We are about to see that on display once again when the R's load up the clown car for debates and start poo--pooing the advantages of 'learning'.
R's don't want an educated pubic. It would force them to abandon their jingoisms about 'Liberty', 'Freedom' and 'God', and force them to intelligently debate the plethora of problems confronting the Country.
They will ensure that any legislation of this sort is dead on arrival.
3
I have a BA in Anthropology and after 5 years of poverty and struggle went back for a 2 year degree in land surveying. Thank god I did that. Don't know where I would be without it.
3
Beautiful tribute to a school and to education in general. Hope it helps Congress decide to OK the plan.
3
Tom Hanks, you are a saint. Your self-deprecating humor and deep appreciation for all you learned at Chabot makes the best case possible for offering free community college education to as many students as possible. Thanks for weighing in on this important issue. PS - I want to know more about the pipe-smoking John Coovelis!
2
What an inspiration. Education is so important, yet so out of reach for so many. Community colleges play a crucial role and I know you have just inspired hundreds, if not thousands of people to pursue their dreams with this article. Thank you for all you have given the world, Tom, especially for this little bit of encouragement this morning. Please take heed, President Obama.
1
Mr. Obama's proposal is so sensible, and the need for it so obvious, that congress is sure to either eviscerate it, or make it an amendment to the Keystone Pipeline Bill.
1
I am a Community College product... poor High School years, Military service Vietnam, than 'trying' college via the local CC. It worked for me.
I completely disagree with Mr. Hanks. Keep Big Federal Government OUT of local Community Colleges. Let the local boards keep running them efficiently and effectively, without the strings that have ruined bachelor degree level institutions.
I completely disagree with Mr. Hanks. Keep Big Federal Government OUT of local Community Colleges. Let the local boards keep running them efficiently and effectively, without the strings that have ruined bachelor degree level institutions.
1
Thank you, Tom, for this comment. A community college (Bronx Community College) was the starting point for my wife and me. Looking back, BCC was our ticket to graduate school. I teach in a four year college, and my wife teaches in a medical school, but realizing how important BCC was for us, we are considering teaching in a community college in the near future. I hope this law passes.
3
What a beautiful contribution! I would like to point out that it was Mr Hanks' liberal arts education that helped define his success. With far too many young people being funneled into IT, software and web development, kids whose talents probably lie elsewhere, this column should be an inspiration. I hope Obama can keep this one on track, and when Republicans claim there's no money for the program because we have to bomb another country, the voters with 16 and 17 year old kids who refused to vote in the last election will take notice and vote accordingly.
1
Personally, I think the real value of community college is it allows to students to try different fields at a comparatively lower cost than a traditional university. I was lucky enough to have my college paid for by the GI Bill but I really feel sorry for all the people I know who have degrees - and debts - in fields which no way, shape or form have anything to do with their actual careers. At a certain level, it's sort of absurd that we expect people at 17-18 years of age with little to no real world work experience to decide upon a career path and then go massively in debt to pursue it.
2
Rarely has a piece resonated for me as personally as this, as it probably has for many many others as we recognize our ourselves. Community College was just the right amount of serious (not too much) at just the right time ... putting you in touch with what would be the beginnings of a longer love affair with education and experience. That you took the time (and had the ability, in no small measure a tribute to those early experiences) - thank you and very well done.
2
Terrific essay Mr.Hanks! I attended Bergen Community College, in N.J. evenings, for 4 years prior to switching to Pratt Institute for their 5 year Bach. Architecture degree. I recall the Community College professors all preferring the older evening school students as they wanted to be there and paid the required tuition. I found that maturity and education were a more natural fit than youth and education.
1
1
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Free this, free that . . .
This is just another scheme to channel more money into the academic industry, an industry that is constantly growing by virtue of student debt, federal grants and increasing taxpayer burden. Insulated from the realities of the market place, it sees a point where the student cannot borrow any more and so looks to the government for a more direct access into the taxpayer's wallet.
This is just another scheme to channel more money into the academic industry, an industry that is constantly growing by virtue of student debt, federal grants and increasing taxpayer burden. Insulated from the realities of the market place, it sees a point where the student cannot borrow any more and so looks to the government for a more direct access into the taxpayer's wallet.
To worry about taxpayer money to fund this type of college is to be very short-sighted indeed. Taxpayers in the not-too-distant future will reap the benefits of the work of more productive individuals, and the nation will get repaid with interest. This is cold reasoning, you do not need to take into consideration the positive transformation of lives, the optimism instilled in society or good old compassion.
2
Free community college would open up the world for so many disadvantaged students. Free undergraduate and graduate programs would be even better. A democracy thrives on the education of its citizens. But I still feel like the GOP will oppose Obama's plan to make two years of free community college accessible for up to nine million Americans. The Republicans will fight this tooth and nail, because they don't want an educated consumer.
2
Why is there so much emphasis on College for everyone when everyone is not destined to learn what they need to in College to enjoy in life. The same opportunity for education should be offered to those extremely worthwhile professions such as electricians, plumbers, HVAC techs, and other trades. As many can attest to - just getting a college degree and then finding out their field of study does not lead to a job after 4 years is a great disappointment and saddles these poor souls with extreme debt. Only the colleges succeed with overpriced fluff degrees and the banks that get young people hooked on the loans. Everyone should be entitled to an EDUCATION but College should not be the only route.
3
Yes, let's have the federal government interfere to make community colleges more affordable! Cuz that's clearly worked so well at the university level.
3
Mr Hanks' performance hee is like his star turns in Forrest Gump and Philadelphia: he's undoubtedly sincere, but I'm not persuaded.
I'm unconvinced Hanks wouldn't be where he is without community college - in fact, as anyone involved in the arts can tell you (if he's being honest) sheer dumb luck is the biggest difference between the guy who recites 'to be or not to be' and the guy who recites 'today's specials are ....' (and some of Hanks' colleagues don't have the talent God gave a radish but that's a separate issue).
Add in what any animal shelter will tell you: they charge an adoption fee because people don't value what they get for free.
For every Tom Hanks who finds his bliss in community college, there are now, and will be, thousands of Maynard G. Krebses who find it a good way to postpone moving out of their parents' basement. I worked hard at some very menial jobs to pay for my (good non-Ivy private 4-year) education. I don't care for the idea of paying for someone else's two-year holiday in Never-Never Land.
I'm not against community college, or even free C.C. But it needs to be accompanied by the requirement CUNY used - getting in easy, staying in hard. Many will matriculate, few will graduate.
I'm unconvinced Hanks wouldn't be where he is without community college - in fact, as anyone involved in the arts can tell you (if he's being honest) sheer dumb luck is the biggest difference between the guy who recites 'to be or not to be' and the guy who recites 'today's specials are ....' (and some of Hanks' colleagues don't have the talent God gave a radish but that's a separate issue).
Add in what any animal shelter will tell you: they charge an adoption fee because people don't value what they get for free.
For every Tom Hanks who finds his bliss in community college, there are now, and will be, thousands of Maynard G. Krebses who find it a good way to postpone moving out of their parents' basement. I worked hard at some very menial jobs to pay for my (good non-Ivy private 4-year) education. I don't care for the idea of paying for someone else's two-year holiday in Never-Never Land.
I'm not against community college, or even free C.C. But it needs to be accompanied by the requirement CUNY used - getting in easy, staying in hard. Many will matriculate, few will graduate.
2
I started at a community college. Now I'm the director of the library at another. How far would I have got in life without my degree from the CC? I'm guessing not as far.
2
What a thoroughly decent man. Thanks for making my day, Mr. Hanks.
3
Great article Tom Hanks! The community colleges are a must for so many people. I owe much of my success from my local community college as well. In the mid-sixties I was able to have teachers who graduated from Harvard and other esteemed schools. People can succeed with good teachers. You don't necessarily have to have high SAT's or great grades in high school. Also a plus, you really meet people from all walks of life, and gain a little humility along the way.
2
Nassau community college in garden city long island gave me my start in higher education 42 yrs ago and our middle daughter is enrolled now! an essential educational institution for those in need. thanks
1
Wonderful! Hope reading this will change the minds of lawmakers who are inclined to nix Pres. Obama's proposal.
Free community college - so long as its free for all US citizens whose eligibility is NOT determined by income or personal wealth. I am tired of paying for things that others get without cost. Kind of makes working hard pointless. My family members all went to state schools. How about doing something about my kids college loan debts?
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A great many people have kicked off their professional lives by first attending a local community college, myself included. Community College should be free for all, but giving a leg up to 9 million Americans is a good place to start.
1
From one high school underachiever to another -- here's to a column that does a great job of explaining why President Obama's proposal is important. No one should be against this. Progressives will like this for obvious reasons. Conservatives should like it, because it's exactly the kind of "hand up, not hand out" program they always talk about.
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If Obama advocates it, the corporations that control congress will not allow it.
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Or, they will find a way to privatize it and keep the profit to themselves.
2
While my background is technical, and I got my Masters on the cheap at night (frowned upon by all those day schoolers), I learned one inescapable lesson in life: Humans need the humanities.
2
Nice story, but the plural of anecdote is not data.
You can't take a singular talent like Hanks and extrapolate his experience to public policy. It's like saying that there's nothing wrong with the U.S. healthcare system because I have a great doctor.
You can't take a singular talent like Hanks and extrapolate his experience to public policy. It's like saying that there's nothing wrong with the U.S. healthcare system because I have a great doctor.
3
A California Community College education is a great bargain, and in the College-as-comodity economy of today, you go for the bargain. With all curriculum being equal, apple for apple, math for math, you can choose to pay more, or less for the identical product. At the typical California Community College a three unit course costs about $138.00 whereas a typical California Private College will charge $1,5050.00
If you were to think of your education as if it were a Hamburger (made of identical ingredients and delivered at the same costs) and then do the math,
at say, 1% it's a simple deduction: Do you pay $ 1.38 for a hamburger, or do you pay $15.50 for that same burger?
If you were to think of your education as if it were a Hamburger (made of identical ingredients and delivered at the same costs) and then do the math,
at say, 1% it's a simple deduction: Do you pay $ 1.38 for a hamburger, or do you pay $15.50 for that same burger?
3
People starting and restarting their lives "... need lower obstacles between now and the next chapter of their lives. High school graduates without the finances for a higher education can postpone taking on big loans and maybe luck into the class that will redefine their life’s work. Many lives will be changed." I can think of one right now. My niece in Denver. She's in med school.
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I was fortunate – applying to and then matriculating at an Ivy League University, where I was extremely happy and surrounded by some of the most intelligent and generous people I've met in my life. And I'm grateful they are lifelong friends and colleagues. I have to agree with you, Mr Hanks, that it's the confrontation in one form or another of a higher education, and a greater intelligence pool, and very often demanding teachers, educators and fellow students that make a difference in someone's life. And absolutely – a community college – is an accessible, affordable means to that end.
Lack of financial means should not determine whether any American has an opportunity to grow intellectually at the key ages 18 - 24. No doubt you had a moment or two at Chabot when you took stock of yourself and pointed your being towards the world, your community and yourself. That can happen, I'm sure, working in a retail shop or fixing cars or cutting grass, but my guess it won't happen with an awareness of Shakespeare or O'Neill.
While we are eager to spend billions on our children's bodies ushering them into the military, plying them with video game skills to fight our battles, we'd probably be more peaceful and curious about our world if we spent those billions on their minds. And yes, they can always learn how to design chip sets and game boards...at least, though, they'd have a deeper understanding of what we're doing on the planet. Time to seriously rethink our priorities.
Lack of financial means should not determine whether any American has an opportunity to grow intellectually at the key ages 18 - 24. No doubt you had a moment or two at Chabot when you took stock of yourself and pointed your being towards the world, your community and yourself. That can happen, I'm sure, working in a retail shop or fixing cars or cutting grass, but my guess it won't happen with an awareness of Shakespeare or O'Neill.
While we are eager to spend billions on our children's bodies ushering them into the military, plying them with video game skills to fight our battles, we'd probably be more peaceful and curious about our world if we spent those billions on their minds. And yes, they can always learn how to design chip sets and game boards...at least, though, they'd have a deeper understanding of what we're doing on the planet. Time to seriously rethink our priorities.
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Lets hope Tom Hanks contributes millions to community colleges
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Great opportunity for you, Tom. I did one semester at JC as I transistioned from one university to another. Didn't miss a beat and still graduated in four years. I had to pay some tuition. Glad it was there. But there has to be some skin in the game. All should pay some tuition, and, in my book, a 2.5 GPA isn't high enough to qualify for "free" education. Should be 3.0. Free implies no value too often, and some people take it for granted. Shouldn't happen. Tax payers deserve something in return for their investment. Finally, have you donated to Chabot College? Maybe the Tom Hanks Center for Performing Arts?? Just a thought. Reading your story, seems the taxpayers provided you quite a lot for "free" (and I didn't read anything about a diploma). But great story. Thanks, Mr. Hanks, and thanks for all your great work in cinema. But I did pay to watch.
1
Thank you, Mr. Hanks. With all of the pressure that is placed on students from the age of 4 to go to the "right" school, to get the most prestigious education, it's nice to hear from someone who has succeeded in life having gone to a school that was "all free but for the effort and the cost of used textbooks." In this case, I'd wager that it was the effort that you put in, and have continued to put in, through your life that have made you who you are. In my humble opinion, sincere effort and force of will are going to beat out pedigree 99 times out of 100.
This was simply beautiful and touching. It hits home at so many levels. Thank you!
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The cost of college is a great transfer of wealth from the younger generations to the older. In the 60's and 70's, state colleges and universities were well-funded by the states. Those who attended college benefited from those tax-supported institutions, but many are reticent to pay the taxes to provide the same benefits for succeeding generations. It's hard to quantify what that collective selfishness has cost our country in terms of economic opportunity and growth.
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I also spent 2 years at a community college before earning my degree at the University of Washington. Mr. Hanks is right about the importance of community colleges to many. Is it necessary for the federal government to step in with a huge largess of funding to improve accessibility? I think not. If education is so important to this administration, why is it actively trying to limit the scope of for-profit institutions of higher learning?
1
Thank you Mr. Hanks, thank you. I was a librarian at a community college in New Jersey for 30 years and watched so very many youngsters, almost always the first in their families to experience higher education, 'find' themselves and gradually discover what their talents were and slowly gain the confidence to pursue their own individual dreams. These situations would not have been possible for them financially or in many other ways at typical four year institutions, and the community college system is a great blessing to millions of youngsters in this country. Our country gets many more productive citizens thanks to this type of education.
7
I could not agree with Mr. Hanks more. In high school, I was a great student -- AP classes, athletics, student government, the works -- so when I chose to go to Palomar Community College many people were confused. But the lessons I learned there -- from juggling a full time job and 21 units of science education, to interpersonal skills, to being enlightened about other cultures/backgrounds -- were invaluable. While I did transfer and complete my education within the UC system, I recognize that the skills I use everyday (as the PR manager for a global A/E company) I learned at JC.
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I was a terrible high school student. I went off to the Marines and came home with no greater chance of getting into even an average University. I attended community college, did well and then transferred to a competitive University (Illinois) and then eventually on to law school and in a few months another graduate degree. Community college is a place to repair damage, find a career, take a more economical approach to college or just take a random class for interest or work ( I have done both).
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Just because community college is great does not mean it should be free. For the most part community college is affordable for just about everyone already, as tuition is generally less than $1000 per year and financial aid (i.e. low interest loans) is available if the price tag is too high.
Community college should cost money, even if a small amount because it helps to provide at least some filter to ensure that classes are filled by dedicated students. There are only so many seats available and as a society these should be filled by those most dedicated to the process. In other words, if you are worried about the financial burden of borrowing $2,000, that you won't make that up sum up and more with your new found skills when you graduate, then maybe community college is not right for you after all.
I would imagine most graduates can pay back that $2,000 within the first year of graduation.
Community college is already heavily publicly funded, which is reflected in the ultra low tuition. Making it free will crowd the schools with less motivated only students making it harder for those who could truly benefit from it to participate.
Community college should cost money, even if a small amount because it helps to provide at least some filter to ensure that classes are filled by dedicated students. There are only so many seats available and as a society these should be filled by those most dedicated to the process. In other words, if you are worried about the financial burden of borrowing $2,000, that you won't make that up sum up and more with your new found skills when you graduate, then maybe community college is not right for you after all.
I would imagine most graduates can pay back that $2,000 within the first year of graduation.
Community college is already heavily publicly funded, which is reflected in the ultra low tuition. Making it free will crowd the schools with less motivated only students making it harder for those who could truly benefit from it to participate.
1
I attended technical training out of high school and became a registered x-ray technician yet I always harbored a desire to go to school for art. As a young mother in the mid-seventies, I went to an informational session at my local community college for returning women, signed on for an English course, rethought it and changed it to Basic Drawing. I got an A and signed on for another art course. Before I knew it I could matriculate and declare a major towards a degree something that wasn't even on my radar screen at the time. Fast forward: I went on to Brooklyn College to study art and where undergrad core curriculum required a foreign language I signed on for Chinese and the fantastic offerings in Asian art history and area studies. I went on to NYU and received a master's in the Gallatin school of Individualized Study--no Ivy League School would consider me--taking courses at its Institute of Fine Arts. I have had the privilege of introducing community college students from my Alma mater, Mercer County Community College, for the past 25 years and have presented at conferences in China and Taiwan and got a few publications under my belt. And to think it all started with that one course in a supportive learning environment all those years ago. I have had many Chinese friends tell me how envious they are that one can alter their career path like I did. Community colleges are a path to just that.
6
Thanks to Tom Hanks for a great article! When I graduated from high school, my single-parent mom had almost no funds to send me to college, so I took 3 buses to get to Miami-Dade Community College. There I learned how to speak French with a Southern accent (Jer ner SAY pah) from a teacher who grew up in Mississippi. I also routinely got "Curve breaker!" hissed at me from a row of boys who sat in the back in English whenever the teacher announced who got A's on a test. English was my strength - I usually got 100 and all grading was on the curve. I also made some wonderful friends, learned a lot and had loads of fun. We got out in April; the month before, a company came to the campus to recruit workers for the 1964 World's Fair in New York. Two of my friends and I moved to NYC and worked at the Fair. While I was there, I made a new friend who was also a jr. college student; she showed me an ad from Columbia Univ. - free tuition in the adult evening college if you worked for the university full-time! We both got clerical jobs at Columbia and were given 12 free credits a year. I did a year part-time through the evening classes. By then, my mom's finances had recovered somewhat. I was accepted to Barnard College (part of Columbia) and also got a loan. After graduation, I received a full scholarship for a master’s at Wash U. in St. Louis. I have been a practicing speech-language pathologist for many years and I thank the Lord for the community college that gave me my start.
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Kudos to Mr. Hanks. High school was a personal disaster . I loathed it so much, I graduated in 11 years. Spent a year at the local community college, which allowed me to realize I was smarter than or had academic abilities that were not valuable for high school.
Spent the next two year getting a degree in occupational studies( at least I think that's is what it was.) Eight years later, went back to school, got my undergrad. Today I have my masters.
What CC had done for me was made me realize that I was capable of doing university level work. If it had not been so affordable, I am not sure I would have been able to attend. Therefore, I would never had gone on to get a post graduate degree.
Community college is a chance for young people to mature, find their niche, find their inspiration. Free is what is should be. However, I also believe all colleges and museums should be free.
Spent the next two year getting a degree in occupational studies( at least I think that's is what it was.) Eight years later, went back to school, got my undergrad. Today I have my masters.
What CC had done for me was made me realize that I was capable of doing university level work. If it had not been so affordable, I am not sure I would have been able to attend. Therefore, I would never had gone on to get a post graduate degree.
Community college is a chance for young people to mature, find their niche, find their inspiration. Free is what is should be. However, I also believe all colleges and museums should be free.
8
Well I never thought Tom Hanks as himself and not an actor would make me tear up. I'm a long time adjunct (English). I do think I've changed peoples lives but this time of year, when my last paycheck of the Fall semester's run out and my first paycheck of the spring semester is far off in mid-February, I can feel like a failure. In fact, I go tomorrow to be interviewed for a house cleaning job. At $30 an hour it will pay about double what my teaching does. So thank you Tom. Who knows if federal monies to help students get two free years will filter down to us adjuncts. As I prep my spring courses I may be able to resist the urge to make them easier (for me too) with fewer assignments, lesser challenges. But I have my pride, and take great satisfaction in rave reviews from my students. Thanks TH for this rave review.
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Unlike some people here, I was an honor student in Catholic School throughout grammar school but had highly dysfunctional parents who thrived on telling me repeatedly that I was stupid.
I worked nearly 30 years, then eventually decided to go to Folsom Lake College, and give it my best effort and see what happened. As a reentry student, I was met by a counselor from UC Davis who asked me my grades, was not surprised at all at my 3.8 GPA, and asked if I was interested in transferring to Davis. I nearly fell over. My immediate response was, "I didn't think they'd let me in to mow their lawn." I am now a UCD graduate, with a B.A. in English (like Mr. Hanks' various class difficulties, my hang-u at chemistry stopped by Plant Biology degree in its tracks).
That said, community colleges offer so much for so many - ESL courses to computer/tech programming to nutrition to engineering, and on and on. And, as someone else here posted, the Republicans will hate it on every level because it is ever so hard to herd the sheep when they actually have a brain of their own - and know that.
For the first time in my nearly 60 years, I finally do not think of myself as stupid.
I worked nearly 30 years, then eventually decided to go to Folsom Lake College, and give it my best effort and see what happened. As a reentry student, I was met by a counselor from UC Davis who asked me my grades, was not surprised at all at my 3.8 GPA, and asked if I was interested in transferring to Davis. I nearly fell over. My immediate response was, "I didn't think they'd let me in to mow their lawn." I am now a UCD graduate, with a B.A. in English (like Mr. Hanks' various class difficulties, my hang-u at chemistry stopped by Plant Biology degree in its tracks).
That said, community colleges offer so much for so many - ESL courses to computer/tech programming to nutrition to engineering, and on and on. And, as someone else here posted, the Republicans will hate it on every level because it is ever so hard to herd the sheep when they actually have a brain of their own - and know that.
For the first time in my nearly 60 years, I finally do not think of myself as stupid.
10
Sorry to disabuse you of your newfound self respect, but everything you've written points in the opposite direction.
I am one of the many who benefitted from community college. Back in 1969 it was affordable and close by so I could commute from home. Like many who have posted, it was the stepping stone I needed to a four year college degree and an eventual PhD. A general comment is that even four year colleges were very affordable back then. Students such as myself could easily work part-time while attending college and afford it. This is not the case today and something must be done about the student loan debt bubble before it explodes.
5
Thank you very much for writing this. I have worked at UC Berkeley in a program which enabled low income high achieving students from community colleges including Chabot to conduct funded summer research with professors at Berkeley while still in community college. They were very impressive and had nearly a 100% success rate in transferring to Berkeley where they have done very well. Many were in the first generation in their family to go to college. Bravo to you for highlighting how transformative community colleges can be (rather than the object of ridicule they often are)
6
A word of warning. I completely support the community-college system, and improved access to it by those eager to advance their education and enrich their lives. But humans have a nasty habit of valuing a thing at the cost that they pay for it. Quebec, Canada has some of the lowest university tuitions in North America (with some students frequently demonstrating for the cost to be reduced to free). As a consequence, some (too many) students see their university time more as summer camp than an investment in their own lives. They take courses that are fun, rather than enriching or educational, and leave with a degree, but ill prepared for a real career. (This is not to say that "fun" courses cannot have positive personality-molding influences, as Mr. Hanks points out. They have their place, but cannot be allowed to become a "standard".) So I would posit that the challenge is to improve access while preserving the students sense of sacrifice for investment in their future. I don't have an answer. Perhaps means-testing, or a future obligation for community service. But free should not become a paradigm for community colleges to create courses to compete for students through "entertainment', nor for improperly-motivated students to waste their time in "recess".
2
One last try to make this point.
Free tuition is a good idea only if accompanied by rigorous academic standards and a standardized curriculum. (I believe CCNY was the model for that- they used to call it the poor man's Harvard. Though I believe they do charge tuition now.)
I would support a system whereby tuition would be free, but only to those who pass a rigorous exam to establish that they were sufficiently prepared to do the work in whatever field they choose to study, and accompanied by strict rules regarding minimum academic performance. And roughly uniform curricula and standards for community colleges so that a degree from college A meant the same thing, more or less, as one from B, C, or XYZ.
Without this, Hanks' proposal is just more feelgood. And gives ammo to critics who claim liberals, particularly wealthy ones, want to use other people's money to give out 'free stuff'. And I don't think such a proposal is what the proponents want - it would be too 'elitist'.
Free tuition is a good idea only if accompanied by rigorous academic standards and a standardized curriculum. (I believe CCNY was the model for that- they used to call it the poor man's Harvard. Though I believe they do charge tuition now.)
I would support a system whereby tuition would be free, but only to those who pass a rigorous exam to establish that they were sufficiently prepared to do the work in whatever field they choose to study, and accompanied by strict rules regarding minimum academic performance. And roughly uniform curricula and standards for community colleges so that a degree from college A meant the same thing, more or less, as one from B, C, or XYZ.
Without this, Hanks' proposal is just more feelgood. And gives ammo to critics who claim liberals, particularly wealthy ones, want to use other people's money to give out 'free stuff'. And I don't think such a proposal is what the proponents want - it would be too 'elitist'.
1
I think the money should be loaned to the students, and after they complete their classes with a B grade or better, the loan is forgiven. Loans should only be for essential classes.
If a student gets a solid B average in community college, and wants to go on to a four year school, they should be given partially free tuition in areas designated by the Congress as a essential to the US (science, engineering, health care) not random classes that have very little economic use going forward.
Moreover, lower paying tech jobs, medical assistants, etc. should have Low interest loans, paid back as a percentage of income later.
If a student gets a solid B average in community college, and wants to go on to a four year school, they should be given partially free tuition in areas designated by the Congress as a essential to the US (science, engineering, health care) not random classes that have very little economic use going forward.
Moreover, lower paying tech jobs, medical assistants, etc. should have Low interest loans, paid back as a percentage of income later.
1
Obama sycophant, liberal elite, disgusting American - my thoughts on Tom Hanks. We are spending billions on K-12 where we produce graduates who read at the 7th grade level. Just like the former Soviet Union, the government wants to begin indoctrination at pre-K and go all the way through college. They protect incompetent teachers who have diminishing results while collecting more and more money. The Democrat Party is the Communist Party of the U.S. I would say Mr. Hanks learned absolutely nothing about the greatness of our founding fathers or the singularly unique personal freedoms and liberty of the USA. With Hanks and Obama, these freedoms and liberties are disappearing before our eyes.
2
And the Republic Party is the No-Nothing Party. We can only hope that voters, tired of no-science, climate-change-deniers, will toss the GOPs out on their ears. The only concepts Republicans are affirmative about? The world was created 6,000 years ago, and humans walked with the dinosaurs. Maybe a couple of free years at a community college could really help them get with the 21st century. And, by the way, I felt perfectly free to employ by un-eroded First Amendment rights to pen this missive.
6
I see a little education in New Mexico would be helpful also....
JudyM, I think you need to educate yourself if you truly feel this way. You may want to start off with finding a good definition of what Communism is. You may then want to move yourself on to study the history of both parties in this country. I think you'll find that neither have any love for communism. Hate is a terrible thing.
Finally, you obviously know nothing of Mr. Hanks feelings about this country. Education can only help elevate those that partake in it.
JudyM, I think you need to educate yourself if you truly feel this way. You may want to start off with finding a good definition of what Communism is. You may then want to move yourself on to study the history of both parties in this country. I think you'll find that neither have any love for communism. Hate is a terrible thing.
Finally, you obviously know nothing of Mr. Hanks feelings about this country. Education can only help elevate those that partake in it.
3
Thank you, Mr. Hanks! I taught in a community college and watched the young moms, the middle-aged and misguided come to us for a second chance. It did not always work, but when it did, no group of professors could have been more proud of their students' success than our faculty.
Free tuition would be great, but, even now, these colleges are the best deal going.
Free tuition would be great, but, even now, these colleges are the best deal going.
4
I was half-listening to the PBS News Hour last evening with one ear so perhaps I heard this wrong. Average Americans were being asked what they thought about Obama's plan to provide free community college. One respondent, who self-identified as a Republican, pointed out that nothing is free, that it would cost the taxpayer money -- money that we will need to spend to combat ISIS.
I mentioned that this respondent was a Republican because I do believe that this is highlights the two distinct ways that Republicans and Democrats view what government can and should do:
For the cost of one smart bomb we can send a child to college and create a contributor to society. In the long run, over his working lifetime, we would easily recoup the investment though collected income taxes. Oh yes, and we will have enabled a richer, fuller life for that person.
I mentioned that this respondent was a Republican because I do believe that this is highlights the two distinct ways that Republicans and Democrats view what government can and should do:
For the cost of one smart bomb we can send a child to college and create a contributor to society. In the long run, over his working lifetime, we would easily recoup the investment though collected income taxes. Oh yes, and we will have enabled a richer, fuller life for that person.
8
Or we could put down the guns and stop taking money for both smart bombs and education. I would like to voluntarily contribute to someone's education rather than be forced by the government. And I certainly would not contribute money to the manufacture of a smart bomb. But we don't get that choice, do we? We're forced to fund abominations against our will.
Let's use peaceful solutions that are opt-in and voluntary.
Let's use peaceful solutions that are opt-in and voluntary.
@Andrew Hallock: With your tax dollars you're also forced to contribute to the maintenance of our roads and the hiring of police. You have no choice in this, fortunately -- it is called living in a society. On man's abomination is another man's delight.
But I find it interesting that you say that you would not contribute money to the building of a smart bomb. But that is where our tax dollars are going. So the implication is that you are either a tax evader or you have no taxable income and no prospects for same. If the former, I hope the IRS is not reading this for your sake. If the latter, it would be nice if you could go to community college for free and have a future.
But I find it interesting that you say that you would not contribute money to the building of a smart bomb. But that is where our tax dollars are going. So the implication is that you are either a tax evader or you have no taxable income and no prospects for same. If the former, I hope the IRS is not reading this for your sake. If the latter, it would be nice if you could go to community college for free and have a future.
1
Nice article and appreciated. We all suspect, however, that when Obama proposes anything the GOP-dominated Congress will go to any length to oppose it. That appears to be their sole reason for existence.
4
After HS, I definitely couldn't afford college so I wasn't sure if it was for me. Once I was approved for FAFSA, and maxed out my credit cards for books and fees, I spent two years at Borough of Manhattan Community College. I went on to graduate from NYU and then received an MBA from Baruch College. As the first person in my family to graduate college, I'd say community college was an invaluable experience for me.
11
The more commentary I read on the issue of free community college (not so much here, at The New York Times, but elsewhere in the blogosphere), makes me realize the truth of that old adage, "There is no cure for stupidity!"
All of these, "Why should I pay to educate someone else?" "I don't have kids in the public schools. Why pick my pocket?" The time dishonored, "I don't use the public parks or drive on the public highways or go to the public library. Why the heck should I pay for them?”
Why? Because that is what we do in a civilized society. We support one another. We take care of each other. We have one another's backs. And, as a result, we all benefit.
If you want to forsake the very essence of what brings this crazy patchwork quilt together, arming yourself with a 12-guage shotgun and taking to the wilderness, nary a neighbor in sight, this "be damned," "build a bunker" mentality may well serve you. It is, for the rest of us, to "give a damn," to come to the aid of our neighbors, to lend a hand up, because when any one of us is left behind, it is a drag on every one of us.
Free? Nothing is free. Even the Internet connection used to "pen" these words is not free. There is a cost to a free college education, to be sure. The cost of doing nothing, however, of maintaining the status quo, is both unsustainable and unacceptable.
A free community college education? You bet! Our responsibility, as citizens of a free society, demands nothing less.
Thank you, Tom Hanks!
All of these, "Why should I pay to educate someone else?" "I don't have kids in the public schools. Why pick my pocket?" The time dishonored, "I don't use the public parks or drive on the public highways or go to the public library. Why the heck should I pay for them?”
Why? Because that is what we do in a civilized society. We support one another. We take care of each other. We have one another's backs. And, as a result, we all benefit.
If you want to forsake the very essence of what brings this crazy patchwork quilt together, arming yourself with a 12-guage shotgun and taking to the wilderness, nary a neighbor in sight, this "be damned," "build a bunker" mentality may well serve you. It is, for the rest of us, to "give a damn," to come to the aid of our neighbors, to lend a hand up, because when any one of us is left behind, it is a drag on every one of us.
Free? Nothing is free. Even the Internet connection used to "pen" these words is not free. There is a cost to a free college education, to be sure. The cost of doing nothing, however, of maintaining the status quo, is both unsustainable and unacceptable.
A free community college education? You bet! Our responsibility, as citizens of a free society, demands nothing less.
Thank you, Tom Hanks!
13
The Santa Rosa Junior College gave my son the opportunity to figure out a direction for his life. He went on to a 4-year college and a unique career of his own creation. I am so very grateful.
4
Thank you Tom! From your fellow Skyline alum and "International Thespian Society" member, class of 1975
In my 18 years as an adjunct California Community College Art instructor, I've heard from many students whose lives were changed by an experience they had in my class. It's nice to see it done so publicly (and well) by someone who has achieved so much.
In my 18 years as an adjunct California Community College Art instructor, I've heard from many students whose lives were changed by an experience they had in my class. It's nice to see it done so publicly (and well) by someone who has achieved so much.
10
I loved this op-ed. It showed a part of his life that helped make him what he became. It demonstrated the need for such institutions, what their place is and what they enable.
1
Great article and the comments were even better but....having worked both as an adjunct professor and director of military education centers that utilized local community colleges I hope this isn't another feel good, good idea that will disappear once long range funding problems come into the picture. Can' tell you how many times in my 36 year career that the value of community college education was discovered by the powers that be....hopefully this time it will be different
7
And if you would like a contrary opinion - read - as I did - "In the Basement of the Ivory Tower: Confessions of an Accidental Academic"
"Professor X teaches at a private college and at a community college in the northeastern United States" and argues that "The idea that a university education is for everyone is a destructive myth."
"Professor X teaches at a private college and at a community college in the northeastern United States" and argues that "The idea that a university education is for everyone is a destructive myth."
2
The issue is not whether "a university education is for everyone" (I expect many would agree that it's not), but rather whether cost should be an obstacle to those with the ability and desire to continue their education after (even long after) high school.
1
But community colleges usually offer technical training as well as a path to four year college for those who need it but who did not get there straight from high school.
It's not meant to serve 100% of the population because there's a GPA requirement.
It's not meant to serve 100% of the population because there's a GPA requirement.
A powerful idea whose time has come. Graduating from a California community college in 1953 opened up the world for me and across 60+ years made all the difference.
7
I went to Chabot 1969-70 and transferred to Hayward State where I got my BA in Sociology. I was 29, an older student, but I agree Chabot made me what I am today. And the GI bill helped support me and my family, yes, I was married with two daughters. There's a lesson here, providing help to access college helps everyone
13
I too was "saved" by a community college, also long ago. In looking back, I was simply a late bloomer, and this offered me a way to carve my way back once I was mature enough for school. I've done well and am grateful, though admittedly my career wasn't quite as illustrious as Mr. Hank's.
Amid the critical noise about the President's idea to make community college free (or close), it is important to point out that the U.S. gives billions each year in loan guarantees and GI Bill grants to substandard for-profit colleges, where academics are weak, dropout rates astronomical, and credits not transferable. This money would be FAR better spent by helping people earn a degree in an accredited community college.
Amid the critical noise about the President's idea to make community college free (or close), it is important to point out that the U.S. gives billions each year in loan guarantees and GI Bill grants to substandard for-profit colleges, where academics are weak, dropout rates astronomical, and credits not transferable. This money would be FAR better spent by helping people earn a degree in an accredited community college.
15
Good for you, Tom Hanks. Yours is a ringing endorsement of an idea that is late coming to the American scene, though European countries have had comparable institutions for decades.
Just to be fair, the idea that Pres. Obama is now promoting on the national scene was premiered here in Tennessee a year or so ago. What is remarkable about that is the Governor, Bill Haslam, is a Republican whose fiscal conservatism is well established.
So far the plan has been well received across the state and across the partisan divide.
Thanks for the boost your experience is likely to the give to this kind of initiative.
Just to be fair, the idea that Pres. Obama is now promoting on the national scene was premiered here in Tennessee a year or so ago. What is remarkable about that is the Governor, Bill Haslam, is a Republican whose fiscal conservatism is well established.
So far the plan has been well received across the state and across the partisan divide.
Thanks for the boost your experience is likely to the give to this kind of initiative.
6
I hope Tom Hanks has become a donating alumnus of this institution. It is this lack of a donor base that prevents many institutions from expanding and upgrading and from providing tuition grants.
2
I am currently taking the community college route in lieu of a 4 year school start and I have to say I appreciate this opinion piece very much. It gave me hope that if the great Tom Hanks could get his start at a cc then there is no shame in my getting my start there either. Im hoping my beginning will end in medical school. Wish me luck!
8
My cousin went from CC to medical school--I from CC to a master's. Many people did. You will do it.
2
The Republicans are now all over stagnant wages and inequality. Which they caused. Carly Fiorino was on Bill Maher espousing these new concerns. It's clear that education is they key to lifting up those at or near the bottom. However, when confronted with Obama's plan for junior college, the bazillionaire Fiorino wrung her hands and inquired "but who's going to pay?" In other words, Republicans are fine with inequality and the status quo.
2
Making two years at a community college free sounds good, but it actually is detrimental to the goals it purports to have. If you do not have some skin in the game, the chances that these two years will be wasted by millions goes up. And it will increase the cost of community colleges, which hurts serious students who pay for their education. It seems that serious people need to constantly remind Democrats that nothing is free.
1
Mr Reasonable, it looks as though you haven't read the numerous success stories in these readers' comments.
1
Thanks, Tom Hanks. Here's my story to add to all the others -- lousy high school record, but was able to go to City College of San Francisco (CCSF), across the Bay from you. My widowed father was in no position to help with college tuition, but CCSF charged no tuition as this was the early 1960's. My bad habits persisted and I dropped out, served three years in the US Army. CCSF, ever forgiving, took me back, so I finished up there, transferred to UC Berkeley, went on to Harvard where I earned a PhD in Biological Sciences. I taught college biology for several decades. Needless to say my life trajectory would have been very different if a community college hadn't been there for me and students in similar predicaments.
Many of the CCSF courses are still in my memory. Not just the science courses, but two semesters of art history, English literature, German (the Army sent me to Germany and the CCSF basis allowed me to become pretty fluent), social sciences and many others. CCSF was a university in miniature.
I owe CCSF a great deal and hope that the president's initiative will allow many others to benefit from the great institution of the community college.
Many of the CCSF courses are still in my memory. Not just the science courses, but two semesters of art history, English literature, German (the Army sent me to Germany and the CCSF basis allowed me to become pretty fluent), social sciences and many others. CCSF was a university in miniature.
I owe CCSF a great deal and hope that the president's initiative will allow many others to benefit from the great institution of the community college.
7
I returned from Vietnam in August 1969 and promptly enrolled in Contra Costa Junior College, just north of Chabot. My cost ... $5.00 student association fee and books. I pursued an Associates degree which enabled me to transfer to UC Berkley where my costs were $210 per quarter or $630 for a full year.
$5 in 1969 is $32.26 in 2015
$210 in 1971 is $1,186.44
Not hardly free but affordable.
$5 in 1969 is $32.26 in 2015
$210 in 1971 is $1,186.44
Not hardly free but affordable.
6
There was a time when a Californian could get the best education in the world in state schools, before Prop 13 killed the goose that laid the golden egg. As a poor kid in Chicago, I wished I was a "California girl" not for the surfing and beach, but so I could get a world class education.
8
Los Angeles City College saved my life. I graduated from high school with a c minus average and had no prospects. I knew City College was my last chance to make something of myself and studied hard making the Dean's list. To make a long story short, I transferred to UCLA and was later accepted to Dental School in San Francisco. I enjoyed a 40 year career as a dentist that would have never happened if there were no affordable community colleges.
9
Is this a solution in search of a problem? This is from the Chabot website:
"Money does not have to be a problem! Financial aid can help pay for your tuition, books, transportation, and other educational costs. Go to the Financial Aid web site for more information. If you need further help, you can call the Financial Aid Office at (510) 723-6746."
No question that community colleges are a valuable and important part of our higher educational offerings as attested to by Mr. Hanks and many others posted here. That is not the issue. The issue is why the federal government needs to start overseeing this, adding bureaucratic layers and Washington meddling into what should be state run programs.
"Money does not have to be a problem! Financial aid can help pay for your tuition, books, transportation, and other educational costs. Go to the Financial Aid web site for more information. If you need further help, you can call the Financial Aid Office at (510) 723-6746."
No question that community colleges are a valuable and important part of our higher educational offerings as attested to by Mr. Hanks and many others posted here. That is not the issue. The issue is why the federal government needs to start overseeing this, adding bureaucratic layers and Washington meddling into what should be state run programs.
3
Thank you Mr. Hanks. Brings me right back to two years at Nassau Community College and being a hungry, anxious secretary who knew there was more to the world then taking dictation and education was going to be the way to find it. After CC, on to Columbia University and the world opened and flowered and creativity, analytical thinking, and worlds of possibilities were there for me. No, I'm not a star in the firmament but thanks to two years at Nassau Community College I have a wonderful life, family, career and the ability to pass the good fortune on to others.
6
Liberal compassion is cheap compassion as it usually involves other peoples money.
Perhaps Tom should use some of the money he earned as an actor and endow a few community colleges or provide some scholarships.
Perhaps Tom should use some of the money he earned as an actor and endow a few community colleges or provide some scholarships.
2
What radical ideas. Free community college tuition, $95 per semester tuition at a state university. How would the student loan industry survive, or even thrive? Just think of all the lost jobs. Not to mention all the man-hours wasted in the classroom. No way thats gonna happen.
If not for community college I would certainly NOT be an engineer today. I took my two years there studying electronics and went on to NJIT. But I doubt that the GOP will go for such a thing, probably too European for their tastes. After all helping the citizenry isn't what the GOP does smells too much like European socialism. So it must be evil. However, if this effort were to be of benefit to big oil or others in the 1% and exclude any and all minorities it might stand a slim chance. Let's all say a prayer that this somehow sneaks through and begins to make life better for more of our fellow countrymen.
1
Although Mr. Hanks focuses mainly on cost, hopefully, this piece will also help us tone down the rat race mentality that one must get into a "top"college to succeed. Here in northern Virginia, admitting that one's child is going to community college (where Jill Biden is part of the faculty) is like admitting defeat.
2
1) Community college is already pretty cheap and, because of Pell grant structure, free for a great many.
2) The (imaginary) $60B figure that Obama pulls out of the ether will have to be supplemented to the tune of $20B by the states—this at a time when states are already scrambling to pay for much more basic services.
3) In all, a non-starter.
2) The (imaginary) $60B figure that Obama pulls out of the ether will have to be supplemented to the tune of $20B by the states—this at a time when states are already scrambling to pay for much more basic services.
3) In all, a non-starter.
1
I also can claim that Community College was instrumental in my success in the hard knock world of making a living. T'was back in 1951 when I graduated from what is now Kings Community College. At the time it was called "State University of New York of Applied Arts And Science at New York City" I also believe that 1951 was the first year the University conferred an "Associates" degree and not a diploma.
That Associates Degree was the key that opened many doors and now in my mid-eighties I am financially secure. I hope this law will help millions as it did for me.
That Associates Degree was the key that opened many doors and now in my mid-eighties I am financially secure. I hope this law will help millions as it did for me.
3
Free community college is one of the things that made California the great state that it is. Maybe if this free tuition story had taken place in a more conservative place like Texas the Republicans would be more receptive to it for everyone.
Spot on! What great insight Mr. Hanks provides in this piece!
I was the first person in my family to attend college, and I paid my way through. I was fortunate to have graduated community college and university with no loans (due to low in-state tuition and some scholarships from the union I belonged to at my part-time job), and went on to get a tuition waiver and stipend to attend graduate school. When I started college almost 20 years ago, community college was looked down upon by the better-off students (as well as the guidance counselors) in my school district. As a high school honor student, I felt somewhat ashamed to be going there, but there really was no other choice for me unless I wanted to take out huge loans, the thought of which was terrifying. The community college I attended offered amazing honors courses, a beautiful campus, and more campus life than some 4+ year colleges I've been to. I am very grateful for the education I received and for all the doors it opened for me, and I will encourage my own children to start there someday as well.
Given our current economic times, I think that community colleges are earning more respect now than in the past (at least in the area I lived in), and rightfully so, for all the reasons Mr. Hanks points out here. I truly hope that a community college education will be made even more accessible to all Americans who want to pursue it.
I was the first person in my family to attend college, and I paid my way through. I was fortunate to have graduated community college and university with no loans (due to low in-state tuition and some scholarships from the union I belonged to at my part-time job), and went on to get a tuition waiver and stipend to attend graduate school. When I started college almost 20 years ago, community college was looked down upon by the better-off students (as well as the guidance counselors) in my school district. As a high school honor student, I felt somewhat ashamed to be going there, but there really was no other choice for me unless I wanted to take out huge loans, the thought of which was terrifying. The community college I attended offered amazing honors courses, a beautiful campus, and more campus life than some 4+ year colleges I've been to. I am very grateful for the education I received and for all the doors it opened for me, and I will encourage my own children to start there someday as well.
Given our current economic times, I think that community colleges are earning more respect now than in the past (at least in the area I lived in), and rightfully so, for all the reasons Mr. Hanks points out here. I truly hope that a community college education will be made even more accessible to all Americans who want to pursue it.
4
Growing up in a suburb of San Diego and graduating from Mt. Miguel High School in 1969- I totally related to Mr. Hanks experience. I attended Grossmont Junior College (that's what they called it then) for 2 years, raising my GPA (I also had low SAT scores) so my parents would think it was worth the money to send me to San Diego State. Those 2 years of community college, taught me many things about studying, managing my time and learning what I wanted to do next. I went on to study child development at SDSU and went on to teach preschool. President Obama's proposal would change the lives of millions of students. Great article Mr. Hanks! Thank you for reminding me of those memories.
Tom Hanks knows how to tell a good story, and his success from humble beginnings is laudable. But there are unanswered problems in Obama's idea (not even a "plan" yet) for free community college. How we pay for it is of course the biggest fly in the ointment. Will the money needed for this initiative be taken from other government spending in education? Who will pay for the construction of new buildings, parking lots, and the wages of additional adjunct instructors (many who are without benefits)? What happens to four-year schools who will lose students and tuition from already qualified persons opting to go the "free route" rather than enroll for their freshmen and sophomore years? Obama and the proponents of this idea have so far failed to give these details.
I went to Community College and was grateful it was there. Was on the Dean's list each quarter, graduated and went on to University of Southern California. As a foster child it was a great way to afford college. But, nothing is free - someone will have to pay for it and people in the state of CA are so overtaxed that to raise more taxes on the middle class will be a huge burden. I liked that I had to work to pay for it and worked hard for good grades for scholarships to move on to higher education - that is what made me - the experience that if I could begin to succeed at a CC, I could go on and do more, and I did.
1
I too am a graduate of Chabot. Went there in the early 80's after getting out of the Air Force to pursue my education. And it was there that I had the chance to learn from some of the most passionate, engaging teachers I've ever had. Teachers who brought the subject matter to life in so many wonderful ways, and who instilled in me a love of learning I maintain to this day. It was free, and yet, beyond any price one could ascribe. Postscript: Years later I had the privilege of working with Mr. Hanks on a PSA for the AIDS Memorial Grove in SF's Golden Gate Park. Upon meeting, I shared with him that I was a fellow "Gladiator". His face brightened as we swapped stories from back in he day. It was a highlight of my life.
12
Funny, I thought that you grew up in New Jersey and got your big start developing and testing toys.
Thanks Tom Hanks for this memory. I too owe so much to the community college system in California. Midlife I attended Foothill College in Los Altos which gave me the lust for learning I had forgotten. I went on from there to Syracuse University and then back to Pepperdine for my MBA None of this would have happened without the inspiration I received from quality teaching at the community college for the sum total of $10 for "materials" Yes, please bring back this option to all of those returning vets, single or married moms, anyone wishing to enhance their lives.
4
Chabot College is alive and well and costs $46 per unit. There are student and
other fees, but cost per year is maybe a couple of thousand dollars.
Financial aid is already available to those who can't afford this.
Asking people to make a contribution like this towards their own education does
not seem unreasonable.
The President's plan is not needed, and frankly a waste of political air.
other fees, but cost per year is maybe a couple of thousand dollars.
Financial aid is already available to those who can't afford this.
Asking people to make a contribution like this towards their own education does
not seem unreasonable.
The President's plan is not needed, and frankly a waste of political air.
2
I am a graduate of a community college and the best of my college career. It was a springboard to a new world with adventure. There are thousands of stories how a community college experience had a positive effect upon lives and at a low cost. I am hopeful this program becomes a reality for our country,
2
Community Colleges belong to states. If states want to offer free community college to their citizens, I fully support it.
I can not support the federal govt expanding into the community college state systems.
I can not support the federal govt expanding into the community college state systems.
1
"Junior" College was one of my best experiences back in 1963-65 and I have recently taken "Community" College courses after I retired. Back in the 60's more of the students were 18-20 years old and at most they worked part time. Now they tend to be older, may have a family and have to work full-time. I don't know how they do it.
3
Before the free community college bill comes up for a vote, this article should be given to every congressman or congresswoman. Also, it might help the bills prospects if Mr. Hanks could somehow directly lobby for its passage. Politicians would certainly return his phone calls or want to speak to him in person.
1
It's 2015. We're the wealthiest country on earth. Is there any good reason why we cannot provide education and healthcare for our people? What do we need all of this wealth for if we cannot provide that minimum.
If they need some money to fund this cancel a few of those needless F35 airplanes that the government ordered. They ordered over 2,400 of them at about $210 million apiece. That pays for a lot of education and healthcare.
If they need some money to fund this cancel a few of those needless F35 airplanes that the government ordered. They ordered over 2,400 of them at about $210 million apiece. That pays for a lot of education and healthcare.
3
I strongly favor Obama's proposal for two years of community college provided it is financed by eliminating the programs in Sen. Coburn's 2014 Wastebook.
Can we all agree that $804,000 for a nutrition game for mobile devices called Kiddio can be shifted to education?
Easy!
Can we all agree that $804,000 for a nutrition game for mobile devices called Kiddio can be shifted to education?
Easy!
Community colleges seem to be the one part of the educations system that is actually working. Please keep the federal government out of it.
Obama seems to think the federal government should have an active part in every single aspect of our lives!
Go away!
Obama seems to think the federal government should have an active part in every single aspect of our lives!
Go away!
1
A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops. Henry Adams
Hanks was lucky - seems he encountered three good ones at his CC. All it takes is one, though, I hope we can give more people a chance to encounter that one, and more people a chance to be that one.
Hanks was lucky - seems he encountered three good ones at his CC. All it takes is one, though, I hope we can give more people a chance to encounter that one, and more people a chance to be that one.
2
I would reiterate the point that the GOP-controlled congress isn't about to provide funding for community colleges. They prefer to let Mitt Romney keep his privileged 14% tax rate.
and I would add that like all teachers, CC professors are not paid nearly enough for their qualifications and value to society.
and I would add that like all teachers, CC professors are not paid nearly enough for their qualifications and value to society.
2
I would simply note that Mr. Hanks was able to attend Community College without a free ride provide by Mr. and Mrs. John Q Taxpayer. This is still true, especially low-income students for whom the Pell Grant covers essentially all of the costs. I love Community Colleges, but Mr. Obama's proposal is a half-baked solution in search of a problem. I would also argue that establishing a system whereby states get $3 for every $1 they spend encourages more spending and higher tuition rates.
1
What a wonderful essay! It brought back memories of my own experiences at community colleges in New York State -- a wonderful English teacher in children's literature at Herkimer CC, another short story class at Monroe CC, and even the dreaded required science class, with a teacher who had a sense of humor and dedication that enabled me to receive a 'B', to my shock and relief. These and other classes gave me confidence and hope, and the ability to go on to gain a BSW from a state school, and MSW from Columbia, all in my mid-30s. A life changer indeed. Let's hope more people like Tom Hanks speak up and promote the President's proposal. Just thinking of the possibilities gives me hope.
3
Who knew Tom Hanks and I had so much in common. I'm 3 years older. He was born in Concord, CA and I was born 10 miles away in Pittsburg. I went to Berkeley High, about 10 miles from Tom's high school in Oakland. We were both under achievers an both got a second chance through the Alameda County community colleges. Tom went to Sacramento State and I to Humboldt State. He payed $40 more a year in tuition. I got a science education while Tom was in the humanities. Tom became a rich and famous actor... I didn't; but besides that, a remarkably similar life trajectory. Back then, community colleges were free and state colleges/universities were affordable. We have not been moving in the right direction.
7
20 years of higher education (2 doctorates, a bunch of fellowships) at Ivy league schools got me to where eI am. But it would not have been for Mass Bay Community College which helped me with low-cost college credits which I was able to transfer to my expensive university which finally awarded my 4 year degree.
90% of students should start at the community college level, see fi they can perform and see if they really need more.
90% of students should start at the community college level, see fi they can perform and see if they really need more.
1
Winners and Losers!
With free tuition the president and/or chairman of the board would not be chosen mainly for their fundraising capabilities. Nor would they be allowed to hand-pick administrators who assure that they hang around for decades.
Free tuition is America’s best opportunity to establish academic freedom between faculty and administrators in our community colleges.
Students and faculty have the most to gain. College presidents and administrators have the most to lose.
Lets do it!
With free tuition the president and/or chairman of the board would not be chosen mainly for their fundraising capabilities. Nor would they be allowed to hand-pick administrators who assure that they hang around for decades.
Free tuition is America’s best opportunity to establish academic freedom between faculty and administrators in our community colleges.
Students and faculty have the most to gain. College presidents and administrators have the most to lose.
Lets do it!
2
It's heartwarming to read that community college was such a great experience for this writer, but that doesn't mean it should be free. Since it's so wonderful, many students should be motivated to make the commitment and sacrifices needed to attend.
1
Mr. Hanks,
There is a difference between free and affordable. Nobody is arguing that community colleges should be closed or limited. The argument is whether they should be free or affordable. On the whole, when people pay for something, they appreciate it more. Look at public school. Half the kids do not show up, and their parents do not really care. In NYC, taxpayers spend $140 a day or 25g a year for each kid. More than half of the students and their parents do not appreciate what is being offered because they think it is free. These students do not study as you did in community college and many do not even show up for class. Free is bad. Affordable is good. Human nature has long taught us this. These same kids who waste our money in public school, clean their Nike's with devotion because they spent $200 of their or their parent's money on them. If these kids were given these Nike's free every 6 months, you would find them to be unappreciated and not taken care of. Mr. Hanks, sometimes you have to use your common sense. People choosing and going to college need to have skin in the game which compels them to perform --- just like you did.
There is a difference between free and affordable. Nobody is arguing that community colleges should be closed or limited. The argument is whether they should be free or affordable. On the whole, when people pay for something, they appreciate it more. Look at public school. Half the kids do not show up, and their parents do not really care. In NYC, taxpayers spend $140 a day or 25g a year for each kid. More than half of the students and their parents do not appreciate what is being offered because they think it is free. These students do not study as you did in community college and many do not even show up for class. Free is bad. Affordable is good. Human nature has long taught us this. These same kids who waste our money in public school, clean their Nike's with devotion because they spent $200 of their or their parent's money on them. If these kids were given these Nike's free every 6 months, you would find them to be unappreciated and not taken care of. Mr. Hanks, sometimes you have to use your common sense. People choosing and going to college need to have skin in the game which compels them to perform --- just like you did.
3
You confuse compulsory with free. Students who don't go to public schools may have a very good reason: the schools are inferior. Why are they inferior? Could it possibly be that conservative anti-public spending fever is contributing to it?
And free community college for those who CHOOSE and WANT to go is a concept one would think the richest country in the history of humanity would want and be able to support.
And free community college for those who CHOOSE and WANT to go is a concept one would think the richest country in the history of humanity would want and be able to support.
While I never achieved the lofty status of Mr Hanks, I too owe a rewarding career to a small community college.. Orange County Community College in Middletown, NY. Also an underachiever in high school, I somehow managed to succeed as an art major with a firm C average which kept me out of the army during the madness of the Vietnam war, and the huge draft buildup of 1967 and '68. I broke my leg in a motorcycle accident just before receiving my AAS degree and was permanently reclassified as 4F instead of 1A. You could say that community college literally saved my life.
Then, 8 years later, it offered a credential that allowed me to applied to NYU where I was accepted with transferred credits and "life experience" into the Film School. I received a BFA with the help of a full scholarship in 1977 and went on to a rewarding career in film production in New York and LA. None of this would have been possible without the 'leg-up' provided by O.C.C.C. and the low tuition offered to working class kids like me.
Kudos to President Obama and his proposal. It is the kind of program that tax dollars should be focused on. Let's hope the Republicans can see the benefit to the country and to their own political agenda.
Then, 8 years later, it offered a credential that allowed me to applied to NYU where I was accepted with transferred credits and "life experience" into the Film School. I received a BFA with the help of a full scholarship in 1977 and went on to a rewarding career in film production in New York and LA. None of this would have been possible without the 'leg-up' provided by O.C.C.C. and the low tuition offered to working class kids like me.
Kudos to President Obama and his proposal. It is the kind of program that tax dollars should be focused on. Let's hope the Republicans can see the benefit to the country and to their own political agenda.
1
When I graduated from high school at 16, I, a functional orphan from a state that then had no opportunities for free college, never dreamed that it would be possible for me to attend college. At nearly 30, after moving to New York, marrying and having two children, some friends suggested that I should enroll in the New York City University system. At that time CUNY was free to students who met certain high school requirements. I enrolled. Except for books and transportation, I paid not a cent to attend.
Subsequently, I attended law school on a scholarship, paying $97 a semester tuition, an amount that was just affordable for me. After graduation, I joined the New York State bar and was fortunate enough to earn a good living as a lawyer.
In addition to the enrichment (in all senses of the word) of my life and that of my family, over the years, the job opportunities opened to me by my virtually free education enabled me to pay thousands more in income taxes than I would have paid without my education. I'm sure that those additional taxes more than paid for the costs of my education. As a matter of fact, because of a pension and other income from investments, I, long-retired and nearing 80, still pay a fair amount of taxes.
The benefits to the government of increased taxes paid by people who are more highly educated are seldom, if ever, considered by opponents of free higher education. They are missing an important point
Subsequently, I attended law school on a scholarship, paying $97 a semester tuition, an amount that was just affordable for me. After graduation, I joined the New York State bar and was fortunate enough to earn a good living as a lawyer.
In addition to the enrichment (in all senses of the word) of my life and that of my family, over the years, the job opportunities opened to me by my virtually free education enabled me to pay thousands more in income taxes than I would have paid without my education. I'm sure that those additional taxes more than paid for the costs of my education. As a matter of fact, because of a pension and other income from investments, I, long-retired and nearing 80, still pay a fair amount of taxes.
The benefits to the government of increased taxes paid by people who are more highly educated are seldom, if ever, considered by opponents of free higher education. They are missing an important point
4
At various points in my life, I've studied at some of the top academic institutions in the US, but in high school, I took several physics and mechanical engineering courses at a local community college that helped me find my interests and guided me towards my current career choice. I think the idea to make the first two years of community college free is a fantastic idea, and I'm so happy we have a president who values education like this. A better life comes from education, and it's great that we have a president who recognizes that!
5
There is much talk today about the hollowing out of the middle class and how it was so much better 40 years ago when the baby boom generation was coming into their own. Mr. Hanks points to another way of considering this socioeconomic change.
In 1966 most of my friends were looking to go to USC or UCLA. I suppose I could have gone to either, while the grades were not top notch the SAT and my father's finances could have handled it. I even had several scholarship offers for out-of-state schools.
I chose to go the Fullerton College (then called Fullerton Junior College, a two year school). Perhaps I was unusual, but I personally think not for many of my friends ultimately ended up there as well. My reasons were very simple, as it was my choice alone, I looked at the cost of both tuition and housing and elected to sleep at home and go to a school that came at a cost of books and lab fees only.
It is not so much that the middle class has less then we did 48 years ago. They just have different wants and the available public assistance is eaten up by food and medical care with little left for college education.
I agree with Mr. Hanks. Though I was soon to be made by the Marine Corps, Southeast Asia and subsequently the GI Bill, my four semesters at Fullerton Junior College was invaluable and I hope President Obama is successful.
In 1966 most of my friends were looking to go to USC or UCLA. I suppose I could have gone to either, while the grades were not top notch the SAT and my father's finances could have handled it. I even had several scholarship offers for out-of-state schools.
I chose to go the Fullerton College (then called Fullerton Junior College, a two year school). Perhaps I was unusual, but I personally think not for many of my friends ultimately ended up there as well. My reasons were very simple, as it was my choice alone, I looked at the cost of both tuition and housing and elected to sleep at home and go to a school that came at a cost of books and lab fees only.
It is not so much that the middle class has less then we did 48 years ago. They just have different wants and the available public assistance is eaten up by food and medical care with little left for college education.
I agree with Mr. Hanks. Though I was soon to be made by the Marine Corps, Southeast Asia and subsequently the GI Bill, my four semesters at Fullerton Junior College was invaluable and I hope President Obama is successful.
8
My best friend's brother, a former schoolmate, was a coke addict for many years, then eventually went clean by force of law and was doing some kind of community service at a mental hospital as one of the bouncer-like men in the white coats when it was noted that he had an exceptional gift for handling people with mental illness. He went to the local community college (Westchester CC in Valhalla, NY), got his degree in psychiatric nursing, and since his early 40s (he is now 55) earns over $200,000 a year with overtime.
My mother the snob, on the other hand, refused to allow me to follow my dream of a nursing career, instead insisting on an eastern Ivy League university, where I piddled around, got my As in the one topic that seemed of interest -- anthropology -- and I have been paddling around in the waters of boredom and non achievement ever since, making approximately 1/10th the wage of my supposedly "loser" friend.....
My mother the snob, on the other hand, refused to allow me to follow my dream of a nursing career, instead insisting on an eastern Ivy League university, where I piddled around, got my As in the one topic that seemed of interest -- anthropology -- and I have been paddling around in the waters of boredom and non achievement ever since, making approximately 1/10th the wage of my supposedly "loser" friend.....
MY mother was a Professor at community college for 15 years, I attended the same community college during summers off from a 4-year university, and finally I taught community college for on semester while changing careers before attending graduate school. As the child of a community college educator, a repeat student, and an instructor, I can say, THEY WORK! For years, my mother would receive phone calls from former students who said that she (and the opportunity to attend community college) changed their lives!
5
My personal story: like Hanks I was an underachiever, went to community college (part time while working) but unlike him, when I applied to MIT I got in with a small cohort of other community college products from around the country. Ended up with a Ph.D. and as a professor. I couldn't have done this without inexpensive community college. Not many followed this particular track but there were many other successes from community college. Let's support Obama's initiative. We need quality community colleges with high quality staff. It is a wise investment that is good for our people and country.
5
You are correct that the current congress will balk at the cost of free community college education as they have no concept of helping others and being able to see the rewards in the future. I am an Arizona State graduate in Electrical Engineering thanks to the GI Bill, being a Vietnam veteran. Being able to get this degree with the governments support has (I'm certain) been paid back many times through the taxes I pay.
2
Labeled, incorrectly, as academically deficient until partway through high school, I was fortunate enough to squeak my way into a state college, on mediocre grades and a modest SAT score. I'm thankful every day for the opportunities made available to me through that affordable education. It's not something that exists today.
Beautiful article. I too am a very proud graduate of a community college (Seattle Central Community College) and I attended at about the time Mr. Hanks was leaving. It too made me who I am. I encourage others to attend CC and save the money for the last 2 years. CC should be cheap and readily available. But not free. Never free. What we obtain too cheap we esteem to lightly (another Tom, this one surnamed Paine).
1
Tom Hanks presents an eloquent argument why free community college education benefits us all. That poor struggling student, both financially and academically just might find the structure and inspiration to achieve a dream, a future and the ability to become a productive citizen in all ways. Bravo, Tom!
Mr. Hanks' experience echoes my own. I worked full time on a loading dock. None of my family members had been to college. Harper College in Palatine, IL gave me an affordable education and friendships with diverse people far beyond my high school or factory experiences. My alma mater provided a foundation for a career in academia at community colleges and for more than 25 years at an Ivy League university.
3
Thank you Tom Hanks! Just like the characters you bring to life, your commentary makes me feel as if I know you. You are a national treasure!
I attended The University of Texas at Austin from 1976-1980. The tuition was affordable to my middle class parents, in part, because both the federal and state government subsidized public schools. Republican politicians at the state and federal level (George W. Bush) led the effort in the last 15 years to end these subsidies which has resulted in sky rocketing tuition.
I would gladly pay more taxes to help make free and affordable education available to all who want it.
I attended The University of Texas at Austin from 1976-1980. The tuition was affordable to my middle class parents, in part, because both the federal and state government subsidized public schools. Republican politicians at the state and federal level (George W. Bush) led the effort in the last 15 years to end these subsidies which has resulted in sky rocketing tuition.
I would gladly pay more taxes to help make free and affordable education available to all who want it.
The benefits of a strong community college system benefit all looking to expand their knowledge, life prospects and helping to give back to their communities. One of the great benefits of the system is that it can incorporate and help transient students, something four year colleges can't accommodate.
I was able to take courses in accounting, statistics, Spanish and nutrition to round out graduate degrees in business and medicine (MBA, MS and PhD) that I was unable to take at my alma maters Berkeley and UC San Francisco. The instructors were great and inspiring educators because that's all they did, unlike my publish or perish professors at Berkeley and UCSF.
My daughter was able to take a year of college level courses in high school and go onto UCLA as a junior and graduate with honors. She just finished her MS. The community college system saved money for the radically more expensive University of California system in her case.
The community college system should be cherished and nurtured in our communities.
I was able to take courses in accounting, statistics, Spanish and nutrition to round out graduate degrees in business and medicine (MBA, MS and PhD) that I was unable to take at my alma maters Berkeley and UC San Francisco. The instructors were great and inspiring educators because that's all they did, unlike my publish or perish professors at Berkeley and UCSF.
My daughter was able to take a year of college level courses in high school and go onto UCLA as a junior and graduate with honors. She just finished her MS. The community college system saved money for the radically more expensive University of California system in her case.
The community college system should be cherished and nurtured in our communities.
6
I know a few high school seniors that would find free/reduced first 2 years at community college a lifesaver. In NJ, many of these credits could then transfer to a traditional four year college. I for one would be willing to donate my time to teach a class a semester (Psychology, Statistics, Programming).
1
In all my schooling, from first grade through Master's and Doctors degrees, by far the best education I had for my age and level at the time was in community college. It was Ventura College, in California, in the mid 1950s. My family was not well off and I held down a part-time job, but all I had to do to attend was meet a FREE bus from the college 25 miles away at 7:30 in the morning, pay a small activity fee and buy my own books. It was all I could afford, but it was magical. almost like heaven, full of new perspectives, teachers who loved their subjects and teaching, and students who actually wanted to learn. Make this available for everyone today, as it was for me so long ago.
5
Tom Hanks sharing his experience at Community College is invaluable because it shines the light on these gems that exist in all of our communities, but all too often are overlooked or disrespected. Community Colleges serve a vital function, because as Mr. Hanks shares, many students are late-bloomers or had a lackluster high school experience. These schools don't care about that -- they are fresh starts and new opportunities for all students. Community College still remains the great open access and affordable entry to college for students of all walks of life, and can serve as the starting point and inspiration for an illustrious career.
My successful mechanical engineering career started with a focus on biology at CLC, the College of Lake County Illinois, derided as the college of last choice. Lucky for me, I was able to discover that I didn't care to know the internal workings of a frog without making an irreversible financial commitment. Most students would be better off beginning their search for a career in a junior college
3
Thanks for standing up for Community Colleges! There are millions of us who have benefited from their essential services. My community college gave me second chance and a good life and made me a productive citizen. During high school, I worked 60 hours a week. I graduated with a 1.36/4.00 and a fifth of my units were for “work study.” Sure, I had bad breaks in the start of life, some blameless, some my own fault. Community college turned my life around. I had inspiring teachers, worked my tookus off, and made up for my educational deficiencies. I transferred to NYU, received a decent combination scholarships and financial aid, and despite my pitiful background left with a Phi Beta Kappa key. (A surprise to anyone who knew me in high school)
I still think of my teachers from community college often. They were an eclectic bunch, some polished, some misfits, and each of them in a way wonderful. There have been changes since my day. I often worry if the replacement of tenured faculty with adjunct will diminish the vitality of community colleges. I hope that President Obama is successful, and with funding problems solved, community colleges can remain the home of permanent and dedicated faculty.
I still think of my teachers from community college often. They were an eclectic bunch, some polished, some misfits, and each of them in a way wonderful. There have been changes since my day. I often worry if the replacement of tenured faculty with adjunct will diminish the vitality of community colleges. I hope that President Obama is successful, and with funding problems solved, community colleges can remain the home of permanent and dedicated faculty.
5
I suspect I'm very unusual in my college/law school experience:
Freshmen year: community college.
Sophomore year: top-tier state university (Michigan).
Junior/senior: commuter school
Law school: Harvard
So I've seen all four types, and my "take-away" is that the differences aren't as great as many people imagine. A much higher proportion of students and professors were good at Harvard Law than at my other schools, but I met several students and had several professors at my community college who were just as impressive as Harvard Law students and professors (indeed, one of my community-college classmates ended up at Harvard Law with me, as did one of my University of Michigan classmates).
At any of those places -- notably my community college -- there were plenty of great students to hang out with, and plenty of good professors to take classes from. It's all there for any student who wants it, and we should do our best to make it available to anyone who really wants it.
Freshmen year: community college.
Sophomore year: top-tier state university (Michigan).
Junior/senior: commuter school
Law school: Harvard
So I've seen all four types, and my "take-away" is that the differences aren't as great as many people imagine. A much higher proportion of students and professors were good at Harvard Law than at my other schools, but I met several students and had several professors at my community college who were just as impressive as Harvard Law students and professors (indeed, one of my community-college classmates ended up at Harvard Law with me, as did one of my University of Michigan classmates).
At any of those places -- notably my community college -- there were plenty of great students to hang out with, and plenty of good professors to take classes from. It's all there for any student who wants it, and we should do our best to make it available to anyone who really wants it.
6
Thank you so much, Mr. Hanks.
California and many other states made a promise half a century ago of free community college and affordable state college education; I was able to attend UC Berkeley basically for what I could earn with summer jobs. That's no longer possible because states have reneged on that promise, even as a college education has become more important for success, both for individuals and for us as a nation. Its high time we renew that commitment and make sure that money is never, never an obstacle to higher education. $60 billion is very small price to pay; the returns on that investment will be vastly higher.
California and many other states made a promise half a century ago of free community college and affordable state college education; I was able to attend UC Berkeley basically for what I could earn with summer jobs. That's no longer possible because states have reneged on that promise, even as a college education has become more important for success, both for individuals and for us as a nation. Its high time we renew that commitment and make sure that money is never, never an obstacle to higher education. $60 billion is very small price to pay; the returns on that investment will be vastly higher.
4
Eighteen years old, on my own, no family support, financially, emotionally or otherwise. Worked all day, went to community college at night. After saving enough money to live on, went full-time. Got a scholarship to USC, graduated, cum laude. First in my family to graduate college. Now my two children attend USC. Not only did community college give me the ability to attend college, it has created a family of college graduates, taxpayers, responsible, contributing citizens.
6
While I admire the many works of Mr. Hanks, I cannot agree with his views on this particular issue, I too was a mediocre student in H.S. and I too attended community college. Prior to that I served a career in the U.S. Army, where I did get a B.S. in Business & Sociology. After retiring from the Army, I decided to move into a new, and at the time, promising, career field of Information technology.
I enrolled at a Community College and began using the education benefits of the G.I. Bill, ("free" college, which I had to earn), so armed with high ideals and great hopes, I entered the IT field. I soon discovered that the education and the credentials attained at the Community College level are just enough to get your high hopes crushed, since the business world cares little about the degree and all about your life experience. I found myself being bypassed by younger people with no education in the formal sense, but who had been working at the entry level of the industry while I was wasting my time in the classroom.
Mr. Hanks has attained a great deal of success, but watching his career, I notice that his success less to do with education, and much to a natural talent which is not present in the majority of the population.
Personally, I don't care one way or the other about this proposal by Obama as I suspect it has little to do with caring about kids and everything to do with politics, as do the vast majority of Obama's actions.
I enrolled at a Community College and began using the education benefits of the G.I. Bill, ("free" college, which I had to earn), so armed with high ideals and great hopes, I entered the IT field. I soon discovered that the education and the credentials attained at the Community College level are just enough to get your high hopes crushed, since the business world cares little about the degree and all about your life experience. I found myself being bypassed by younger people with no education in the formal sense, but who had been working at the entry level of the industry while I was wasting my time in the classroom.
Mr. Hanks has attained a great deal of success, but watching his career, I notice that his success less to do with education, and much to a natural talent which is not present in the majority of the population.
Personally, I don't care one way or the other about this proposal by Obama as I suspect it has little to do with caring about kids and everything to do with politics, as do the vast majority of Obama's actions.
2
Union Junior College in Cranford, New Jersey, changed my life. Though I was bored and indifferent high school student with terrible SAT scores, my mother was determined that I go to college and bribed me to go by offering me my very own stereo if I did.
I took up the offer and was amazed that education untethered from a mediocre catholic high school and well-intentioned but not very bright nuns, was challenging and…fun!
I took public speaking, not only gaining confidence, but losing the Jersey accent. I got an A in English lit from a professor who hadn't given an A in anyone's memory. I learned what it was like to study in an environment where there were no "wrong" thoughts, where we were, in fact, challenged to think wrong thoughts.
Junior college, even though my pals at Rutgers made fun of it, put me on a path of learning and growth that was revelatory and life-changing.
Commuter schools offer a one-way road to an intellectual life that is out of reach for lower middle class kids like me. Now more than ever when a year of a four-year college can cost more than some families' annual income.
I took up the offer and was amazed that education untethered from a mediocre catholic high school and well-intentioned but not very bright nuns, was challenging and…fun!
I took public speaking, not only gaining confidence, but losing the Jersey accent. I got an A in English lit from a professor who hadn't given an A in anyone's memory. I learned what it was like to study in an environment where there were no "wrong" thoughts, where we were, in fact, challenged to think wrong thoughts.
Junior college, even though my pals at Rutgers made fun of it, put me on a path of learning and growth that was revelatory and life-changing.
Commuter schools offer a one-way road to an intellectual life that is out of reach for lower middle class kids like me. Now more than ever when a year of a four-year college can cost more than some families' annual income.
7
Community college is America's secret weapon. I nearly flunked out of high school and the local CC turned my life around. I went on to become an architect and as I near the end of my working life I can honestly say the CC made it all possible by giving me a second chance.
7
Hanks' story is wonderful. But wouldn't we be better off if we became serious about improving school instruction and community culture so that more students benefit from their schooling while in school? Community colleges were designed originally to offer students who couldn't afford college, or who needed vocational training. Too often they have become a copout for schools not to do their jobs. I have personally heard many teachers say, in effect, "It doesn't matter that they don't learn now. They can always go to community college."
1
My problem was not grades. I graduated from high school in three and one half years. My problem was money. I could have gone to many places but had no money and coming from a school in a working-class neighborhood, there was no one in the school who suggested that I apply for a scholarship. So, I went to the only place that I could afford, a Junior College, a school that had the function of the Community Colleges of today. The tuition, those many years ago, was $10 a semester and even then there was one semester in which I had to scramble to find that amount. But, as many have testified, when I got there, I found unbelievably well prepared teachers, particularly the humanities, the chemistry and the English teachers. it was there that I joined the college paper and studied French and German. The teaching
was at such a level that it permitted me to graduate with honors when I transferred to the public university. That I eventually got a PH.D. and became a college professor can only be credited to the existence of an institution that was created to rescue people with uncertain background or, as in my case, people without resources or connection. i am sure that there are millions of people like me, and we are here to affirm the personal and national importance of such schools.
was at such a level that it permitted me to graduate with honors when I transferred to the public university. That I eventually got a PH.D. and became a college professor can only be credited to the existence of an institution that was created to rescue people with uncertain background or, as in my case, people without resources or connection. i am sure that there are millions of people like me, and we are here to affirm the personal and national importance of such schools.
8
This column nearly brought tears to my eyes. In 1988, I was a high school graduate, a veteran and a very frustrated postal worker who found out that if I wanted to advance in the Postal Service, I'd have to submit fake weight slips, overlook the people going through test mail (to cheat on the PriceWaterhouse testing and get managers bigger bonuses), ignore the changing of mail color codes and pretend that the mass of loaded trailers parked in the yard didn't exist. I found Palm Beach Community College in Lake Worth, Fla., to be the idea place to discover a new and better future for myself. I learned journalism and communications from dedicated teachers and mostly motivated fellow students. It was like a different world. I loved working for the student newspaper and showing off my stories at the post office, and even began publishing my own underground employee newsletter. I paid my own way and then I advanced to Florida Atlantic University, where the joys continued. I graduated from the university in 1994, walked out of thepost office and into a new and exciting future.
I found a new career and new hopes. The greatest thing about community college was that I learned something new every day. I reinvented myself in community college. These places need our support more than ever. Even now, just thinking about my experiences, I've sometimes thought about going to my local community college again, just to have that wonderful experience all over.
I found a new career and new hopes. The greatest thing about community college was that I learned something new every day. I reinvented myself in community college. These places need our support more than ever. Even now, just thinking about my experiences, I've sometimes thought about going to my local community college again, just to have that wonderful experience all over.
7
Whether it was a community college, a public university, or Harvard, the approach to education in that time was just as Tom describes -- an opportunity explore a gourmet smorgasbord of knowledge and ideas in a mind-bobbling range of fields. Now our politicians treat higher education as vocational training wherein students are forced to declare majors early and focus exclusively on how to earn a living after graduation. Would Bill Gates drop out of Harvard today? Would someone from a less affluent background be able to explore as Tom Hanks did? We do need free community college -- and so much more.
4
I work at Sandhills Community College in North Carolina. Reading how your community college experience made such a difference is why I and my colleagues work at a community college. As our president like to say - we change lives. I have personally seen the difference community college education makes in an individuals life. I hope the government reads your article and understands how important access to higher education is not only to our citizenship but to our businesses and our country.
5
Community College was a life line for me.An honor roll high school student of working class parents although accepted to NYU , BU and other schools my family had no knowledge of using the system of grants etc to pay for school. While working to save money I attended Sullivan County Community College and had two of the most significant classes of my academic carreer. Dr Magania a Methodist Minister thought the philosophy class that made me think long and hard beyond my small world. My public speaking class taught me the value of my own voice. I later transferred to a four year school and live a very different life than my parents every did. Community College is a branch of hope and a pathway for many.
5
Here is a fact that speaks poorly of America's priorities:
We are committing to renew our arsenal of nuclear weapons, which everyone agrees we will never use. The cost for this renewal is approximately equal to the total amount of college tuition American students are expected to pay over the next twenty-five years.
Thus, we have chosen to enrich a few arms makers for something which provides almost no utility and little economic value, a few jobs aside, instead of investing in our future. As for the future, we prefer our citizens be enslaved by student loan debt, which the financial experts warn is a serious threat to financial stability. "The next bubble," they say.
To put this in context, we should remember that the American revolution was fomented by a few rich, land grabbing slave owners who didn't want to pay their taxes.
Clearly, those old boys won.
We are committing to renew our arsenal of nuclear weapons, which everyone agrees we will never use. The cost for this renewal is approximately equal to the total amount of college tuition American students are expected to pay over the next twenty-five years.
Thus, we have chosen to enrich a few arms makers for something which provides almost no utility and little economic value, a few jobs aside, instead of investing in our future. As for the future, we prefer our citizens be enslaved by student loan debt, which the financial experts warn is a serious threat to financial stability. "The next bubble," they say.
To put this in context, we should remember that the American revolution was fomented by a few rich, land grabbing slave owners who didn't want to pay their taxes.
Clearly, those old boys won.
9
An educated public is dangerous to the status quo. That's not cynicism it's reality. Young educated people don't stay in minimum wage jobs long. Additionally, if you're educated you're more likely to understand subtext and background and context and therefore not buy into the kind of news that makes people actually believe in trickle down economics. The more educated a young person is the less likely they will vote against their own self interest. Fast food conglomerates, and the service industry will not let this happen. The crooked for-profit universities (Phoenix, Broadmore, etc) that rip off hundreds of thousands of earnest students who want to get ahead - by selling them useless degrees - they must be apoplectic.
9
I had the privilege of teaching chemistry and oceanography at a community college in the SF Bay area for 12 years. What a joy it was. Loved the college, students and faculty. Only left to form a company to teach worldwide as a form of adventure travel. Having now taught at all college levels, including universities abroad, my heart goes out to the community college sector as it makes such a difference to not only the local community and students but the nation as a whole. If there was a time in our history that we need to kickstart our economy, provide new opportunities and possibilities for our youth, this is it.
Tom Hanks got it right. The formation of Silicon Valley is not only a result of students and ideas from Stanford and Berkeley, but to the free community college system in California during the 60's and 70's. An investment in free education yields unlimited opportunities for all American citizens now and in the future.
Tom Hanks got it right. The formation of Silicon Valley is not only a result of students and ideas from Stanford and Berkeley, but to the free community college system in California during the 60's and 70's. An investment in free education yields unlimited opportunities for all American citizens now and in the future.
8
Nice column. But the question isn't whether community colleges can be (and have been) a wonderful experience for many students. The question is whether taxpayers should foot the bill. Something tells me that if Chabot hadn't been free, Hanks would have dredged up the initiative to find a way to pay for it -- and arguably would have had an even more rewarding education in the process.
1
So only those who pay for community college themselves will ever know its full rewards? What a convenient response to the idea of public assistance for a public good. I'm pretty sure Tom Hanks and other continue to reap the well-earned benefits of their community college education without the added benefit of your ideological approach, David.
6
No, I neither said nor implied that ONLY those who pay tuition will know the full rewards. Nor do I suggest that ALL who pay tuition reap the full benefits. I merely said that some who work their way through college reap extra benefits from the commitment required to do that, and Hanks might have been one of them.
But all of that aside, it is a legitimate point of debate whether and how much taxpayers should foot the bill for people who want to go to college.
But all of that aside, it is a legitimate point of debate whether and how much taxpayers should foot the bill for people who want to go to college.
Awesome column Mr. Hanks. Your education has certainly paid off. I’m a product of community college, and without the leg up that a small community college provides, I don’t think I could have made it through a large, four-year state school.
I went to Johnson County Community College in Overland Park, Kansas. Without its smaller classes, close, attentive instructors, ready availability of math tutor’s, and at the time I attended, a small, close environment, I don’t think I could have developed the skills needed for further education. I learned how to learn at the community college, something I use daily.
It was not a free education. I had student loans, PELL grants, assistance from family and a part time job. I know of several students that started when I did, but could not complete their education for financial reasons.
If everyone was given an opportunity to study whatever they wanted, develop skills in something they have an interest in, work towards a goal, I would imagine that they would go on to something better in life than if they were not given that chance.
I would not have made it to where I am today, self sufficient, independent, productive and quite happy without the community college.
I went to Johnson County Community College in Overland Park, Kansas. Without its smaller classes, close, attentive instructors, ready availability of math tutor’s, and at the time I attended, a small, close environment, I don’t think I could have developed the skills needed for further education. I learned how to learn at the community college, something I use daily.
It was not a free education. I had student loans, PELL grants, assistance from family and a part time job. I know of several students that started when I did, but could not complete their education for financial reasons.
If everyone was given an opportunity to study whatever they wanted, develop skills in something they have an interest in, work towards a goal, I would imagine that they would go on to something better in life than if they were not given that chance.
I would not have made it to where I am today, self sufficient, independent, productive and quite happy without the community college.
3
Mr. Hanks wrote a commendable piece about a wonderful education system that is virtually unique to the US. If it causes you to better appreciate community colleges, that is excellent.
On the other hand, if it causes you to think that Obama's cynical ploy is in any way, shape, or form, a good idea, that is a shame. Tossing at least $6 billion a year (it will grow way beyond this amount but that is for another post) at what is essentially a non-existent problem would be a classic example of all that is wrong with this administration.
First of all, the affordability of community colleges is simply not a problem. In addition to the fact that the costs are extremely low to begin with, there is a vast array of scholarships, grants, and loans that already assist low income students (all due respect to Mr. Hanks but he appears to be very short on the facts if he thinks veterans are not already getting their college costs paid at CCs).
Secondly, the ability to reasonably attend college while paying for it is one of the best aspects of the CC system. There is an intrinsic positive effect for many young people of working and learning. it develops an appreciation of the demands of the workforce, and understanding of the value of a dollar, and can inspire a young person who might otherwise drift through school to realize that they have to do something to avoid spending the rest of their life serving coffee or pushing a broom.
Obama's plan is a solution where there is no problem.
On the other hand, if it causes you to think that Obama's cynical ploy is in any way, shape, or form, a good idea, that is a shame. Tossing at least $6 billion a year (it will grow way beyond this amount but that is for another post) at what is essentially a non-existent problem would be a classic example of all that is wrong with this administration.
First of all, the affordability of community colleges is simply not a problem. In addition to the fact that the costs are extremely low to begin with, there is a vast array of scholarships, grants, and loans that already assist low income students (all due respect to Mr. Hanks but he appears to be very short on the facts if he thinks veterans are not already getting their college costs paid at CCs).
Secondly, the ability to reasonably attend college while paying for it is one of the best aspects of the CC system. There is an intrinsic positive effect for many young people of working and learning. it develops an appreciation of the demands of the workforce, and understanding of the value of a dollar, and can inspire a young person who might otherwise drift through school to realize that they have to do something to avoid spending the rest of their life serving coffee or pushing a broom.
Obama's plan is a solution where there is no problem.
2
It is really a pity The American way, nowadays mostly are focused on the individual, which way to often results in plain moral statements. This morning BBC World Service presented the South-Korean way. After the war and its consequences (not at least many fallen US soldiers) and with no natural resources, they got all in betting on the resorce they still had i.e. their own labor force. Education has been their key, as well as the key to economic success in my country Sweden and as read in Nyt some days ago, also in US. But I'm writing this on a Samsung mobile phone/tablet, throwing away my old Sony-Ericsson. I just do not think my next one will be a good looking US-fruit, but probably a still unknown product from Red China. Is that an irony? It is a tragedy because this is not what the UN soldiers died for. Making the world safe for democracy is first and foremost a question of education. To the citizens as well as the society - or culture, aka the civilisation.
2
My father, James Coovelis, would have been pleased to be remembered for his riveting lectures, but he would have been most gratified by Mr. Hanks' enthusiastic endorsement of free community college education. As a founding member of the faculty at Chabot, my father was a life-long advocate of affordable post secondary education for all. Like many of his generation, he rose from Depression era poverty to the middle class thanks to the expanded educational opportunities available during the post-war decades. He attended Bakersfield junior college, where he met a wonderful mentor in Dr. Mersen, served in Korea, and return to study history at Cal on the GI bill. These opportunities are truly transformative and provide a foundation for succeeding generations to thrive in the economy and contribute to the cultural and social well-being of the nation. A good education can make the American Dream a reality. Like Mr. Hanks, my father believed every American has a right to pursue that dream.
40
And, this hand out should be funded by a 100% special tax on income in excess of $1M "earned" by "entertaining". This, and an imposed cap on the salaries paid instructors at these community colleges.
Or we could close some unnecessary military bases, put a tax on defense contractors, excise some redundancies in the intelligence communities and armed forces communities, close tax breaks and loopholes for corporate executives, end subsidies to industries that don't need them, AND put a 100% special tax on everyone who earns over a certain amount, whether they entertain or not.
18
Those were the days for community colleges. Now many have gotten too big and top heavy. Once you went to the community college for higher academic knowledge, and a chance to matriculate on up, and the basic classes for literacy, and a chance to get a H.S. equiv. diploma was done under the auspices of adult education i.e night school in the local neighborhood public school building. Intro to guitar, and folk dancing was taught at the Parks and Rec's facility. Although not taught by professors with Master's Degrees, they seemed to do okay.
1
Thanks Tom. Your life experience points out how an immersive education can lead to fascinating destinations that you need not be aware of while in school. The point is to have the liberal arts experience. It is a shame that some of the comments here underscore our misunderstanding of higher education. Many Americans have a faulty yardstick for "success", which is fame and/or money. Both of these things are well and good but it misses the point. In a modern democracy education for all is paramount. Citizens need an appreciation of knowledge and an opportunity to "learn how to learn". This is the point of liberal arts education. If more citizens in this country were inspired to learn about the world around them they would stay informed for a lifetime; improving their lives and substantially improving the prospects for America. If you believe this country is way off course as I do, you need only look at our approach to education, which is too often seen as merely a source of job related information and skills necessary to work. This thinking fails to address the most important purpose of education; to develop an intelligent, inquisitive person who can think for themselves and wants to endeavor toward a well rounded productive life in all they do. Worker, spouse, parent, neighbor, voter. Instead we mock higher learning as useless and, uninformed, we abdicate our individual roles in participative democracy. And in the words of Shakespeare's Hamlet, "Aye, there's the rub."
1
This particular program may be the single most important initiative of Mr. Obama's presidency and I hope and pray he is successful.
Why? Because over the last twenty years the Republicans have completely blown away the education system in America, from pre-k through university.
Pell Grants and government subsidized loans are gone, and now students pay 6-9 % interest leaving people stuck with $100,000 in debt on graduation. Colleges and universities, bolstered by the support of this new debt based system have dramatically inflated tuition and fees.
The net result is that US citizen gradation rates are falling precipitously (see the Conference Board reports). Foreign students, who get government subsidies from their home countries, fill the student seats, and ultimately the US jobs that could otherwise have been occupied by Americans.
The failure of the education system, engineered by the Republican Party, is why jobs have gone unfilled by US workers and why jobs were exported in such number in the last 20 years.
The Conference Board and other sources extensive research and studies prove it. Profiteering in the name of education undermines the economy and the blame lies very specifically with the Republican Party.
Why? Because over the last twenty years the Republicans have completely blown away the education system in America, from pre-k through university.
Pell Grants and government subsidized loans are gone, and now students pay 6-9 % interest leaving people stuck with $100,000 in debt on graduation. Colleges and universities, bolstered by the support of this new debt based system have dramatically inflated tuition and fees.
The net result is that US citizen gradation rates are falling precipitously (see the Conference Board reports). Foreign students, who get government subsidies from their home countries, fill the student seats, and ultimately the US jobs that could otherwise have been occupied by Americans.
The failure of the education system, engineered by the Republican Party, is why jobs have gone unfilled by US workers and why jobs were exported in such number in the last 20 years.
The Conference Board and other sources extensive research and studies prove it. Profiteering in the name of education undermines the economy and the blame lies very specifically with the Republican Party.
6
The community college is an undervalued asset/jewel in our society.
Anything one wants to do at a four-year school and be done at a two-year school and at less cost.
My question is: how do these expensive state/private universities justify the high costs of tuition?
Anything one wants to do at a four-year school and be done at a two-year school and at less cost.
My question is: how do these expensive state/private universities justify the high costs of tuition?
1
The Congress (most Democrats included) would rather spend $1,500,000,000,000 on a piece of unreliable military hardware (the F-35 plane) than 60,000,000,000 on this beautiful idea (free community college). Given a choice of one or the other, I wonder which the American public would choose. BTW, it's time to give Tom Hanks more column space.
19
CC's aren't just for the first two years any more. A number of states already offer 4-year degrees through them as the demands for 4-year degrees in practical fields grows. It used to be an auto mechanic was just some kid who never outgrew his love of getting into cars' guts. it is now a lot more sophisticated and a 4-year auto tech degree is really worthwhile.
America is really "the land of the second chance". I know of no other country that offers so many a chance to make up for past immaturity, or changing needs of society and technology. My wife went from English major (AKA "receptionist") to senior computer engineer thanks to the local CC.
I had a masters in math when I started working in Silicon Valley. I got the equivalent of a BA in Computer Science at De Anza CC in the evenings (while working full time), along with many others trying to keep up with the rapidly changing technology.
America is really "the land of the second chance". I know of no other country that offers so many a chance to make up for past immaturity, or changing needs of society and technology. My wife went from English major (AKA "receptionist") to senior computer engineer thanks to the local CC.
I had a masters in math when I started working in Silicon Valley. I got the equivalent of a BA in Computer Science at De Anza CC in the evenings (while working full time), along with many others trying to keep up with the rapidly changing technology.
4
Mr. Hanks makes a significant point on the importance of an instructional faculty; much more likely to be found at a community college than at a major research university.
The instructional faculty are also more likely to have "real world experience", rather than the extensive professional experience that enables "the public or perish" environment at our major research universities.
For the lay citizen, access to a community (or a junior) college can be a game changer. I wholeheartedly agree with Mr. Sheppard. Education is the great equalizer and education facilitates movement in an upward trajectory.
As with many initiatives, "the devil is in the details." If this program is structured to where the student assumes the accountability and responsibility for her/his actions, then this is a wonderful investment. We must set clear expectations that this wonderful investment does not become another hugely expensive entitlement boondoggle.
The instructional faculty are also more likely to have "real world experience", rather than the extensive professional experience that enables "the public or perish" environment at our major research universities.
For the lay citizen, access to a community (or a junior) college can be a game changer. I wholeheartedly agree with Mr. Sheppard. Education is the great equalizer and education facilitates movement in an upward trajectory.
As with many initiatives, "the devil is in the details." If this program is structured to where the student assumes the accountability and responsibility for her/his actions, then this is a wonderful investment. We must set clear expectations that this wonderful investment does not become another hugely expensive entitlement boondoggle.
1
Can not community college tuition be financed with student loans at a much-reduced level? As I wrote, Obama's proposed community college for free strikes me as another pitch for minority and middle-class votes. Put another way, another liberal entitlement.
1
The President's proposal does contain some much needed conditions. Students would be required to maintain a 2.5 gpa and stay on track for transfer to a four year college and/or completion of an AS degree. If students can meet the required conditions the reward is 2 years of college education free of charge. It would be the opportunity of a lifetime for tens of thousands of people. And the truth is that as a society we will all benefit from this idea. An educated population is the foundation on which healthy societies are built. The more we can do to help people become productive members of society the more we will all benefit from the results.
4
Great essay, Tom, and on the money about the value of community college. As a board member at Columbia Gorge Community College in Oregon, I struggle with the desire to provide diverse, practical education opportunities to our students, at a cost they can afford. I've long favored universal access to higher education, but the realities of our funding model so far have made such thinking laughable. Bravo to President Obama for recognizing the need, the value that community colleges provide -- for basic job skill training, to foundational study that leads to four-year programs -- and the financial challenges that have put higher ed beyond the reach of so many deserving and wanting people. Here's hoping Congress has the guts to support what surely will be characterized by the miserly majority as ObamaEd. PS - For me, community college has been the go-to resource for lifelong learning, the drop-in destination when I wanted to add skills to my toolkit ... Quark, HTML, screenwriting. In each case, CC delivered value beyond belief.
1
I share Mr. Hanks' appreciation for community college. However, I would note that veterans can already get a college education through the GI bill, that one of the biggest reasons college has become unaffordable is the inflation caused by massive government subsidies (so including community college in that dumpster fire is counterintuitive, if not a fool's errand), and borrowing tens of billions of dollars against our children's future to pay for it all seems an exceptionally poor legacy to leave them.
I was employed as an administrator at a CC in Massachusetts for over 20 years. I had contact with students from all walks of life; returning Vets, disabled adults, low achieving high school graduates, adults who wanted midlife career changes, single parents, financially strapped smart kids. You name it they showed up at registration to start their lives anew. One woman, a friend, recently divorced from her husband, took almost 8-10 years to get her associate's degree and started a pet-sitting business after she graduated long before anyone else had thought of such a thing. I admired her pluck and determination as well as that of many, many other students I counseled. "One course at a time and you'll get there eventually" was the mantra for many and I can recall so many success stories it would be impossible to list them all here. Tom Hanks' story is very typical and msot inspiring but will the Republicans listen? Do they even care?
12
A heartfelt op-ed. However, affordability and accessibility are not usually inputs when individuals decide whether to attend a community college. The average tuition is under $4,000, in some cases about half that; and community colleges take all comers. Since when did borrowing that small a sum become a matter for the taxpayers to take care of--and more than they do now because all state colleges are heavily taxpayer subsidized as it is.
Obama's proposal seems to be based on doing something to solve the problem of income inequality. It may also be based on his snobbish view that to be a person in the modern world, said person must have a college degree. I disagree strongly with that belief of the president's.
The vast lot of impoverished high school grads, especially if they happen to be persons of color, and who have good grades, are not being turned away from four year colleges. The president seems to have in mind that group of students who did poorly, many of whom have as much business going to college, two or four year, as the family dog. Does he think community college is going to make them "lifetime learners?"
College isn't the answer to every problem. And if it's money the president is concerned about, both my electrician and my plumber make more than me, and I'm a college professor.
Obama's proposal seems to be based on doing something to solve the problem of income inequality. It may also be based on his snobbish view that to be a person in the modern world, said person must have a college degree. I disagree strongly with that belief of the president's.
The vast lot of impoverished high school grads, especially if they happen to be persons of color, and who have good grades, are not being turned away from four year colleges. The president seems to have in mind that group of students who did poorly, many of whom have as much business going to college, two or four year, as the family dog. Does he think community college is going to make them "lifetime learners?"
College isn't the answer to every problem. And if it's money the president is concerned about, both my electrician and my plumber make more than me, and I'm a college professor.
4
They wouldn't be overpaid if their education were to be modernized instead of beeing a descent from the 15th century Germany. To become a plummer or electrician you must first serve as an apprentice under an apprenticeship which usually lasts several years. Nowadays such rather theoretical and theoretically demanding professions could be integrated in the educational system and thus produce many more of them. And thus both you and I could get a decent plummer when we need one, and pay him or her, likewise fee.
I am in 100% agreement with this piece on Community Colleges. Although Community Colleges in Pennsylvania are not free they offer lower tuition rates. My son attended Montgomery County Community College, rated one of the best Community Colleges in the nation; and without sounding biased, it is a really good community college! My son was able to get an Associates Degree in bio-technology and transfer all of the credits from his degree to the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia where he got his Bachelor's Degree in Pharmacology. The two years of reduced tuition allowed him to take minimal student loans for two years, before incurring the higher tuition costs for "higher education". We would not trade our experience with Montgomery County Community College for anything, least of all the expense of a four-year "traditional" program.
5
I love Tom's perspective and gratitude on the importance of access to a well rounded and free education. The pursuit of one's education is tried to happiness and productively in our American life ... as so many of these comments have indicated.
2
Community college allowed me a reprieve from my high school underachiever status and at an affordable price for my parents. There were no student loans and as a liberal arts major I got to try a wide breadth of courses. I graduated still skating by but it did prep me for when I got serious and continued my education where I put much more work in and was rewarded for the effort. I hope everyone has the opportunity to go through without having to worry about how to afford it.
5
Good going Tom. I was one of those Vietnam vets, in this case down in San Diego at Grossmont College with no money, but the GI Bill. From there to SDSU (at the same 95 bucks a semester as at Sac. State), then on to Arizona State for a Ph.D. then 23 years as Professor of Anthropology at the University of California, Berkeley. I was poor. We (Tom and I) could not have reached the pinnacles that we achieved without free or nearly free undergraduate educations, and community colleges. Our success is exactly what the Republicans are afraid of. They win by a dumb electorate. We baby boomers lived during the good times.
8
What a great piece Tom. And thank you Obama - our country desperately needs this. Especially at a time when higher education is being degraded by so many.
I graduated second to last from my high-school class. While not a community college, a state university took a chance on me and I eventually earned a PhD in Engineering there. I am now a professor and spend my days researching cancer and mentoring young people. I could have never imagined this life as a teenager and I am so grateful for the chance to be a productive member of society.
I graduated second to last from my high-school class. While not a community college, a state university took a chance on me and I eventually earned a PhD in Engineering there. I am now a professor and spend my days researching cancer and mentoring young people. I could have never imagined this life as a teenager and I am so grateful for the chance to be a productive member of society.
6
I took community college courses 20 years after graduating from a 4 year state college. With all the technological changes happening in this decade I needed to learn new software quickly. The classes were intense with hours of homework but helped me immensely in my competitive industry. Many of the students in my classes were working adults with families and most were working in tech in the San Francisco Bay Area. Even the techies need to keep current with the latest software. Some worked for Apple computer which just had their roll out of the new iPhone on campus.
4
God bless Tom Hanks sharing his experience at Chabot College. It parallels my experience at the Fayette Campus (2 year) of Penn State University in the fall of 1966 thru the Spring of 1968. This school was the only one that would accept me, after goofing off in high school, except for my senior year when I stopped hanging with the "tough guys" and tried to become an "intellectual." The fellow students were the sons and daughters of coal, miners, steel workers and kids of single parent working class families, like me. I was introduced to a world of ideas through some excellent instructors. Our claas rooms were in the basement of the Central Christian Church, and the renovated grade school building across the street. I felt like I was at Harvard or Oxford. The money was not wasted. I got a BA and later an MA in Corporate Communication from a Catholic College. Other students became journalists, scientists, engineers and business leaders. I even taught freshmen public speaking and intro communication classes later on in life. Although raised among those who threw beer bottles at NAACP demonstrators attempting the county swimming pool, I ended up spending a decade of my life at an Urban League affiliate and adopting EQUAL OPPORUNITY as my cultural center. I owe everything in my life to that start at a 2 year college. I am forever grateful for the opportunity of an inexpensive post high school education.
6
It's worth noting how many of these stories--including that of Mr. Hanks--highlight community colleges --as well as 4 year state schools--in California. Although the situation has since changed, California's support for education in the 60s, 70s, and 80s was a marvel. I know because I attended UCSB and UC Berkeley for my BA, MA, and the PhD that qualified me for a terrific job teaching at another fine state university. The cost of education at Berkeley when I attended in the 70s and 80s allowed me to cover the cost of my education by working part time. I studied with wonderful faculty, got a top-rate degree, and graduated virtually debt free. Since then, I've worked hard to give back to the motivated students I enjoy teaching-- formerly in California and now in Connecticut--my way of repaying the debt to the taxpayers who helped me earn my degree.
6
This article is right on. Community colleges change lives that usually would never get a higher education. They take working parents, kids whose families have little income, people who are trying to figure out their lives and some who have gotten completely lost and give them new chances. Too many have to give up because of hard economic realities. For those who can survive their lives are given new possibilities and skills. Without them it is increasingly obvious that higher education and the best jobs will rarely go to anyone who is not wealthy unless they are saddled with terrible debt for decades to come.
It would have benefits for numerous segments of our society and make our workplace competitive. It is the sort of "can do" plan America used to do before we quit being focused on our future. In the past the government invested in its people with programs like the homestead act allowing the poor and middle class to get land. My family benefited from that. In the 20th century there was the GI bill. Had those two "government giveaways" never happened I hate to think where my family would be today. Bring on the Community Colleges because if ever the poor and middle class needed a boost this is it.
It would have benefits for numerous segments of our society and make our workplace competitive. It is the sort of "can do" plan America used to do before we quit being focused on our future. In the past the government invested in its people with programs like the homestead act allowing the poor and middle class to get land. My family benefited from that. In the 20th century there was the GI bill. Had those two "government giveaways" never happened I hate to think where my family would be today. Bring on the Community Colleges because if ever the poor and middle class needed a boost this is it.
7
Great essay. I, too, enjoyed the fruits of a community college education. I dropped out in the middle of my third semester at a 4-year state school, not particularly well-suited at 19 to the rigors of my own bad choices. So I came home and worked on the family farm with my dad milking cows, an experience I will always treasure. Then my ever-practical mom told me I needed to learn how to do office work because it was something I could do in order to support myself (a novel concept!) so I went to a local trade school. That got me entry-level filing in a Fortune 500 company. I paid her room and board from the first paycheck - a great life lesson. Next came a professional position in another Fortune 500 Company in which I had been a summer intern between semesters of trade school.This company paid for me to return to the local community college, where I completed a 2-year program, which ultimately led the way to other better jobs in middle management in larger cities (Houston, Raleigh) I transferred credits to a 4-year university where I hope to finish on line.
Glad to see that community colleges are getting the attention they deserve. Perhaps President Obama and Congress can somehow persuade Fortune 500 companies to to kick in some cash for this endeavor. In return, community colleges can design curricula that meets the specific needs of their workplaces.
Glad to see that community colleges are getting the attention they deserve. Perhaps President Obama and Congress can somehow persuade Fortune 500 companies to to kick in some cash for this endeavor. In return, community colleges can design curricula that meets the specific needs of their workplaces.
6
Perhaps Mr. Hanks should take a class in statistics. His case is what we call an "outlier." I strongly feel that an emphasis on college for all is misguided. It is not for all. We need to start encouraging trade school enrollment and other alternative education after high school. The key is finding what a kid is passionate about before heading off to higher education. Free community college I see as an extension of high school (grades 13-14) rather than training for a specific future career. Plus, we already have the most free access to knowledge ever imagined: the internet. I think a stronger focus on MOOCs is actually a better allocation of our resources. I picture those interested in advancing their education simply logging on to an accredited course taught by the best in the world where completion of certain curricula leads to a special type of diploma that separate from actually attending a university but holds value even above that of a community college. Even better, perhaps a certain level of achievement in a MOOCs could provide some prestige to a college applicant's CV. Also, the MOOCs could help A) students figure out what they are passionate about, and B) weed out students that would not do best going on to college. What I'm proposing is that we don't make free the old system we already have, but use technology to create a new system that works better for everybody. Right now, Obama's plan seem more like a political/legacy move than a thoughtful advancing one.
6
That is a great story by Mr. Hanks. It is also common, where someone who is not quite cut out for a university can obtain the education and training to become successful. Mr. Hank's success is more than typical, and good for him.
That is no reason for the Federal government to get involved any more than it currently is.
Community college is already free to those in need and is not very expensive for anyone else. This proposal by Obama is nothing more than a vote-buying scheme. He knows the Democrats are losing the middle class, and there are many middle class families whose kids go to community college. This proposal is intended to be a wedge issue between "caring" and fiscal responsibility. Obama is betting Republicans will be fiscally responsible.
Reject Obama's vote buying.
That is no reason for the Federal government to get involved any more than it currently is.
Community college is already free to those in need and is not very expensive for anyone else. This proposal by Obama is nothing more than a vote-buying scheme. He knows the Democrats are losing the middle class, and there are many middle class families whose kids go to community college. This proposal is intended to be a wedge issue between "caring" and fiscal responsibility. Obama is betting Republicans will be fiscally responsible.
Reject Obama's vote buying.
4
I too can say that Community College made me what I am today. The College: Danville Community; the place and time Virginia 1972; the reason: a crumbling marriage, very little $, and the need to get a job soon. The cost was $5 per credit hour, the best money I ever spent. I had several truly topnotch professors who spurred me on to develop intellectually and didn't seem to mind that I was over 40 (at the time that felt pretty old). I went on to earn a Masters and a PhD from the University of Virginia. Now, 42 years later I am still in love with learning.
10
After dropping out of a state university to get married and join the Army, I got back on track years later by taking math courses at Prince George's Community College in Maryland. Thanks to community college and the GI Bill, I went on to complete a bachelors degree in Computer and Information Science at a state university. I've almost tripled my pre-community college salary. Trust me - my life was forever changed for the better.
I suspect that after years of Republican (read - Tea Party/conservative ) obstacles and resistance, this country will move into the 21st century with our public education system and provide the additional education and training necessary to build the workforce America needs to compete on the global scene.
Contrary to the conservative mantra that, "government spending doesn't create jobs" investment in public education has powered our economy for over a hundred years. We really need to do this.
I suspect that after years of Republican (read - Tea Party/conservative ) obstacles and resistance, this country will move into the 21st century with our public education system and provide the additional education and training necessary to build the workforce America needs to compete on the global scene.
Contrary to the conservative mantra that, "government spending doesn't create jobs" investment in public education has powered our economy for over a hundred years. We really need to do this.
8
I believe in community colleges, I really do, but the "free" model has problems that Mr. Hanks doesn't address. Free will encourage over consumption by some and under appreciation by many. In Europe and in California in the 70s 'free' led to a frustrating lack of effort, lowering of standards, and extension of studies by far too many. Free will also draw resources from other educational investments the public is asked to make - and should make - such as subsidies to four-year universities and the invaluable research they do (at least in many departments - hard to justify 'research loads' in the arts, humanities, or social sciences, but investment in hard-science research by the government is essential to advances in quality of life and commerce). "Free" education must also be reconciled with the recognition that education is both a core product (more knowledge) and many peripheral experiences essential to personal growth: What is to be free? ...the classes? ...the residential campus experience? (unlikely - but that is the mechanism via which many college experiences change lives) ...the student services for a commuter school? What will be free? (I imagine the President is focusing on the core product - specific knowledge of certain subjects and specific skill-developing experiences in others.) Hanks is certainly correct as far as he goes but let's not pretend the answer is as simple as the observation "wouldn't it be nice to if everyone got to go to college for free."
3
Well, in Sweden even the university is free of charge, and cheap loans and a smaller amount as gift make the living possible for just about everyone. Of course you have to repay your loans and the also the "debt" to all the other taxpayers (aka the society). Though, it's a pity confused ideas about some liberty of the free market, produce too many social scientists and too few engineers. I wished someone here could begin spreading the virtues of central planning in education businesses. Oops! Pardon me saying that, it was just logic...
education cannot be over consumed.
NYC girl, high school dropout at 15--way more interesting to second act plays, ride buses all over the city, cheapest balcony seats at Martha Graham, discovery of foreign films. GED at 19 was very easy for me, being a reader. I began community college at age 30 and had to do remedial algebra, found it was fun. Had thought I would study sociology but then I took my first history class. OMG was I ever smitten - besotted - over the moon. I took a 1:1 tutorial (teacher on his own time) on the French Revolution and my teacher kept telling me to see the whole picture and not focus on the details so much. But I love the details I said. And what I discovered when I went on to a state university (which I loved so much I stayed for 14 years, including sitting in on a variety of graduate-level classes with prof's permission) is that there was a new history in the world. Not revisionist but focusing on the small, the detail, the lives of the people. History has not brought me any kind of job, any money, nothing more than a line on a resume (on a job not gotten) but it has changed my life. Community college can do so many things for so many people - it is an entry into new worlds.
4
I agree. My father attended San Francisco Jr. College b/c he could not afford Cal. After 2 yrs/he paid for Cal by working on the dock in a fruit processing plant. He graduated w/ honors in 1938. I attended an elite private high school, but did not feel ready for university life. Long story short, I attended Chaffey College in Alta Loma , CA. I graduated w/ honors and went on to the University of LaVerne to again graduate w/ honors. Yrs. later, my daughter took the same path, graduating with honors from Cal State University, Fullerton. My son went away to college immediately after high-school. Years later, he admits that he was not ready. He did graduate in 5 yrs/worked for 3 yrs and returned more mature and ready to buckle down to obtain his JD/graduated with the highest honors, went to Washington, D.C. and has been very successful Asst. US Atty. for 14 years. POINT: Junior college offers a place to grow a bit/to obtain a fine introduction to college level classes and/or a technical education. Many parents are happy that their kids can get the first two yrs in at a very reasonable cost. I do not regret for one second the path I took. I have done very well professionally. Some of the finest educators I had were part of the Junior College system. Again, thanks, Mr. hanks for a great article.
6
A commenter criticized "'trade schools who lure students with empty promises and bad outcomes, creating massive student debt defaults."
First, not all "trade schools" make empty promises. My youngest brother went to one and listened to the promises, and the promises came true. That was one man's experience, but it was a good one.
Second, as the Time recently reported, it's not just "trade schools" that sometimes make "empty promises." Law schools, for example, have been doing so too. My top-tier law school tuition in the early 1970s ranged from $2,100 to $2,400. I suspect today's students would be thrilled if their tuition were only ten times as much. For a young man or woman to take three income-producing years out of life, and go into debt for, say, $150,000 in the process, must take some real serious thought these days.
Fortunately, or so I read, law school admissions are way down. At least some people appear to have got the message that it may no longer be worth it.
First, not all "trade schools" make empty promises. My youngest brother went to one and listened to the promises, and the promises came true. That was one man's experience, but it was a good one.
Second, as the Time recently reported, it's not just "trade schools" that sometimes make "empty promises." Law schools, for example, have been doing so too. My top-tier law school tuition in the early 1970s ranged from $2,100 to $2,400. I suspect today's students would be thrilled if their tuition were only ten times as much. For a young man or woman to take three income-producing years out of life, and go into debt for, say, $150,000 in the process, must take some real serious thought these days.
Fortunately, or so I read, law school admissions are way down. At least some people appear to have got the message that it may no longer be worth it.
4
Maybe students who attend Community College could pay for their tuition with some measure of Community Service. I am not wild about "free", but we should be providing far greater opportunity for those to attend/participate.
4
I attended a community college for my freshman year, several decades back. It was free or close to free, but it was also quite a bit of hard work. Maybe things have changed (though I doubt it), but I certainly wouldn't have attended community college just because it was "free." What would have been the point? The college wasn't handing out spending money, after all.
1
Bravo Tom. I attended community college and then attended Princeton. The only reason why I was successful at Princeton...was because of the foundation that was created at the community college. And the only reason I was able to attend the community college was because my high school helped pay for it. That investment in human capital has led to thousands of jobs that I have created since then.
6
I also owe a great deal to Community College. I started college full-time at 13 years of age, and attended - and got my AS degree from - American River College, near Sacramento California. At 13 I felt too young to leave my parents and home, and go off to university. ARC gave me the best education (teachers and courses) I ever received, in all my 51 years. I now have two Masters degrees and have taken courses at 6 universities. ARC provided the most challenging, deep, and indelible educational experiences of all. When I hear Community Colleges denigrated by colleagues - often with Ivy League backgrounds - I gently correct their misunderstanding of the vital role these bastions of excellence play in our society. My instructors at ARC were the most dedicated, passionate, and personally committed instructors I have ever known. I still recall vividly - as Mr. Hanks clearly also does - specific lectures, chapters, lessons and points from my ARC teachers. In contrast, most of the university courses I've taken are a blur in comparison. I also recall the genuine personal interest and care my instructors had for my performance. Most did not know my unusual age; I was mature enough to pass for 16, a more common age to start college. I will forever be grateful to those instructors for the strong, rich educational foundation they gave me, and the benchmark of excellence they set so high by their love of teaching. I hope Mr. Obama's vision comes to pass, for all of our benefit.
6
Well spoken Mr. Hanks!
I had some of my best learning experiences in three California community colleges: Crafton Hills Community College, City College of San Francisco and Golden West College, Huntington Beach. They were only $13 a unit back in the early '90s, so that was a great bargain. I was able to explore new cities and cultures by being able to continue my education, while my living situation changed. I transferred to UCLA, earned my BA, then moved to New York. Soo I married and moved to Denmark, and after 6 years abroad, wound up in Long Beach teaching High School with my MA in education.
I love learning. I love teaching. All of this started with my ability to grow at my pace in the Community College system. I hope everybody has the opportunity to experience the wonderful teachers that I had - at no cost other than books and curiosity.
I had some of my best learning experiences in three California community colleges: Crafton Hills Community College, City College of San Francisco and Golden West College, Huntington Beach. They were only $13 a unit back in the early '90s, so that was a great bargain. I was able to explore new cities and cultures by being able to continue my education, while my living situation changed. I transferred to UCLA, earned my BA, then moved to New York. Soo I married and moved to Denmark, and after 6 years abroad, wound up in Long Beach teaching High School with my MA in education.
I love learning. I love teaching. All of this started with my ability to grow at my pace in the Community College system. I hope everybody has the opportunity to experience the wonderful teachers that I had - at no cost other than books and curiosity.
7
Community College can be a great option for those truly interested in plowing through. I have many family members who chose that option and who ultimately became professionals--doctors, executives, etcetera. But they are not the norm. Community College is also filled with people who just are aimless and inept and ineffective. Many students enroll just to qualify for financial aid, and as soon as they get it, they stop attending classes.
1
Although Mr. Hanks found his community college education valuable, math must not have been part of the curriculum. 60 billion dollars does not equal free. Someone will have to pay.
4
I am always surprised at the comment, meant to be a kind of put down of the argument presented, that "someone has to pay". Of course, we pay for everything and in a society we collectively pay for the services we receive and which our lives what they are.
No one remarks when the automobile industry, the transportation industry, the tourist industry
demand that highways be built, that "someone has to pay", but when education or the arts are being discussed, the old complain bubbles up.
As if education were not the very foundation of research, inventions, organizations and, therefore, loud lives and jobs.
No one remarks when the automobile industry, the transportation industry, the tourist industry
demand that highways be built, that "someone has to pay", but when education or the arts are being discussed, the old complain bubbles up.
As if education were not the very foundation of research, inventions, organizations and, therefore, loud lives and jobs.
29
Yes, Frank. Someone has to pay.
I paid for my own (four-year good private non-Ivy) college education by working on an assembly line, and as a janitor, and as a salesgirl in a candy store. I also lived very cheaply, commuting to campus; though I didn't live on ramen noodles, I did become a connoisseur of 'reduced price' goods (dented cans OK as long as they don't bulge).
My observation of people who worked their way through college, or earned scholarships, vs people who had their college paid for, usually by family but not out of the students' own pockets, is that it is very true you don't value what you don't pay for.
The money would be better spent on making a high school diploma mean something again. Efforts relating to community colleges would be better put into some kind of standardized curriculum, so that a high school or community college degree meant something consistent and predictable. At present some four-year schools won't even accept some community colleges' credits.
I paid for my own (four-year good private non-Ivy) college education by working on an assembly line, and as a janitor, and as a salesgirl in a candy store. I also lived very cheaply, commuting to campus; though I didn't live on ramen noodles, I did become a connoisseur of 'reduced price' goods (dented cans OK as long as they don't bulge).
My observation of people who worked their way through college, or earned scholarships, vs people who had their college paid for, usually by family but not out of the students' own pockets, is that it is very true you don't value what you don't pay for.
The money would be better spent on making a high school diploma mean something again. Efforts relating to community colleges would be better put into some kind of standardized curriculum, so that a high school or community college degree meant something consistent and predictable. At present some four-year schools won't even accept some community colleges' credits.
1
I'm not a big believer in high government spending, but I do disagree with you about community colleges. Money well spent, in my view. I attended one, went on to a four-year college and then law school, and (I like to think) have "paid back" society several times over since then. My parents had 5 children. If community college hadn't been available, either I or one of my siblings would have had to skip college entirely.
1
Reviewing reader comments to this essay indicates that there are legions of us who benefitted from attending community colleges all across this land. My savior was L.A. City College, which I attended after getting out of the Air Force in 1958. The marvelously talented faculty motivated me to go on; thus, I was able to get a B.A. from L.A. State College, then a much more costly M.A. degree from Stanford.
The House Speaker is already sneering at the President's proposal as a give-away to those too lazy to work their way through college as he; however, let us hope there are enough legislators who see the value of
supporting the educational system that has helped so many of us.
The House Speaker is already sneering at the President's proposal as a give-away to those too lazy to work their way through college as he; however, let us hope there are enough legislators who see the value of
supporting the educational system that has helped so many of us.
13
David Brooks wrote a column yesterday called "The Child in the Basement". It discussed a parable that considers how well off people in a society often do so at the expense of others. He went on to discuss the moral obligation that affluent societies have to look honestly at this, and consider what we can do to create a more just society. A free community college education could go a long way towards bringing millions of people "out of the basement", or prevent them from going there in the first place. I am all for this important investment in our citizens and our country.
11
What a great piece! many thanks for sharing. Given the increasing difficulty of High Schools to adequately prepare students for life -let alone college- community colleges offer a final chance for the community to educate its citizens. I too hope that Congress will unite behind this action.
2
Wonderful writing! Right now I am thinking of my two + years in JC. I was just out of the Air Force in 1976 and I had no clue as to what I wanted to do with my life. I had never had much success in school, but I treated Junior College like it was my job (I had the GI Bill, $325 per month and I lived off of it! Poor but happy!), studied hard and did well. Graduated from Sonoma State University. All of it was inexpensive, and always thought provoking. Finally, I earned my MBA from a big named school (That was expensive!). I have a good life. I did not have much when I started. I was on my own at 17. I am so thankful for the Junior College experience!
7
I owe my life to my years at Brooklyn college in 1955 which was free to all New Yorkers who had a good high school average (I didn't) or who could pass their test (I did). I got an excellent 4year education in the liberal arts including the sciences, literature, and teacher training. I became a NYC public school teacher and to this day (at age 78) I still know things that many students from prestigious schools never heard of, or read. Today, thanks to this free school and to my teacher's union, the UFT, I am living a comfortable like after 25 years of teaching. Unfortunately, the city colleges are no longer free, really a shame, locking out so many who could have benefitted from this education.
10
I hand it to Tom Hanks for telling the organized, traditional learner what a college experience can give to a student who the public high school experience left behind. The greater freedom and accountability entrusts the student, free of the relentless games and vying push of the college entrance experience, with finding his own path. It is humbling to know that the likes of Tom Hanks entered community college with the need to 'find himself'! Because he did so there, we are the better for it. My mother's last movie ever, prior to her somewhat unexpected death, was "Forrest Gump." It was a beautiful portrayal and I'm grateful to Tom Hanks now for this column as well. It is potent to read of a student who overcame obstacles once the opportunities became available to him. May others wishing to follow their calling be so inspired.
5
Free tuition for community college makes sense. It makes more sense if we can find ways to keep a higher percentage of students studying all the way to the end of their two year program. Perhaps we can provide, as part of their college experience, job counseling that effectively helps students match their interests with their abilities.
2
I, too, support the President's proposal to expand funding for community colleges. I, especially, hope it takes 'customers' away from some of the expensive, for-profit 'schools' that lure so many veterans and those the first in their families to attend post-high school education. Community colleges offer a better [less expensive] deal with better prospects for graduating and moving on than the for-profit 'schools'.
2
Only in America is it a mark of pride, not shame, to admit to being a community college graduate or a first generation university student. That's something wonderful about the U S of A. To maintain (or perhaps return to) our meritocratic ideals, we've got to remove as many impediments as possible so that non-traditional students can further their educations and career aspirations. Mr. Hanks's essay does Chabot proud, and President Obama's proposal is a huge step forward.
6
No it's not "only in America"! - I sometimes wonder where Americans get these " only in America" ideas from.
2
I went to Orange Coast College in southern California, where Diane Keaton also went to school. The place had a fabulous music and theater department. I lived on work study and raced through my AA degree. Thanks to OCC, I was able to go on and get undergrad. and grad degrees, without which I would have been lost. I will remain forever grateful. 4-year college isn't for everyone, but community college can raise all boats.
11
I owe my life and livelyhood to community college. I would have never been able to afford a state university even if I had stellar transcripts, which I did not. When I went to college some 30 years ago, it was $5 a unit; $50 max. California community colleges are still the best deal in the country. I don't understand the stigma that is attached to a community college education. I would be nowhere without mine, and I tell my students every chance I get.
8
Good for Hanks and all who experienced such dedicated and degreed teachers, but that was then and this is now!
Retired from one of the largest community colleges in the U.S.A. and one I helped found I was the business model for community colleges change. It changed from hiring the best to hiring the cheapest.
The current community college model cannot and in most cases does not provide the classroom environment Hanks received.
If you want to produce race horses you don't fill the barn with donkeys! Community colleges can change lives, but only if the classroom is filled with degreed teachers who are paid fairly for the most important job of educating the children of our country.
Retired from one of the largest community colleges in the U.S.A. and one I helped found I was the business model for community colleges change. It changed from hiring the best to hiring the cheapest.
The current community college model cannot and in most cases does not provide the classroom environment Hanks received.
If you want to produce race horses you don't fill the barn with donkeys! Community colleges can change lives, but only if the classroom is filled with degreed teachers who are paid fairly for the most important job of educating the children of our country.
4
Bravo! Tom Hanks, a million thanks for this great column. Everyone should have a chance at an education, and the Presidents proposal is on the mark. Your story has happened so many times, perhaps not to your level of success. I got a college education but worked blue collar my whole life, I would not trade my education for anything. It made me a better person and better able to cope with life. We need every citizen to write to their Senators and Representatives to make sure this gets passed!
14
Alan:
Judging by your comment, you have achieved a remarkable "level of success." Thanks.
Judging by your comment, you have achieved a remarkable "level of success." Thanks.
I too as a poor student both economically and in high school. I attended a community college. I got on the Dean's list a couple of times. Moved on and kept going eventually graduating form NYU with a few stops in between. This year I will get a Master's degree. My two year degree was so good that I have gone back to that profession they trained me for. It is allowing me to continue higher education which I then bring back to my patient care. This is a very wise investment all the way around.
6
In 1971 or 72 I was 3 years post high school (having graduated in the bottom quarter of my class), and went to a class at Wayne County Community College in Detroit. My professor, a young long haired guy challenged everyone in the class to think, use their brains. The class was full of shop rats (the local term for factory workers) who wanted to improve their lives. I jokingly referred to it as "13th grade" at the time. I was just bored, and wanted to see what I had missed out on. The experience changed my life. Long story, but I am now a doctor, living in Chicago.
My kid's college tuition is sticker-shock inducing for me, and impossible to pay for many Americans. Supporting community college is a great idea. You never know what might happen.
My kid's college tuition is sticker-shock inducing for me, and impossible to pay for many Americans. Supporting community college is a great idea. You never know what might happen.
18
After being a housewife for 13 years, having four children and wondering if there was anything more in life, I enrolled in Community College. It truly changed my life. I went on for an early education degree, went into Peace Corps in Africa and have traveled all over the world while teaching children and adults. Community College opened my eyes to the world. I believe it should be free for anyone who wants it.
122
I too had a great experience at 2 different community colleges 30 years ago.
I was a pre-nursing major at UCSC but they did not offer Physicology/Anatomy and Child Development, which I needed. Luckily, Cabrillo community college did and all 3 classes were excellent!!
Then in Nursing school, I still needed by history requirement. I went to Skyline community college in the summer and that professor was excellent! I don't even like history.
I hope this bill passes. It is a shame so many are not able to kick out the thousands of dollars it takes to get educated. It will really be Obama's true legacy if it happens.
I was a pre-nursing major at UCSC but they did not offer Physicology/Anatomy and Child Development, which I needed. Luckily, Cabrillo community college did and all 3 classes were excellent!!
Then in Nursing school, I still needed by history requirement. I went to Skyline community college in the summer and that professor was excellent! I don't even like history.
I hope this bill passes. It is a shame so many are not able to kick out the thousands of dollars it takes to get educated. It will really be Obama's true legacy if it happens.
62
Valley Community College in Van Nuys California was were I landed after returning from Vietnam 1n 1967. It was a garden of paradise for young men like me. Underachievers who most likely would have never stepped on a college campus without the availability of the community college system. The quality of teaching was, for the most part, top notch . Like my favorite teacher, Gene Lesner, American History 1812 to the present, most lecturers
were well educated academics who were working an extra gig or people working on Phd's and striving for a professorship at a university
When I tell my kids these stories they area less than pleased. All are college graduates burdened with school debt. Or as my daughter said recently, "no wonder why Millennials hate the baby boomers". Investing in the future of our young citizens seems such a fanciful idea now. When I left Valley College with my two years of credits completed I matriculated to UCLA which also was very inexpensive. The entire higher education system of California was on board with the idea that it was in the states interest to assist in the education of its citizens.
were well educated academics who were working an extra gig or people working on Phd's and striving for a professorship at a university
When I tell my kids these stories they area less than pleased. All are college graduates burdened with school debt. Or as my daughter said recently, "no wonder why Millennials hate the baby boomers". Investing in the future of our young citizens seems such a fanciful idea now. When I left Valley College with my two years of credits completed I matriculated to UCLA which also was very inexpensive. The entire higher education system of California was on board with the idea that it was in the states interest to assist in the education of its citizens.
97
There are many baby boomers who believe that investing in affordable college would benefit the entire society. However, we are called socialists by Republicans and our voices have been drowned out in Washington. The Millennials need to use their skills at interconnectivity to become a stronger political force than they are now. Voting matters.
1
I am pleased to read that Tom Hanks got his start at a community college. But, I am dismayed that he found math and science classes a burden and unworthy of his time. Hanks is not unique with these feelings. Too many Americans feel this way and freely admit it. In fact, they condone this feeling and send the message to the youth of this country that being totally ignorant of math and science is just fine. It isn't.
I would like the discussion about community college to continue. The experience of someone, who went on to a career as a mathematician, engineer or scientist, would be welcome.
I would like the discussion about community college to continue. The experience of someone, who went on to a career as a mathematician, engineer or scientist, would be welcome.
2
Now I know why I like you so much, Tom Hanks. I, too drove my VW beetle (which also eventually threw a rod) to a CC in 1974, and studied with the same crowd as you. I was a married new Mom, all of 23--and every woman I waitressed with at the Red Lobster asked me what the heck I was doing back in school at "my age." I sat at the cafeteria table with the Vietnam vets. I struggled mightily to pay the $224 per-semester tuition, but I did it.
The professors at Daytona Beach Community College were much like the ones you describe. Most of them had recently retired from some pretty impressive colleges and, I suspect, gotten bored after one semester sipping cocktails at the trailer park. My biology professor was a former veterinarian; my "music appreciation" professor had played with Maynard Ferguson for years.
Today I am a college professor myself; my AA degree was the first of several. But like you, I have to say, it was DBCC that made me what I am today. I'm also guessing the new Congress will squawk at the price tag. Maybe, just maybe, they will exercise some of the critical thinking skills I learned at DBCC forty years ago and do the right thing for so many.
The professors at Daytona Beach Community College were much like the ones you describe. Most of them had recently retired from some pretty impressive colleges and, I suspect, gotten bored after one semester sipping cocktails at the trailer park. My biology professor was a former veterinarian; my "music appreciation" professor had played with Maynard Ferguson for years.
Today I am a college professor myself; my AA degree was the first of several. But like you, I have to say, it was DBCC that made me what I am today. I'm also guessing the new Congress will squawk at the price tag. Maybe, just maybe, they will exercise some of the critical thinking skills I learned at DBCC forty years ago and do the right thing for so many.
7
Dear Tom.
Thank you for this song of praise to the California Community Colleges. The mission of the community colleges, as I understood it, was straightforward - do the first two years of university work, or learn to weld. And to frost the cake, take courses because they are interesting. Come back and take a course later, for fun. Because the community colleges are authentically diverse, I also learned about life from conversations with actual real adults...the "re-entry women" in their 40s, the veterans, the art major re-tooling for medical school. I have a degree from the University of California at Davis, and another one from Harvard. The one I hang on my wall is from Cabrillo Community College. I too hope that President Obama will make Community College access available to everyone.
Thank you for this song of praise to the California Community Colleges. The mission of the community colleges, as I understood it, was straightforward - do the first two years of university work, or learn to weld. And to frost the cake, take courses because they are interesting. Come back and take a course later, for fun. Because the community colleges are authentically diverse, I also learned about life from conversations with actual real adults...the "re-entry women" in their 40s, the veterans, the art major re-tooling for medical school. I have a degree from the University of California at Davis, and another one from Harvard. The one I hang on my wall is from Cabrillo Community College. I too hope that President Obama will make Community College access available to everyone.
6
My generation, the boomers, plus 65 benefited from low cost education. We should now be reviled by those who are now young for allowing the cost of education to skyrocket into infinity making it unaffordable. In its stead we created the student loan industry and hideous student debt which not burdens those starting their lives.
We in turn have Medicare, we have reduced poverty for old people although it is not eliminated and funded the prison industrial complex which is filled with young people. The older people become the more likely they are to commit "smart crimes" which are financial fraud and white collar crimes. We can defend ourselves and only rarely do the Madoff's go to prison.
My generation has a lot to be proud of!. No we don't. We have failed our children.
We in turn have Medicare, we have reduced poverty for old people although it is not eliminated and funded the prison industrial complex which is filled with young people. The older people become the more likely they are to commit "smart crimes" which are financial fraud and white collar crimes. We can defend ourselves and only rarely do the Madoff's go to prison.
My generation has a lot to be proud of!. No we don't. We have failed our children.
2
As a product of public school including an undergraduate degree in science from Hunter College/CUNY, I am grateful for the opportunity it afforded me. With my education I was able to enter the public health field. While at Hunter College I learned from experts in their field, exposed to students who became my teachers and had at my fingertips the campus known as New York City (according to Dean Fleiss--then Dean of Students.) Thank you Tom for reminding us that public education is a program that our country should support and be proud of.
I had the good fortune to attend Junior College at the beginning of the Space Race. Southern California had JC in many communities. The opportunity to work in a shop building components that later flew in space meant take instructions and participate with engineers and physicists who were happy to have people in the shop who were learning their “languages” at night in the JC(s).
So many already employed people were taking College Algebra & Chemistry the classes had to be held in classrooms at Jr. and Sr. high Schools.
Many of the instructors were active in the industries that developed the major components that ultimately took humans to the Moon and returned then safely.
The experience and education made finishing a bachelors degree and grad school possible. There was only a few thousand dollars of school loans easy to manage on the salaries of a first post college job.
A near perfect record at paying those loans made a loan for a home easy.
So many already employed people were taking College Algebra & Chemistry the classes had to be held in classrooms at Jr. and Sr. high Schools.
Many of the instructors were active in the industries that developed the major components that ultimately took humans to the Moon and returned then safely.
The experience and education made finishing a bachelors degree and grad school possible. There was only a few thousand dollars of school loans easy to manage on the salaries of a first post college job.
A near perfect record at paying those loans made a loan for a home easy.
Great for Tom, but where is his recognition of the good taxpayers of CA that provided him with this "free" education? And he credits the president with paying for community college for all, without recognizing that it is the taxpayers, the middle class laborers that will pay for this, along with paying for our own children's education at a 4 year college, as most know that 2 + 2 never equals 4 when it comes to a degree. A better use of our tax dollars would be to assure our students get a thorough education in the primary grades.
1
I attended community college twice. Graduated 1975 with an AA degree in Ornamental Horticulture, worked 20 years as a floral designer. Went back to the same school (they took all my credits from before!) when my youngest daughter started kindergarten, and graduated as a Registered Nurse in 1995. Best decisions ever.
7
This is, I agree, a wonderful idea! Unfortunately, it couldn't have been proposed at a worse time in the economy of state universities and high quality four year private universities struggling with enrollment because of tuition charges! If the proposal had been coupled with a solution for this problem where faculty and programs are threatened, we would be making more progress and not taking from Peter to pay Paul. Great idea-bad timing!
Interesting. Tom Hanks could not afford to go to a college that charged more than a nominal amount of money. He then uses his native talents, drive and perseverance to become a massive success, part of the 1%. And people say it is impossible to get ahead in America? People say there is no upward mobility? Maybe we all can't be Tom Hanks and achieve his measure of success, but we don't need to be locked in to the economic circumstances into which we were born. I just wish President Obama had come up with this proposal in 2009, when he pushed his $800 billion stimulus and wasted it on busts like Solyndra and non-shovel ready jobs promises.
3
In l962, I was sent by my parents to the "best" women's college in the country. My father wouldn't accept scholarship money, I was "diverse" (Midwest public school grad), plus "early decision"--obligated to go if admitted--thirty "bonus points" on my admissibility score. I got in.
I spent four miserable years struggling both academically and socially, in classes where the professor "professed" and I was left bewildered. Key quotation from a classmate the first day of required Philosophy 101: "Oh, GOD! NOT the preSocratics AGAIN!" I scraped by, was tutored to pass my senior comprehensive exams, and immediately moved to California.
As a Californian, I started taking classes "for fun"--in art, languages and history, mostly--at my local community college, Cabrillo. When Mr. Pebworth gave his Watergate lesson in Recent American History, he mention he'd used it as his audition to get the job. What a revelation! Teachers hired for their teaching skills, not their research brilliance! Big difference.
Many 18 year olds (like me) fetch out of high school with no clear idea of their skills or abilities, needing a low-stakes way to explore possibilities. The Community College system helps them explore and decide, usually while living at home.
The mix of students "makes" the system: People from all walks of life learn from each other as well as from their excellent instructors.
I spent four miserable years struggling both academically and socially, in classes where the professor "professed" and I was left bewildered. Key quotation from a classmate the first day of required Philosophy 101: "Oh, GOD! NOT the preSocratics AGAIN!" I scraped by, was tutored to pass my senior comprehensive exams, and immediately moved to California.
As a Californian, I started taking classes "for fun"--in art, languages and history, mostly--at my local community college, Cabrillo. When Mr. Pebworth gave his Watergate lesson in Recent American History, he mention he'd used it as his audition to get the job. What a revelation! Teachers hired for their teaching skills, not their research brilliance! Big difference.
Many 18 year olds (like me) fetch out of high school with no clear idea of their skills or abilities, needing a low-stakes way to explore possibilities. The Community College system helps them explore and decide, usually while living at home.
The mix of students "makes" the system: People from all walks of life learn from each other as well as from their excellent instructors.
9
I'd like to see governmental subsidization of higher education move away from the for-profit "colleges" and toward the community college system. As with so many other comment writers, I too had a positive experience attending a community college that started me on a career path that greatly enriched my life in many ways.
2
It's time we renew our commitment to the ever-important community college, a place where there is something for everyone who just graduates from high school. This is the starting point for people. Today, education beyond high school is a necessity for most people to enter the job market who expect to grow into self-sufficiency, become contributing members of society, and meet obligations of being a good citizen. And this is affordable for our nation. It will also challenge those community colleges out there who have started to lag behind the rest to retool their offerings and expand possibilities for young and old people alike. Lets make the community college a bright spot in our communities where the long-term unemployed find new hope and young people find their way. Thank you Mr. Hanks for showing us what is possible!
3
Some of the comments here suggest that Community Colleges now take tha place of high schools in preparing students for universities; far too many "underachievers in high schools drop out of universities as freshmen (as Wes Moore's books point out), or spend most of years one and two catching up on what they didn't learn in high school. Our fixation that university is now essential to get and hold a quality job means that people who'd rather have vocational training than a liberal arts degree are being coerced into fields where they don't belong psychologically. Perhaps the president's initiative will inspire revamping of curricula in either community colleges or high schools --- preferably both.
3
Every child -- without exception -- is someone's dream, if only for a short while. Every child grows up with dreams.
It is our responsibility to one another to help make dreams come true. And if we don't succeed 100% of the time, as we surely will not, it's worth the effort. Correct that: not "worth" the effort, because people are not "capital investments." They are people, and they deserve an investment for that reason alone. That puts "community college" in a different light, and gives life to "Hope."
It is our responsibility to one another to help make dreams come true. And if we don't succeed 100% of the time, as we surely will not, it's worth the effort. Correct that: not "worth" the effort, because people are not "capital investments." They are people, and they deserve an investment for that reason alone. That puts "community college" in a different light, and gives life to "Hope."
3
it seems like most of the politicians only think about the short term. This kind of long term investment makes sense for our country in so many ways. Unfortunately the public tends to not remember this kind of issue during election seasons, focusing on the more salacious accusations between candidates, if they focus on the issues and election at all.
As you can probably tell, the less than 40% turn out in the last election is very discouraging to me.
As you can probably tell, the less than 40% turn out in the last election is very discouraging to me.
I graduated third from the bottom in a HS class of five in 1941. I had $150 in my pocket when I went off to college. In 1943 I joined the U.S. Army as a completely unfocused teenager. In 1946 I was discharged as a completely focused adult, Thanks to the G.I. Bill, I received a PhD and pursued a career in college teaching. Education is a public good and should be financed completely by the public as it was for me.
6
John
All due respect but you clearly did not get your PhD in logic or rhetoric. You stand as a classic example of what is wrong with this plan. You - an unfocused teenager - apparently was not succeeding in college until you joined the military, learned to be responsible, and EARNED the cost of your education.
Apples to oranges sir. The GI bill was compensation for hard work and risk taking. Far different than 'free for anyone'
All due respect but you clearly did not get your PhD in logic or rhetoric. You stand as a classic example of what is wrong with this plan. You - an unfocused teenager - apparently was not succeeding in college until you joined the military, learned to be responsible, and EARNED the cost of your education.
Apples to oranges sir. The GI bill was compensation for hard work and risk taking. Far different than 'free for anyone'
We must let our legislators know how important the issue of funding CCs is to all of us. Phone calls and letters can have an impact. Our representatives are supposed to represent us and they need to be informed about what we, the voters feel are critically important issues. If we do nothing about this issue, they will do nothing.. As concerned citizens, we have responsibilities that are too often neglected.
Then, we can track how they deal with this important issue. Support for CCs is critical in this time of economic stress for so many. If your representatives do not actively involve themselves in this issue, make sure they are aware of the fact that you will NOT support them. We do have the power of the vote!
Then, we can track how they deal with this important issue. Support for CCs is critical in this time of economic stress for so many. If your representatives do not actively involve themselves in this issue, make sure they are aware of the fact that you will NOT support them. We do have the power of the vote!
2
When I started engineering school in 1966 at "The" Ohio State University, the yearly tuition was only $375 per year-- about 3% of my fathers income--which at the time was only slightly above the national average. That same education today would be about 30% of an average income. Fortunately, me, my siblings and friends--all came out of college debt free. I'm sure this is rarely the case now. All the kids I know now are saddled with significant student loan debt. This is a tragedy.
I think it was about 100 years ago our legislators made the crucial and forward looking decision to make high school education mandatory and free. I feel this decision launched us ahead of the rest of the world. I challenge our legislators to do something similar for college education. Maybe not mandatory and free--but at least make it affordable. Yeah, I remember the "punch card"computer era...and how about Fortran IV?
I think it was about 100 years ago our legislators made the crucial and forward looking decision to make high school education mandatory and free. I feel this decision launched us ahead of the rest of the world. I challenge our legislators to do something similar for college education. Maybe not mandatory and free--but at least make it affordable. Yeah, I remember the "punch card"computer era...and how about Fortran IV?
3
Tom Hanks is right on! I would add a word of nostalgic praise for Herzl Jr. College, no longer around I believe, but in the 1940s and thereafter an opening to academia for Chicago depression era kids, war veterans, and others with no other path forward educationally after high school. Preparation was good enough to enable me to pass the University of Chicago's rigorous set of admission exams, to be offered admission and even a substantial scholarship. I went elsewhere, also on exam=based scholarship and ended as a college level educator myself--all based on the excellent teaching offered at Herzl for a mere ten bucks a semester, a price even my barber father could manage.
6
Wow, just what we need. More actors.
Just, think! You can start at a CC and then move forward to earning an advanced degree somewhere else. . . keep your nose to the grindstone, kids! Okay, when you're done you can always come back to CC and teach as an adjunct, especially if you can not find suitable employment.
Not all of us can become Tom Hanks, but it sure does sound nice, until you consider that long-term we are looking at declining job prospects across the board in a winner-take-all (Tom Hanks) game.
Not all of us can become Tom Hanks, but it sure does sound nice, until you consider that long-term we are looking at declining job prospects across the board in a winner-take-all (Tom Hanks) game.
2
In High School I had dyslexia. Actually, I had it all along [and still do]. Correction, Dyslexia hadn't been invented yet, so I had, "You are a bright kid, but you don't try hard enough." So, instead of a 4 year City University College I -and hundreds like me- went to SICC: Staten Island Community College. SICC provided a first-rate education for a minimal price. How do I know it was a first-rate education? Because I attended a four year college and a Graduate School and was able to keep up enough to get a fellowship for graduate school. Had I not been given the opportunity to go to a City-run community college, my life would have significantly worse. Thank you New York.
1
Stop with the college is going to be free as the GOP is not during the next 2yrs going to vote for this plan of Obama unless they are stupid. The taken over both Houses voting no and this seem like softball across the plate for them to knock this No out the park.
Not that its not a good plan, but its 4yrs too late for Obama to be presenting anything new. However what I see occurring is not the poor black and Hispanic kids taking advantage of this when they cannot first read pass a 5th grade level, but I do see the white kid that not got scores high enough to get into MIT...big different!
This is something to distract for a few month instead of actually doing something!
Not that its not a good plan, but its 4yrs too late for Obama to be presenting anything new. However what I see occurring is not the poor black and Hispanic kids taking advantage of this when they cannot first read pass a 5th grade level, but I do see the white kid that not got scores high enough to get into MIT...big different!
This is something to distract for a few month instead of actually doing something!
Community colleges are the best value there is, even without Obama's new, brilliant idea. The faculty is often brilliant, well educated, and able to devote time to teaching and student interaction. We MUST jump start education for both the success of our country's businesses, and for individual achievement and financial stability. Kudos to you President Obama. And to you, Tom Hanks, a stand up guy!
1
I was discharged from the USMC in Jan, 1968, after two tours in Viet Nam. I was 25, married, jobless, and desperate, not to strong a word here, to go to college. I'd barely graduated high school. There was no GI bill--at least not as most Americans imagine it. I would receive a bit more than $100 dollars a month. School tuition was NOT included. (The war wasn't popular enough for congress to support it with additional funds.) With my heart set on UC, Berkeley, I began at Foothill Junior College, Los Altos Hills, CA. After a year, and as liberating and enriching an educational experience as anyone could hope for, I transferred to UCB--and went on to post grad at NYU. NONE of this would have happened were it not for an all but free junior or community college. I ask anyone who would object to President Obama's plan to ASK THEMSELVES: Haven't it made it difficult enough for motivated people, young and old, financially strapped, to gain an education beyond high school?
1
Thank you to Tom for taking the time to make this point. I also followed this path just two years earlier, and have just retired after 40 years, from a successful career in the computer software field; including participation in multiple start-up companies. Without it, who knows? We NEED this kind of support for our future citizens. Please let you elected officials know you support it.
1
A powerful piece, Mr. Hanks. Thank you for sharing a perspective of community colleges that is completely dismissed by those advocating for a fully online experience. It's possible you wouldn't be where you are had you been staring at a computer screen, and you certainly would not have honed your skills in the art of flirting with stewardesses.
5
Just a few years after Mr. Hanks attended, I also went to Chabot. It was everything he said.
3
Good essay and clearly lots of very good reasons to attend a community college. I don't need to be sold on the value of community colleges the problem is who pays? In Tom Hanks era, states had money to invest in education. Now those states must make investments in lots of areas.
Personally I don't like the "free" model. No skin in the game. Community colleges should be affordable but again, every resource in life has limits. We can't fund everything.
Personally I don't like the "free" model. No skin in the game. Community colleges should be affordable but again, every resource in life has limits. We can't fund everything.
18
Rich kids go for free.
"In Tom Hanks era, states had money to invest in education. Now those states must make investments in lots of areas."
We have the money now. We just don't require corporations to pay for the society that they benefit from.
"In Tom Hanks era, states had money to invest in education. Now those states must make investments in lots of areas."
We have the money now. We just don't require corporations to pay for the society that they benefit from.
3
What, "no skin in the game"? Define that, please.
How about one's whole future? One's family's well-being?
Not to mention, economic and cultural benefit to one's community.
"No skin in the game?" What else is there?
How about one's whole future? One's family's well-being?
Not to mention, economic and cultural benefit to one's community.
"No skin in the game?" What else is there?
1
They have plenty of skin in the game. They have to get themselves there, often while working full time and raising a family, they have to pay for textbooks, and they have to work at it after working 40 hours and caring for small children in many cases, or they end up failing out. Some people consider other things besides cash to be of value to them, like their time and effort.
3
I am an a adjunct at a community college: thank you, Tom Hanks.
5
No doubt about it! Community College is a perfect preparation if you want to be an actor.
1
Since 2007 as a nation we the taxpayers have been spending more than 100 billion dollars a year on wars in Iraq,Afghanistan,fighting Isis etc.. We were forced to afford/pay for that.Now we want to pinch pennies when it comes to giving the working class,the working poor,single mothers,the disabled,veterans and the chronically unemployed a shot at a slightly higher paycheck and a dream of a better life.This is a great idea. At this point given the struggles so many Americans are facing following the recession and the tendency of corporate interests to export jobs and capital overseas,we really can't afford to NOT do it.
1
There's a lot to like about Tom Hanks' column, but the thing I like most is that Tom Hanks clearly actually wrote it. Chabot College, nice job.
5
Well said, Tom Hanks.
Another actor from the San Francisco Bay Area who profited from his two years at a community college was Robin Williams. A shy kid in high school, Williams credited James Dunn and the drama department of the College of Marin with bringing forth and helping to develop his acting and comedic skills.
Another actor from the San Francisco Bay Area who profited from his two years at a community college was Robin Williams. A shy kid in high school, Williams credited James Dunn and the drama department of the College of Marin with bringing forth and helping to develop his acting and comedic skills.
3
The illustration for this article, of the origami diploma, is fantastic. Thank you for the thoughtful and lovely illustration, NYTs.
1
Tom Hanks 2011 film “Larry Crowne” was inspired by his years at Chabot College. This film bombed with a rating of 35% on Rotten Tomatoes. But maybe Mr. Hanks would be interested in doing a new film, maybe a documentary. on the virtues of the community college for all.
The only way to arouse public opinion for major investment on education may be through the media.
www.SavingSchools.org
The only way to arouse public opinion for major investment on education may be through the media.
www.SavingSchools.org
1
I agree with Tom. Community College is great.
But you should pay for it yourself.
But you should pay for it yourself.
1
Mr. Hanks, you really are the decent, humble person you often play in the movies. Thank you for this essay.
3
When you give something away for free, it lessens its value. The student, who has no 'skin in the game', may just as easily blow off classes as attend them because he is not working, scrimping, and making sacrifices in order to better their lives.
My parents could not afford to send me to college. I borrowed most (and paid it all back) and worked answering phones in the athletic office at night and at a Subway sandwich shop to help pay for my tuition. Every summer I worked manual labor - not for spending money but so I could attend college. As a result, college had value to me. I didn't want my hard work and sacrifice to go to waste so I worked hard and earned my degree.
Today I own a successful business that employes two dozen people. For years I have sacrificed, worked hard, and stretched my limits to make my business a success. I developed these qualities back in college - not in the classroom, but during the nights my friends went out while I went to work.
There is more to college than classes. Some of life's greatest lessons come from trying to find a way to make it happen. President Obama's plan takes that opportunity away from the student.
My parents could not afford to send me to college. I borrowed most (and paid it all back) and worked answering phones in the athletic office at night and at a Subway sandwich shop to help pay for my tuition. Every summer I worked manual labor - not for spending money but so I could attend college. As a result, college had value to me. I didn't want my hard work and sacrifice to go to waste so I worked hard and earned my degree.
Today I own a successful business that employes two dozen people. For years I have sacrificed, worked hard, and stretched my limits to make my business a success. I developed these qualities back in college - not in the classroom, but during the nights my friends went out while I went to work.
There is more to college than classes. Some of life's greatest lessons come from trying to find a way to make it happen. President Obama's plan takes that opportunity away from the student.
3
Offering higher education to the masses is such a no-brainer, but then, so is universal healthcare. The fact that it benefits the 99 precent, I'm afraid, is what will doom it to failure in a Republican-controled Congress. The only uses the right wing can support for this $60 billion are new jails, military actions overseas, and tax breaks for corporations and the 1 percent. The rest of us no longer serve a purpose in this country, other than to be duped into electing those who put us in this position in the first place. And the less education we have, the easier we will be to fool. See where this is going?
I graduated from a community college in 1968 and found it an invaluable experience. None of us who were there had the money to attend the big schools but were able to take all of the basic courses for less money. Several of my classmates transferred to top schools and became doctors and lawyers and started businesses all because of a great start. We need to make such opportunities available to the next generation of students now and I hope that the congress will come together to make this investment in our country.
Free or near-free education is one of the pillars that built the American middle-class from the 1940s to the '70s, an unprecedented period of prosperity. Since the 1980s federal spending cuts and a changing economy have made it harder and harder for people to get the education and breaks they need to move ahead. Obama's community college plan would make a step toward reversing that trend.
My local community college, Georgia Perimeter College charges about $1,000 - $2,000 per semester depending on courseload. If you want to take the course online the price is about half that. From my perspective that's an entirely reasonable price and a necessary one. I don't want to be paying for every clown that wants to go community college but has no real intention of attending classes or further education and is instead using it as an excuse to avoid getting a job. There has to some commitment on the part of the student and $1-2k does not seem like an unreasonable burden.
2
I was lucky enough to teach in a community college for twenty-seven years. It was no come down, and far better than university teaching that burdens professors with the tenure race and publish or perish. So community college teachers can put their emphasis on the students and their love of their subject as well as help boot strap working class students into jobs.
Not always, there's a terrible remediation barrier in the community colleges that often gets overlooked. There's also a generally lousy graduation, completion rate, also overlooked. So you could say that Comm. Coll, although a wonderful public school, wastes a lot of tax money. My God I sound like a conservative! So I don't think there's any chance in hell that O's idea has any chance of success. But I say "Hurray" for comm. colleges anyway, the best job I ever had and the most fulfilling.
Not always, there's a terrible remediation barrier in the community colleges that often gets overlooked. There's also a generally lousy graduation, completion rate, also overlooked. So you could say that Comm. Coll, although a wonderful public school, wastes a lot of tax money. My God I sound like a conservative! So I don't think there's any chance in hell that O's idea has any chance of success. But I say "Hurray" for comm. colleges anyway, the best job I ever had and the most fulfilling.
3
I grew up in an academic family. My father was an engineering professor. However, it was the '60s so I decided I didn't need an education. After a failed marriage, I found myself working as a secretary at the University of Pennsylvania. Fortunately, UPENN had (and still does have) a continuing education school where employees can take classes for free. With trepidation, i enrolled in my first English class. It was the hardest class I ever took, but I got an A. I continued in the evening school for several semesters, but eventually wanted to go back full time. I approached my father for help. He was skeptical, but said that if I could write a proposal that outlined what I wanted to do, he would consider helping me. In the end, he did help, although I did have to continue working part time and also took some loans.
I was lucky because I found myself at the right place and also had the help of my family. Since I received my BA, I have gone on to earn an MA and a PhD. Others who do not have my support structure would find this road much more difficult. Thank you, Tom Hanks, for an inspiring challenge. We should all support this initiative. We will all benefit! Please support this initiative by contacting your elected officials.
I was lucky because I found myself at the right place and also had the help of my family. Since I received my BA, I have gone on to earn an MA and a PhD. Others who do not have my support structure would find this road much more difficult. Thank you, Tom Hanks, for an inspiring challenge. We should all support this initiative. We will all benefit! Please support this initiative by contacting your elected officials.
3
Everything Mr. Hanks says so eloquently is emphatically true, including the fact that his community college tuition was FREE. Most still are. If you factor in Pell Grants, all are free to students with limited means, and the tuition is tiny for others. So President Obama's proposal is solving a problem that doesn't exist. Community colleges DO have serious financial needs -- to adequately pay faculty and other staff, for facilities, for student services of many kinds -- and their students have needs -- principally finding ways to support themselves and often their children when they go to school. Those are the issues Obama should be addressing, not the tuition/scholarship issue. Otherwise he's just wasting money.
Bravo! I too am a happy product of a small community college in south Florida. A disaffected high-school senior, I attended community college part time while finishing up my senior year credits. I went on to finish a full year at the college before transferring to an out of state university.
The CC was just sophisticated enough in its approach to learning to work for me. At the same time, its informality and its emphasis on personal best rather than competitive best appealed to the alienated, utopian late teen that I was. Professors were cool and approachable.
It was a serious yet low-key introduction to higher education, and it worked and works.
The CC was just sophisticated enough in its approach to learning to work for me. At the same time, its informality and its emphasis on personal best rather than competitive best appealed to the alienated, utopian late teen that I was. Professors were cool and approachable.
It was a serious yet low-key introduction to higher education, and it worked and works.
1
I was an underachieving California high school student who also graduated in 1974. Many of us bloom MUCH later than 16-17 years of age and need a few years to ripen. I was able to go to a state four year university out of high school because the standards were lower back then. But I attended community college off and on throughout the years. I attended Merritt College (community college) and received a nursing degree. It was essentially free. I also graduated from Cal Berkeley due in part to classes I took at community college. I never paid more than $700 a term (that was for Cal in 1977). I later graduated from medical school (again, a state school where I paid minimal tuition). Tuition at all those schools is now beyond the reach of a working class kid (that was me) I encourage my patients to go to community college but the cost is more than I paid for my medical degree all those 25 years ago. Many can't afford it. I give generously to scholarship funds at my alma maters because I KNOW the value of publicly funded education. Thanks to Mr. Hanks for taking the time to write this piece.
3
Virginia Western Community College already makes its program available free to modestly-achieving graduates of surrounding public school systems. It's not the only CoCo in Va to do so, either. As the School Board chair in a rural, remote county down that-a-way, I have witnessed the trends of my schools' graduates veer away from workforce and expensive universities towards taking advantage of the formidable offerings at Virginia Western. If the students maintain a decent grade average and sufficient credits, they are not only *eligible* to transfer after 2 years to any of our state universities (and Virginia is known to have some good ones!) but are *guaranteed* a slot for their third year. Brand-name diploma, half the cost. The format of CoCos allows those who need income to continue working, while staying in proximity to supportive families. This is an even more critical mechanism for success than just tuition-avoidance. I'm very grateful for these programs and applaud the proposed expansion country-wide.
5
Teaching in a community college for some-odd 20 years has showed me that there's a LOT of untapped potential in 20- and 30-somethings (and 40-somethings) that needs only to be cultivated and encouraged to *really* take off. Having taught at and attended a super-exclusive college myself, I know from experience that there's not much difference between the "smart kids" at a renowned school and the "smart kids" at a little, unknown school -- except for privilege, vocabulary, non-academic duties (e.g., child care, parental care, additional full-time jobs), and the sub-par public education which brought the working class students there in the 1st place. I've met world-famous leaders, thinkers, artists and scholars with incredibly humble beginnings -- who have changed their fields and our cultural lives -- who attended colleges probably unknown to those except the people who attended a/o worked at them -- and they were able to attend those colleges because of their bargain-basement prices. Making community college free a good investment? This is a no-brainer.
1
The opportunity to attend community college for free also challenges the predatory for-profit institutions that lure individuals into enrollment. The latter have profited greatly off of not only-American born individuals eager to obtain a degree but the immigrants and refugees who arrive to this country in search of its proverbial opportunities. Those with stronger English skills, such as the Iraqi refugees who have arrived in recent years, enroll in for-profit programs wherein the employees function as both academic advisors and salesman to these prospective students.
The for-profit (and even numerous nonprofit) institutions do not require ACT, SAT, TOEFL, GRE, GMAT etc to enroll and therefore these immigrants and refugees enter into what they believe is an accredited education program. They enroll without an understanding of student loans, financial aid and/or the scholarship opportunities available to them at their income level. They believe they are taking steps forward--progressing--when in fact the opposite is true. And, as we know, student-loan debt cannot be lifted by filing for bankruptcy.
The for-profit (and even numerous nonprofit) institutions do not require ACT, SAT, TOEFL, GRE, GMAT etc to enroll and therefore these immigrants and refugees enter into what they believe is an accredited education program. They enroll without an understanding of student loans, financial aid and/or the scholarship opportunities available to them at their income level. They believe they are taking steps forward--progressing--when in fact the opposite is true. And, as we know, student-loan debt cannot be lifted by filing for bankruptcy.
3
When I was young, I was flat broke and essentially unemployable except in the lowest paid strata of society. Frankly, even that wasn't working out very well.
I took a community college course in computer science in part because it was all but free. I was amazed to find that I not only passed, but loved the course. It launched a great career that included a college education and work at major corporations such as Microsoft.
I probably paid more in taxes my first year or so in the tech industry than it cost to fund my entire college education. To say that the state profited on that deal is a gross understatement. Please show me the place where I can get that kind of return on investment.
Today I teach at a community college. My students are charged around $500 per course, or $1500 per quarter. If I had faced a fee that high I doubt that I would have taken the course which launched my career.
Most of my students are unemployed and need government funding to pay for their courses. What exactly is the point? From societies perspective it would make more sense to pay them to attend school. When they make the effort to become more employable we all benefit.
Some students learn faster than others. If fees are low, then students will try courses they might otherwise skip, which might help them discover unsuspected talents.
They will also get a chance to try again if they didn't quite get it the first time. In math and computer science, that can make all the difference.
I took a community college course in computer science in part because it was all but free. I was amazed to find that I not only passed, but loved the course. It launched a great career that included a college education and work at major corporations such as Microsoft.
I probably paid more in taxes my first year or so in the tech industry than it cost to fund my entire college education. To say that the state profited on that deal is a gross understatement. Please show me the place where I can get that kind of return on investment.
Today I teach at a community college. My students are charged around $500 per course, or $1500 per quarter. If I had faced a fee that high I doubt that I would have taken the course which launched my career.
Most of my students are unemployed and need government funding to pay for their courses. What exactly is the point? From societies perspective it would make more sense to pay them to attend school. When they make the effort to become more employable we all benefit.
Some students learn faster than others. If fees are low, then students will try courses they might otherwise skip, which might help them discover unsuspected talents.
They will also get a chance to try again if they didn't quite get it the first time. In math and computer science, that can make all the difference.
2
Similar to Mr. Hanks I also benefited from the free community college system in California in the 1970s. I was a kid from the projects but also from a family that valued education. And while I was poor I was always told I was smart (top 1% in the State according to the old IQ tests). Naturally optimistic, I knew I could go to college, although no one in my family had done so before. A kid like I was would have her optimism thwarted today. I was smart and curious but not driven. But thanks to the people of California I had a path available to me that was similar to any middle or upper class child of some ability and natural interest. I began at City College of San Francisco and then transferred to UC Berkeley where I finished college and attended law school at Boalt Hall (now Berkeley Law). I emerged from my school days with very little debt but equipped to have a very satisfying life and pay plenty of taxes. I always worked while in school but because the colleges and law school I attended didn't cost very much, I worked only 20 hours a week. A classmate of mine from Boalt is now on the faculty. Her background is even more modest than mine. She tells me the average combined undergraduate and law school debt from today's Boalt graduates is $250,000. How do they ever get out from under that? I strongly support this effort by President Obama. If it succeeds perhaps the people of California will be inspired to similarly invest again in the University of California.
1
Thank you, Mr. Hank, for the story.
I think the president idea would work even better if the program has a built-in incentive for the CC students to work harder: they pay first, reimburse them after they pass the course, and even add some more money if they get an A.
After retirement I joined some college students for a tutoring program at Trenton Central High. Nearly all came for help for their next-day homework. Tutors quickly found out that the help the students needed was to understand last week's, last month's, or even last semester's study. I approached each student: "You can come next week and I will be here. We will work on your homework and also go back to what you missed last week." Although the answer was yes, the faces were new each time. The tutoring was free.
I approached the in-charge school teacher on improving the program’s effectiveness: Why not charge the student a fee at the beginning of each semester, extract a commitment from them for attendance, and return the fee and even plus some more when they fulfilled that commitment. The teacher said the idea may be good but the State would never allow the school to initiate such a procedure on its own.
I am sure CC students are more mature and focused. But they can become even more dedicated to the task when there is a tangible and immediate incentive for being dedicated. As for the extra money for the students who got an A, the country has never been short of donors for such a cause.
I think the president idea would work even better if the program has a built-in incentive for the CC students to work harder: they pay first, reimburse them after they pass the course, and even add some more money if they get an A.
After retirement I joined some college students for a tutoring program at Trenton Central High. Nearly all came for help for their next-day homework. Tutors quickly found out that the help the students needed was to understand last week's, last month's, or even last semester's study. I approached each student: "You can come next week and I will be here. We will work on your homework and also go back to what you missed last week." Although the answer was yes, the faces were new each time. The tutoring was free.
I approached the in-charge school teacher on improving the program’s effectiveness: Why not charge the student a fee at the beginning of each semester, extract a commitment from them for attendance, and return the fee and even plus some more when they fulfilled that commitment. The teacher said the idea may be good but the State would never allow the school to initiate such a procedure on its own.
I am sure CC students are more mature and focused. But they can become even more dedicated to the task when there is a tangible and immediate incentive for being dedicated. As for the extra money for the students who got an A, the country has never been short of donors for such a cause.
After a rather mediocre high school career, I went to Saint Petersburg Junior College in Florida, one of the first community colleges in the country. Their smaller class sizes taught me how to study, to think, to analyse, which an impersonal large university simply would not have taken the time to do. I never felt like was a "number." I went on to the University of South Florida where I graduated with honors. Thanks to the liberal arts foundation I received at both schools, I had a very successful career in symphony orchestra management (all without bothering to learn to read music!).
Morning,
It was difficult to read Tom Hanks column through misty eyes. I teach History at Skyline College, San Bruno right across the bay from Chabot College. I've taught there 25 years, and found teaching to be my niche and passion.
For 16 years, I coordinated the Women In Transition (WIT) Program, a god-send for women who never had been to college. They blossomed, gained confidence, three of them went on to Columbia, and more than a dozen to UC Berkeley.
Everyday, my colleagues and I lament about how our students spend their time. Well, they're no different than Tom was; eating french fries and looking at the girls. Today, they eat french fries and are obsessed with their cellphones.
Some of these students just need a chance. A great many of them will work hard, others will not and fade away. Funny, how after one awful semester they disappear, later to resurface and work their way onto the Dean's list.
I strongly believe that education is the key to lifting people from poverty, and building a stronger local as well as global community. The president's plan is bold and I applaud him for starting the conversation. This country will continue to backslide without a well-educated citizenry.
As Obama said the evening he won the presidency, "Now Is Our Time."
It was difficult to read Tom Hanks column through misty eyes. I teach History at Skyline College, San Bruno right across the bay from Chabot College. I've taught there 25 years, and found teaching to be my niche and passion.
For 16 years, I coordinated the Women In Transition (WIT) Program, a god-send for women who never had been to college. They blossomed, gained confidence, three of them went on to Columbia, and more than a dozen to UC Berkeley.
Everyday, my colleagues and I lament about how our students spend their time. Well, they're no different than Tom was; eating french fries and looking at the girls. Today, they eat french fries and are obsessed with their cellphones.
Some of these students just need a chance. A great many of them will work hard, others will not and fade away. Funny, how after one awful semester they disappear, later to resurface and work their way onto the Dean's list.
I strongly believe that education is the key to lifting people from poverty, and building a stronger local as well as global community. The president's plan is bold and I applaud him for starting the conversation. This country will continue to backslide without a well-educated citizenry.
As Obama said the evening he won the presidency, "Now Is Our Time."
6
I'm a Conservative who applauds the idea. I grew up in a divorced household where my mother could never dream of affording to send me to college and a father who couldn't be compelled to pay for it. This put me in a position where I couldn't begin to afford the per credit tuition for a state college, nor even the $5000 per year for a community college and my father's income eliminated any chance of grants or financial aid. I was fortunate enough to have a natural ability with technology and computer systems as well as coming of age in the 80's which was the genesis of the computer age we see running our economy today which gave me the chance to achieve the successes I now enjoy without a college degree.
To get to the point though, I always recognized how incredibly lucky I was to find my niche and do it at just the right time when it was becoming a highly valuable skill. It has always been a sore spot that I couldn't complete a college degree and something that I will make sure never becomes an issue for my 2 sons. Anything we can do to take this burden off of our fellow US Citizens is something I will be happy to contribute to since I really believe it is an effort that maximizes everyone's potential and strengthens our country.
To get to the point though, I always recognized how incredibly lucky I was to find my niche and do it at just the right time when it was becoming a highly valuable skill. It has always been a sore spot that I couldn't complete a college degree and something that I will make sure never becomes an issue for my 2 sons. Anything we can do to take this burden off of our fellow US Citizens is something I will be happy to contribute to since I really believe it is an effort that maximizes everyone's potential and strengthens our country.
3
Thank you, Tom Hanks, for this reminder of what can happen when we invest in people!!
I'm glad you were a "failure" in high school. You learned then and later, thanks to community colleges, more than most senators and congressmen and -women have. And, in the process, you've given us art and joy and sadness in abundance until our morning cups of coffee runneth over.
If your only failure is Castaneda, you still have time to discover where he stole his plot from: read John Blofeld's "The Zen Teachings of Huang Po." Then you'll understand, too, why he didn't want Hollywood to make "The Teachings of Don Juan" into a film. He feared the great actor Anthony Quinn would be cast as Don Juan, and the secret would be out.
Quinn would have played him as the faux Zen master from which he was mined... :)
If your only failure is Castaneda, you still have time to discover where he stole his plot from: read John Blofeld's "The Zen Teachings of Huang Po." Then you'll understand, too, why he didn't want Hollywood to make "The Teachings of Don Juan" into a film. He feared the great actor Anthony Quinn would be cast as Don Juan, and the secret would be out.
Quinn would have played him as the faux Zen master from which he was mined... :)
Free Community College ? GREAT IDEA !!
Only $60 Billion ? Maybe Bill and Melinda (with help from Warren B.) can pay for it ?.... They're big fans of improving education... This is a better idea than any they've come up with thus far... by far...
Only $60 Billion ? Maybe Bill and Melinda (with help from Warren B.) can pay for it ?.... They're big fans of improving education... This is a better idea than any they've come up with thus far... by far...
2
Community College is what High School used to be ... only with more electives.
1
Community college is already accessible to all those Mr. Hanks mentioned -through the GI Bill, Pell grants, scholarships, and FREE tuition at places like Chabot; all without additional, indiscriminate, money flushing.
1
Hello Tom,
Fantastic, inspiring article that will surprise many. Many know you're descended from Lincoln on your mother's side and some people (especially those in Boston) know that Harvard's Hasty Pudding Club honored you as Man of the Year in 1995, so some people think 'of course, he's successful,' just look at his connections,' without realizing, that you became successful because you have talent and worked hard and you didn't come from a high background. Thank you so much for your movies that I watch repeatedly and thank you for this article. Demand economics made this country great, first with free libraries and land grant colleges in the 19th century and then with the G.I. Bill in the 20th Century, which enabled WWII vets and later to get a free education at a university. The scores of WWII servicemen who took advantage of the post-WWII GI Bill created a vibrant economy, which was partially responsible for the boom of the 50s and 60s. Thank you for your support.
Fantastic, inspiring article that will surprise many. Many know you're descended from Lincoln on your mother's side and some people (especially those in Boston) know that Harvard's Hasty Pudding Club honored you as Man of the Year in 1995, so some people think 'of course, he's successful,' just look at his connections,' without realizing, that you became successful because you have talent and worked hard and you didn't come from a high background. Thank you so much for your movies that I watch repeatedly and thank you for this article. Demand economics made this country great, first with free libraries and land grant colleges in the 19th century and then with the G.I. Bill in the 20th Century, which enabled WWII vets and later to get a free education at a university. The scores of WWII servicemen who took advantage of the post-WWII GI Bill created a vibrant economy, which was partially responsible for the boom of the 50s and 60s. Thank you for your support.
Gold Star Mr. Hanks!
Thanks Tom. But I always thought you went to Ohio State!!!! ;)
Villanova's loss is America's gain. Thank you for another example of your wit and wisdom and for sharing its humble genesis!
Over a 25-year span I took courses at no fewer than 4 community colleges in Northern California: Merritt and Laney in Oakland, Marin, and Butte College in Chico. Didn't graduate from any, but when my muse showed up at age 53, I'd earned enough credits to transfer to Chico State and complete a BS. From there, my muse now firmly in control, I went and earned a PhD at age 60. I may have avoided the massive discarding of older workers Hanks refers to -- we'll see.
The community college system is a gemstone, and one of the last vestiges of the upward mobility ladder in this country. Loved this op-ed from an everyman movie star.
The community college system is a gemstone, and one of the last vestiges of the upward mobility ladder in this country. Loved this op-ed from an everyman movie star.
3
Another pitch for community colleges. When I needed to make a career change (already BS degree'd but needing a staggering 60 additional credits in new pre-reqs), County College of Morris was there for me. It took a few years of night school but I got all my course work done so that I could get my BSN degree (in nursing) at a 4 year school. The cost was a fraction of nearby Drew or other private schools.
Had I not had low cost credits available,I'd have not been able to make that career switch. For those who say it is a drain on tax dollars, I was also a taxpayer.
Had I not had low cost credits available,I'd have not been able to make that career switch. For those who say it is a drain on tax dollars, I was also a taxpayer.
1
The Op-Ed's title drew me in. I'm also an enthusiastic supporter of community colleges. In 1967, I was in southern CA and without a high school degree because I had not taken one course that was required for graduation. My roommate, who was enrolling in Orange Coast College, encouraged me to explore my options with the college. I was allowed to enroll after taking an aptitude test. After completing a year of memorable and excellent courses at O.C.C. and after taking the G.E.D, I was able to enroll in a university. I'm also very grateful for the opportunities (and career) that a community college provided.
7
Key rule in like is "any thing offered for free has no value to the giver or the receiver". Like Mr Hanks, I was a mediocre student with lousy SAT scores, in 1980, when I made the decision to attend Austin Community College, after being rejected by UT. I worked full time, attended school full time and found it very easy to pay the very cheap tuition (more than $95 per semester). Unlike Mr Hanks, I never dropped a class since I had my money invested and was focused on getting my entry level engineering classes completed and improving my GPA. Eventually I transferred to the engineering program at UT and grad school at the University of Chicago. It would have been nice to go on someone else's dime, but I bet the results would have been very different. The key learning was hard work and having some skin in the game is key to a successful life.
2
But free tuition works in other nations. Why can't it work here?
Community colleges are terrific institutions of learning. I benefited from my local community college in pursuit of my bachelor's degree many years ago. I was grateful for the opportunities that were provided there for myself and for the thousands of other adults of all ages who make use of their services.
That said, the excellence that can be derived from a community college and a discussion that we should offer their services for "free" through taxpayer funded subsidies to anyone who wants them is a difficult challenge. Let's not confuse the two conversations. Just because community colleges are great assets does not mean that we should offer their services to all on the public's dime.
That said, the excellence that can be derived from a community college and a discussion that we should offer their services for "free" through taxpayer funded subsidies to anyone who wants them is a difficult challenge. Let's not confuse the two conversations. Just because community colleges are great assets does not mean that we should offer their services to all on the public's dime.
1
Starting in 1968,I spent two years at Citrus Community College in Azusa California. Although I went on over the next 22 years (mainly while working full time) to earn five university degrees including two law degrees (one from NYU),the best professors I ever had were at Citrus. They were all great, the classes were small and the tuition was next to nothing. Unlike in high school,I thrived in that educational environment and was even chosen to be one of the top ten students academically. Like Tom Hanks,I'm a success in my field today(law) thanks in no small part to that community college. I strongly support President Obama on this one.
17
When my daughter who was born of a previous marriage in Italy came to live with me, she could not speak a word of English. I discovered that the local community college offered an English Second Language course. When I went to enroll her, I was told the course was free because it's goal was to help foreign students get to the point in English where they could further their education in our system I have been a supporter of Junior Colleges ever since and believe that, more than ever, they are essential to the generations now and to come as the four year expensive college system is out of reach of so many young Americans. The President should be supported in his plan.
9
Take it a step further. The Federal Government ought to stop guaranteeing student loans. Without that guarantee banks would stop lending outrageous sums to students who don't have the present ability to repay them. Also colleges will be forced to eliminate what they now estimate each student can borrow from the calculus they use to set tuition rates. Eliminating the Federal guarantee may also save the government some money in repayment costs that can be used to placate the balanced budget advocates.
1
I graduated from high school with no plan for college. In fact, I remember telling my guidance counselor that, "I was not college material." I ended up waiting tables and moving to South Florida for the weather. One day, a colleague asked me to cover his shift so that he could study for an exam. He told me a little bit about going to Miami-Dade Community College. Running errands in my car one day, I noticed the highway sign for MDCC and decided to stop by to get some information. Turned out, it was fall registration time. I went from one line to another, took some placement tests, applied for student aid, spoke to a counselor, and ended up registered for 4 classes. That first semester, taking classes and working full time, was tough. But I made it. And eight years later, I earned my Masters Degree from Columbia University. Turns out, I was college material! MDCC made everything that I have become today possible. Thank you.
13
That some of the 0.1% made it up through boot strapping their education with community college is impressive, but the really impressive result is the impact on the huge numbers of Americans which this system benefits. Well over 7 Million students are enrolled in community colleges. This represents 45% of all undergraduate students. Mr Hanks' story hits upon some of this population. Several of the reader comments also share their stories.
7
I notice you left out who PAID for your 2 years of community college. I guarantee it wasn't the taxpayers, en masse. Further, you conflate the idea that veterans (who already have programs that cover their tuition and other costs - I am one, so I know) and everyone deserve taxpayer-funded college. The GI Bill, et al are not entitlements given out to be generous. They are earnings, payment earned by sacrifice, in some cases horrendous sacrifice, chosen willingly by those who serve.
If community college becomes just like public school education, it will become equally worthless. It's already becoming more worthless, due to the proliferation of useless degrees and ease of access now as well as the general increase in the uselessness of the information students actually learn in high school. We're already at a point where most freshmen in college - 2 year or 4 year, are spending their days taking classes on topics they should have learned in high school. Thus, an entire year has been wasted. I'll add that many of these topics (College Algebra is a prime example) are taught to the majority of students in Asian countries when they are 14 (American numbering/aging system). If your average college student/high school graduate needs to learn this at 19, he or she is 5 years behind the competition, right from the start.
If community college becomes just like public school education, it will become equally worthless. It's already becoming more worthless, due to the proliferation of useless degrees and ease of access now as well as the general increase in the uselessness of the information students actually learn in high school. We're already at a point where most freshmen in college - 2 year or 4 year, are spending their days taking classes on topics they should have learned in high school. Thus, an entire year has been wasted. I'll add that many of these topics (College Algebra is a prime example) are taught to the majority of students in Asian countries when they are 14 (American numbering/aging system). If your average college student/high school graduate needs to learn this at 19, he or she is 5 years behind the competition, right from the start.
19
"I notice you left out who PAID for your 2 years of community college. I guarantee it wasn't the taxpayers, en masse."
Actually, it was. As he notes, Hanks attended Community College in Hayward, CA in the 1970s. At that time, California's Community Colleges were essentially free (as Hanks noted) because they were a state service paid for by taxpayers out of general state tax revenues and Federal grants to states.
Really, that is the whole point of the debate. Back then, people could afford Community College precisely because it was paid for by "the taxpayers, en masse." Taxpayer's reaped the benefit from an enlarged middle class, less poverty, growing economic activity, an expanding tax base, etc.
Four decades of increasingly tightened public budgets and narrowed taxes have shifted the coat to attendees to such an extent that large sections of the population can't afford to access this opportunity and those who do are often so debt-ridden as a consequence that the cost-benefit and risks involved in getting a degree have changed profoundly. Obama's proposal is simply to shift the balance back a little - not all the way to 1975, but some - to allow more people to take advantage of the opportunity.
Actually, it was. As he notes, Hanks attended Community College in Hayward, CA in the 1970s. At that time, California's Community Colleges were essentially free (as Hanks noted) because they were a state service paid for by taxpayers out of general state tax revenues and Federal grants to states.
Really, that is the whole point of the debate. Back then, people could afford Community College precisely because it was paid for by "the taxpayers, en masse." Taxpayer's reaped the benefit from an enlarged middle class, less poverty, growing economic activity, an expanding tax base, etc.
Four decades of increasingly tightened public budgets and narrowed taxes have shifted the coat to attendees to such an extent that large sections of the population can't afford to access this opportunity and those who do are often so debt-ridden as a consequence that the cost-benefit and risks involved in getting a degree have changed profoundly. Obama's proposal is simply to shift the balance back a little - not all the way to 1975, but some - to allow more people to take advantage of the opportunity.
266
Really good points Joel. Along with the funding should come accoutabliliy, for all publicly funded institutions including high schools.
The country will ultimately benefit by making some part of college free though. If you look at the comparable cost of college in Asia, it's much much less.
The country will ultimately benefit by making some part of college free though. If you look at the comparable cost of college in Asia, it's much much less.
2
My mother, my paternal aunt, and both my paternal grandparents, NYC natives all, went to good four year colleges for free thanks to the city college system at the time (my 100 year old grandmother died last year with a college degree earned in the 1930s, thanks to this). My mother went on to become an executive at a massive publishing house whose name we would all recognize, and my grandparents were extremely comfortable all of their lives, with my grandfather an accountant and my grandmother holding an administrative role at a public school. Free educations are recognized as a basic right of citizenship in places like Germany -- and while I am all in favor of Obama's initiative, it would seem to be the barest concession compared to what ought to be done.
6
Mr. Hanks story, and the stories of many people who took the time to comment, give us inspiring examples of the role we taxpayers can play in launching young adults into the future. Free community college would also be a huge benefit to older adults who need re-training after losing jobs late in life and needing re-training to stay employed. Many of these potential students are living on unemployment benefits or meager savings while they try desperately to re-enter the work force.
16
The prospect of affordable, or even free, post-HS education is not foreign to most nations - just to ours.
I'm not sure how I feel about totally free community college for everyone just yet. However, I do support the concept of vocational training being subsidized by someone.
With all the need for skilled vocational workers in this nation, it boggles my mind that private sector companies and government authorities don't find a way to have the private sector pay for the education of future recruits to their companies and industry.
It used to be called apprenticeship. The nation could use a dose of that again. It would help everyone.
I'm not sure how I feel about totally free community college for everyone just yet. However, I do support the concept of vocational training being subsidized by someone.
With all the need for skilled vocational workers in this nation, it boggles my mind that private sector companies and government authorities don't find a way to have the private sector pay for the education of future recruits to their companies and industry.
It used to be called apprenticeship. The nation could use a dose of that again. It would help everyone.
1
What a moving and inspiring piece! It reminds us that community colleges, and public education, are, at their best, a cross-section of America and what America is fundamentally about: aspiration. It's also a reminder that long after test scores have faded into a blizzard of numbers, what changes a student's life (and the lives of those they affect) may be some quirky combinations of inspiration, personalities, curiosity, motivation, and effort. Nor does a system have to perfect, everywhere and all the time, to achieve great things through the inspired efforts of teachers and students. Beautiful column.
16
I agree with the basis of free community college. I started community college in the 70's when I was in my 30's. My goal was to become a nurse before I reached 40. I accomplished that and took the same State Nursing boards as the graduates with a bachelor's degree and most of us did as well or better on the boards. My granddaughters are enrolled in a high school / community college program and will graduate with an associates degree the year after their high school degree. (13 years instead of 12).
In Michigan there is a boost for companies to help the community colleges prepare their students for the jobs needed by the industry. I believe this partnership to get people into good paying jobs benefits all, companies, students, increases in our tax basis, etc.
I think since most senators and congressmen have higher education they look down on the rest of us, but the salaries they receive and the money they budget comes from the working class. We need a break also.
In Michigan there is a boost for companies to help the community colleges prepare their students for the jobs needed by the industry. I believe this partnership to get people into good paying jobs benefits all, companies, students, increases in our tax basis, etc.
I think since most senators and congressmen have higher education they look down on the rest of us, but the salaries they receive and the money they budget comes from the working class. We need a break also.
13
Some of the best and brightest professionals I know started at community college. They are wonderful educational and social havens for individuals who seek to improve their lives. Expanding free access to community colleges would be an incredible opportunity for so many deserving individuals. Kudos to Tom Hanks for penning this essay illustrating the potential of these institutions and their role in his own incredible success.
12
Thanks Mr Hanks, for a truly humbling article. It certainly made a deep impression on a liberal arts senior in college. I am grateful for the opportunity I have been given, but too often find it hard to justify this gulf of disparities in education, as well as the value of a degree measured against the price of tuition.
No one should be denied the opportunity to learn for learning's sake, "goofing off between classes eating French fries and looking at girls" are invaluable pleasures of being young and studious! The expansion of MOOCs alongside free two-year programs can radically transform the future of this country-- it needs to.
No one should be denied the opportunity to learn for learning's sake, "goofing off between classes eating French fries and looking at girls" are invaluable pleasures of being young and studious! The expansion of MOOCs alongside free two-year programs can radically transform the future of this country-- it needs to.
6
Taking this fine article one step further, I am a graduate of the City College of New York (CCNY) at a time when it was tuition-free. Before City had a graduate program it produced more PhDs than any other school. The list of luminaries who are alumni would fill this newspaper.
Community colleges fill a more vital role than they are ever given credit for, especially when when they are made available to people who simply don't have the money despite having talent.
As America continues to need educated skills to sustain itself in a competitive world, a free education to motivated students more than pays for itself in the long run. Its nothing other than a smart policy, an enterprising form of helping ourselves.
Community colleges fill a more vital role than they are ever given credit for, especially when when they are made available to people who simply don't have the money despite having talent.
As America continues to need educated skills to sustain itself in a competitive world, a free education to motivated students more than pays for itself in the long run. Its nothing other than a smart policy, an enterprising form of helping ourselves.
13
Great op-Ed. I came from a family that valued education as a premium. However, after my parents divorce, I knew college tuition was on me, plus my younger sister was still in need of babysitting and my single mother was working two jobs. I enrolled in Saddleback Valley College (Orange County, CA), and to be honest, was a little embarrassed as classmates from high school took off to Brown, Dartmouth, Princeton... You get the picture. After two years, and my undergrad classes, plus some, completed, I auditioned for and was accepted to NYU's Tisch School of the Arts. (Like Hanks, I too, dropped out of astronomy once I discovered the math involved.)
While I will forever be grateful that transferring to NYU brought me to NYC- my beloved home all these years since- sadly within a week of classes it was painfully clear that the education I received at my junior college was heads above the course work I had yet to finish. The syllabi I received were uninspired, having covered the material between high school and my first two years in college. The class discussions equally unchallenging. To be clear, I'm not an over achiever academically, nor a too-smart-sass-pants. I was just excited to learn and crushed when I realized I was paying 120 times my previous tuition (500 per year to 60,000 per year) for this?!
The hands on, targeted and talented approach of my teachers at Saddleback Valley College are definitely the lessons that endured and inspired.
While I will forever be grateful that transferring to NYU brought me to NYC- my beloved home all these years since- sadly within a week of classes it was painfully clear that the education I received at my junior college was heads above the course work I had yet to finish. The syllabi I received were uninspired, having covered the material between high school and my first two years in college. The class discussions equally unchallenging. To be clear, I'm not an over achiever academically, nor a too-smart-sass-pants. I was just excited to learn and crushed when I realized I was paying 120 times my previous tuition (500 per year to 60,000 per year) for this?!
The hands on, targeted and talented approach of my teachers at Saddleback Valley College are definitely the lessons that endured and inspired.
8
Similar to Jazz, community college is an American invention (and now export) of which we can all be extremely proud.
Perhaps my own similarity with Mr. Hanks is that I too graduated from high school with lousy SAT scores yet was fortunate to discover Santa Barbara City College where I attended essetially free in 1981, thanks to the California Higher Education Master Plan.
I eventually transferred to UC Berkeley, earned a Ph.D. from Portland State University in Oregon and now serve as a community college president.
Although my years at UC Berkeley were perhaps the most academically challenging, it was my community college experience that served as the catalyst and inspiration for my intellectual and career pursuits. It was nothing less than a transformative experience.
We owe future generations the same opportunity for discovery and second chances as articulated so well by Mr. Hanks.
Perhaps my own similarity with Mr. Hanks is that I too graduated from high school with lousy SAT scores yet was fortunate to discover Santa Barbara City College where I attended essetially free in 1981, thanks to the California Higher Education Master Plan.
I eventually transferred to UC Berkeley, earned a Ph.D. from Portland State University in Oregon and now serve as a community college president.
Although my years at UC Berkeley were perhaps the most academically challenging, it was my community college experience that served as the catalyst and inspiration for my intellectual and career pursuits. It was nothing less than a transformative experience.
We owe future generations the same opportunity for discovery and second chances as articulated so well by Mr. Hanks.
26
My son is a mathematics professor in the community college system and can speak to the issue of free tuition better than . However, in his many years there he has had numerous students who take advantage of the system's low tuition policy only to loll away a couple of years at the government's expense (Title 2), and delay doing anything with their lives, least of all giving anything back to the community. If this program comes to be, and I believe it to be just and necessary, there needs to be a system in place to wean out these individuals early on in the process.
I also taught in the system and completely agree that were it not for the community college system, thousands of students would otherwise be left to menial jobs. My time teaching nursing students was one of the most gratifying experiences I have ever had.
I also taught in the system and completely agree that were it not for the community college system, thousands of students would otherwise be left to menial jobs. My time teaching nursing students was one of the most gratifying experiences I have ever had.
11
I never knew much about Community College until I found my self teaching there. I taught Physics at other Universities and even for a short time at the Academy where entrance requirements are very high. Imagine my surprise when I got my first class of students at a small rural Community College and found they were some of the most motivated and capable students I had every had. Every morning when I get to class the seats are full, pencils sharp and students alert and ready to learn. I suppose the difference between these students and the typical 4-year college students is age. My CC students average about 4 years older than the University students in the same classes. Most seem to come to my class after a few "hard-knocks", and clearly have a genuine interest in learning. Most go on to the 4-year school and do very well. It has turned out to be an unexpected privilege to be at the intersection of these young lives, where many make that crucial turn onto the right path. Funding this and empowering our young people seems like a 'no-brainer'.
30
That was a terrific article by Tom Hanks on the incredible effect Community Colleges have had on Americans from all walks of life. I too went to a Community College where I had an excellent education and subsequently an excellent career without incurring one thin dime of debt. I shall always be grateful to those forward thinking educators, politicians and community leaders who made these wonderful institutions possible.
74
Great column. Like Mr. Hanks, community college changed my life. I was the first one in my family to graduate from high school, went to community college, then to the state college and then to grad school. My husband left factory work, went to community college, and ended up with a master's in computer science. My sister who was a single mom on of four was able to get her RN, and many of our family members have been able to get vocational degrees--pharmacy tech, surgical tech, electronics. My nephew will be going to a university after community college to get a teaching degree. I know that the investment in just my family's education has benefited the govt. with increased taxes paid and less welfare.
104
I am a proud graduate of a two year college…because of the wonderful professors I met through my time in community college, I went on to achieve my Masters in Education. Community college is taught by great professors who also teach at 4 year universities. In fact, I can honestly say that most of my two year courses were more challenging than the classes I went on to take for my BA and Masters. This is a wonderful opportunity for all high school graduates to give college a chance. Maybe they will go on to further their education after those two years, and maybe they will find college is not for them afterall, but in my opinion, every student can benefit from this program.
79
Great piece, Tom. As a 30-year old who had never graduated from high school, no four-year school would take the chance of admitting me. They all said the same thing, "You have to start at community college." At the time I was living with my wife and two boys in city housing in Staten Island. I started at BMCC in the fall of 2007. 2 years later I transferred to City College where, upon graduating, I was accepted into the PhD program in History at Yale University. Within six years of enrolling at BMCC, I was teaching my own classes of Yale students. If it wasn't for community college I would never have had the chance to get my B.A. let alone my Ph.D. And I'm not a total outlier as I know another PhD student in History here at Yale who started at a junior college and another at Princeton who started at a community college. Community colleges literally create opportunities where none exist and, like many others, including Mr. Hanks, my community college experience literally changed the trajectory of my entire life.
352
Please don't forget to come back to city housing in NYC to inspire those who may not be able to see a future for themselves.
1
I retired from teaching at a community college in the Chicago area. The acronym for our college is CLC. It is known in the county as the College of Last Chance. Funny but true. Many of the students have already worked in the real world, gotten married, and are raising families. In their late 20's they now realize that their high school education just isn't cutting it. Unfortunately, because corporate America refuses to pay so many a living wage these students struggle mightily. I hope the new Republican congress finds it in their hearts to support this initiative instead of giving more unneeded tax cuts to corporations and the wealthy. Heck, corporations should be proving free education to their employees instead of relying on the federal government to do their duty. Corporations benefit from a well trained workforce. Why do they get a free ride?
223
"Unneeded tax cuts." Do you even listen to yourself? You accuse corporations of getting a free ride while advocating for "free" community college. If it's "free" how, precisely, would anyone but the students be getting a "free ride?" And, if it's truly "free," is the faculty and administration now expected to donate their services? No? I didn't think so.
I loved attending CLC, as did four of my siblings - all of whom went on to obtain four year degrees and currently work in finance, education, and research.
1
Community Colleges are "democracy" schools. For most of our history, higher education was exclusive to the rich. The idea that millions of poor, working class people might learn skills that would make them more confident and self-assured was terrifying to most of the upper classes. So the creation of community colleges - affordable, quality higher education - was an expansion of democracy.
Some people are cringing at the price tag, or at "federal control," but let's remember the most important, unspoken reason: Business groups and conservatives prefer poor populations. If you're poor, you'll work harder for less money, and you're less equipped to defend yourself against abuses of power by the wealthy. If you make education more affordable for working people, you threaten power and privilege.
But we don't know enough details. Obama's plan is not means-tested, so upper-class people who don't need this aid will get it. Also, Obama's emphasis on "jobs" and employment as the only reason for - well, anything - could result in STEM programs being favored at the expense of others. The administration will likely use the plan to weaken unions, either as their own proposal or as a "compromise" with the GOP. And given the administration's support for business interests/financial industry, people will have to look carefully and critically at what is ultimately proposed.
But like Mr. Hanks, community college made me what I am today. And sir, I loved you in "Joe Versus the Volcano."
Some people are cringing at the price tag, or at "federal control," but let's remember the most important, unspoken reason: Business groups and conservatives prefer poor populations. If you're poor, you'll work harder for less money, and you're less equipped to defend yourself against abuses of power by the wealthy. If you make education more affordable for working people, you threaten power and privilege.
But we don't know enough details. Obama's plan is not means-tested, so upper-class people who don't need this aid will get it. Also, Obama's emphasis on "jobs" and employment as the only reason for - well, anything - could result in STEM programs being favored at the expense of others. The administration will likely use the plan to weaken unions, either as their own proposal or as a "compromise" with the GOP. And given the administration's support for business interests/financial industry, people will have to look carefully and critically at what is ultimately proposed.
But like Mr. Hanks, community college made me what I am today. And sir, I loved you in "Joe Versus the Volcano."
3
Thanks Mr Hanks for bringing back such great memories of that era and my own free 2 yrs of "junior college" experiences at both Palomar and Cabrillo colleges in California, the fascinating art and music classes, the best English and history professors, access to libraries, pianos, and gymnasiums, with nothing invested except registration fees, books, and hard work. With a B average one could transfer to Berkeley or UCLA and only pay for the 2 remaining years. Even food stamps were available to full time students who qualified. I'm am forever grateful for those two years of relatively stress free and fascinating exploration of what college life could be, providing a hope and happiness in those first few steps into adulthood.
5
Obama's move is most certainly an important one, and Mr. Hanks is right to applaud this. The more educated your citizenry, the more legitimate your democracy. However, Mr. Hanks is writing about a different time, and currently there is a large elephant in the room of academia, and that is the slow erosion of tenure and the new adjunct-heavy, business model colleges are adopting where the customer (student) is always right.
I am an adjunct at 3 universities which means I get paid very little and have to travel to 3 different schools per week to teach a total of 5 courses. On top of this, the university can let me go with no questions asked if my courses don't fill up. Why would my courses not fill up? Students are now being treated as customers, and they know this. Generalizing from my experience and those of my colleagues, many students want to buy a degree and a good grade. They do not put the effort in and show no desire for learning. If you dare to make the course difficult, hold them up to time-tested academic standards, or make them read anything longer than 5 pages, they will do everything they can to throw you under the bus, give you a bad name, etc. I've seen it happen.
This legislation is fine if you have a citizenry who wants to learn, a citizenry interested in new ideas and new views of the world, or administrations who respect the role of the professor rather than the bottom line. Unfortunately, this is no longer the world we live in.
I am an adjunct at 3 universities which means I get paid very little and have to travel to 3 different schools per week to teach a total of 5 courses. On top of this, the university can let me go with no questions asked if my courses don't fill up. Why would my courses not fill up? Students are now being treated as customers, and they know this. Generalizing from my experience and those of my colleagues, many students want to buy a degree and a good grade. They do not put the effort in and show no desire for learning. If you dare to make the course difficult, hold them up to time-tested academic standards, or make them read anything longer than 5 pages, they will do everything they can to throw you under the bus, give you a bad name, etc. I've seen it happen.
This legislation is fine if you have a citizenry who wants to learn, a citizenry interested in new ideas and new views of the world, or administrations who respect the role of the professor rather than the bottom line. Unfortunately, this is no longer the world we live in.
2
There's no way in the world that Paul Ryan, the new Republican head of Way and Means will entertain the idea of providing expanded opportunities to the middle class. He will whine endlessly about how much it will cost.
Mr. Ryan received Social Security survivors benefits for much of his childhood and had his college tuition paid for by us the taxpayers. None of that will matter as he bows down to his billionaire overlords whose greed is so insatiable that they can't see how expanding education opportunities to millions of children is an investment that pays off for all of us.
And that's the point, they don't want anything that pays off for all of us. They detest democracy because every once in a while someone else makes it big and ruins their little party.
Mr. Ryan received Social Security survivors benefits for much of his childhood and had his college tuition paid for by us the taxpayers. None of that will matter as he bows down to his billionaire overlords whose greed is so insatiable that they can't see how expanding education opportunities to millions of children is an investment that pays off for all of us.
And that's the point, they don't want anything that pays off for all of us. They detest democracy because every once in a while someone else makes it big and ruins their little party.
16
Democracy? Is that what you said? Paul Ryan and opposing views are part of that democracy and they were elected too. Tell me where does the money come from? Print it? Tax it? We already fund the community colleges with taxes and that is what makes them affordable now. How about we instead teach responsibility and everyone pitch in and that means paying your way like the rest of us. You lefty's are always so good about giving away other people's money. Can you tell me what that is? You are free to put up tuition for that deserving person yourself. Go ahead, write a check for someone while I write a check to pay for myself.
wonderful column, it takes me back to my semester at Morrisville Tech in New York. I too had not been a stellar student but I was able to transfer to Oneonta State after a semester. I won the lottery (the draft) and when I returned from Viet Nam was able to complete my four year degree and eventually get a Masters degree from the University of Georgia using the GI Bill. I am thankful for the opportunity to have an education, it was much cheaper when I started my college career in 1966. The costs today are prohibitive and the newly announced program for community colleges should be helpful. An investment in education almost always reaps huge rewards. Thanks to Tom Hanks for reminding us of it's intrinsic value.
6
Thanks for this. Jay Leno briefly said much the same thing a few days ago. And I know there are hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions, of us more anonymous folks with similar experiences and memories. Mine included being almost broke and on my own in San Francisco at about the same time that Mr. Hanks is writing of, with a lousy record from a high school 3000 miles away. Finally having matured a bit, however, I decided to pursue higher education. City College of San Francisco (essentially free) was my only option while continuing to work. To make a long story short, I wound up eight years later with a PhD and a permanent job at an Ivy League university. It would be truly great if those huge numbers of us with similar stories could find a way to convey this to the generally more entitled (and oblivious) people who sit in Congress. A free (or nearly free) community college education enriched the lives of of untold numbers of individuals--and more than likely fueled much of this nation's financial, cultural, and intellectual growth--during the 1960s and 70s. The potential brain power of this country is unequaled anywhere else, but its development must be broadly subsidized--especially now, when other nations are beginning to leave us in their dust in terms of an educated populace.
193
"[S]ubsidized?"
The folks with fancy MBAs (with or without the prior experience in a community college) would say "broadly invested in" or "broadly deserving of capital" due to expected returns on investment.
That's exactly the nature of your correct observation that our nation has gained the benefits of 'financial, cultural, and intellectual growth' derived from the community college education of our citizenry.
The folks with fancy MBAs (with or without the prior experience in a community college) would say "broadly invested in" or "broadly deserving of capital" due to expected returns on investment.
That's exactly the nature of your correct observation that our nation has gained the benefits of 'financial, cultural, and intellectual growth' derived from the community college education of our citizenry.
I went back to school at San Diego Community College when I was 45 years old. It was the a great learning experience in many ways. Obama's proposal cn help so many change their lives.
1
Well done, Chabot and Hanks. I have taught thousands of students at several universities, and some I loved best started out in a fine Canadian community college, where inspired teachers and a collegial atmosphere made up for small libraries and crowded classrooms. When I noticed that my huge multiversity's classrooms were empty st night, and community colleges were offering a variety we never could match, I was told "University is for the top students, the colleges for the rest." My peers were world-class scholars and many were superb teachers, but far too many did not know -- or care -- how to find, liberate, or create new "top" minds from scared students. Hard-working teachers in the far lower-paying community colleges often did. So, go, Obama, convince status-mad Americans that some of our buried talents, like Hanks, can be found if we fertilize the soil with good community colleges and simple accreditation for university transfer. And wait with patience for the talents to bloom.
3
As one who graduated from, now works at a community college, and had a successful engineering career, I applaud the effort. Hard as it may be to believe, there are folks that cannot afford even community college tuition and fees OR more usually, the living expenses that go along with the effort. But, community college is not for everyone. The high dropout rate attests to that. (For a really interesting study regarding community college students, see Columbia University's research, http://ccrc.tc.columbia.edu/Community-College-FAQs.html)
Even more important, is what community colleges do, or will, teach. To stay competitive, the program of studies must be dynamic and not get mired down as many do. Will the colleges be teaching the skill sets and critical thinking necessary for the new jobs? Often today, that answer is no or limited.
"Moore's law" is the observation that, over the history of computing hardware, the number of transistors in a dense integrated circuit doubles approximately every two years. Anyone who doubts this, think of your first cell phone and your current one. As technology improves, so too do job requirements and employee needed skills. Simply sending folks to community colleges without the colleges improving their program of studies would be a waste of money.
This isn't just as easy as the Feds sending a check to the colleges - don't let anybody kid you. There is a lot of work to be done.
Even more important, is what community colleges do, or will, teach. To stay competitive, the program of studies must be dynamic and not get mired down as many do. Will the colleges be teaching the skill sets and critical thinking necessary for the new jobs? Often today, that answer is no or limited.
"Moore's law" is the observation that, over the history of computing hardware, the number of transistors in a dense integrated circuit doubles approximately every two years. Anyone who doubts this, think of your first cell phone and your current one. As technology improves, so too do job requirements and employee needed skills. Simply sending folks to community colleges without the colleges improving their program of studies would be a waste of money.
This isn't just as easy as the Feds sending a check to the colleges - don't let anybody kid you. There is a lot of work to be done.
1
As my moniker hints, I am a professor. In my case, of mechanical engineering. After a 30+ year career I can honestly say I owe much of it to Diablo Valley College in Pleasant Hill, California. While Mr. Hanks interests were much different than mine (I liked my astronomy class - it had math), I received a fine education that served me well at UC Berkeley and beyond. It was all I could afford even with my father's help. It was the only place I could get into after a lackluster high school performance. For all the reason's Mr. Hanks mentioned, and more, we should support President Obama's efforts to make this American treasure available to all that want and need it. While it might be hard to measure, I'm confident that such an investment will return much more than $60 billion.
P.S. Thank you Mr. Hanks for some terrific performances.
P.S. Thank you Mr. Hanks for some terrific performances.
5
Thanks, Tom. Me, too. During my service at Camp Pendleton, and then after my discharge from the Marine Corps, I attended a succession of surprisingly excellent community colleges. As my rigidly fundamentalist family was suspicious of education, the fine instructors I had at community colleges gave me my first deep appreciation of education. Eventually I became a pilot at a major airline, then graduated from a top-tier law school. I'd never really thought much about it, but I owe a lot to those fine and affordable two year schools. Given the tuition costs at even state four year colleges today, more support for community colleges is a great idea!
1
President Obama's plan has tremendous long-term payoff. Just as the spotlight fell on the 4-year Research University in FDR's post-WW2 era, now the spotlight is on the CC. The objective back then was to build a line of defence against the enemy, by investing in R&D. What line of defence can the David-like Community Colleges be good for? Ignorance. Ignorance is the biggest enemy we face both in the U.S. and in the world today. The enemy sounds benign, but upon peering into its ugly abyss, looks lethal. So five cheers for bringing the Community College to the foreground of higher education in America.
1
Hanks has a success story on his hands and good for him. Please note he had tenured instructors with more than an entry level degrees to their names. These teachers were well paid and secure in their employment
In the world of community colleges today a majority of classes at such institutions are taught by adjunct teachers who are poorly paid and overworked. The bulk of the money now goes to layers upon layers of highly paid administrators with very little going to hiring and keeping the type of teachers who influenced Mr. Hanks.
As someone who helped found a community college and taught there I have seen the change from the environment Hanks experienced to the negative model of community college of today.
I strongly support the idea of the community college of his day and lament the idea of the community college of today.
In the world of community colleges today a majority of classes at such institutions are taught by adjunct teachers who are poorly paid and overworked. The bulk of the money now goes to layers upon layers of highly paid administrators with very little going to hiring and keeping the type of teachers who influenced Mr. Hanks.
As someone who helped found a community college and taught there I have seen the change from the environment Hanks experienced to the negative model of community college of today.
I strongly support the idea of the community college of his day and lament the idea of the community college of today.
3
We need public policy based upon based upon systematic empirical data, not anecdotal evidence. I am a community college product and have good memories of my experiences. But I also took the time to assess best available facts in large data sets compiled by the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center and the Community College Research Center. These reports summarize-inter alia-the 6 year completion rates of cohorts who start their careers at community colleges. Let's not allocate scarce resources on the basis of personal anecdotes.
2
Wonderful story. But like every person in America who can point to a singular entity to thank for aiding in the creation of the persons they are today, none of those stories means it should be gifted to us by another.
An M.I.T. degree may have given Hanks the ability to foresee that "free" Community College costs would skyrocket if they were free. First, every school would charge whatever the federally subsidized cap would be. Second, the theoretical return on investment now would plummet because the enducation being paid for now is done in large part to enable the person to better themselves and create weate wealth if for no other reason than to pay for the student loan debt. Free schooling would increase non-productive use. There's so many unintended, yet obvious, consequences of this hair brained idea, it makes my hair hurt.
Moreover, while Mr. Hanks contributions to the Democrat Party can be easily found, his contributions to Chabot can not. The only mention of the two come from a board meeting where they suggested inviting Mr. Hanks to a fundraiser to help meet their lofty goals of $150,000. No other mention that he was invited, attended, donated, or even gave them a good reference.
For a guy who allegedly owes it all to Chabot, he sure hasn't put his money where his mouth is, but boy if he can't act the part via this article.
An M.I.T. degree may have given Hanks the ability to foresee that "free" Community College costs would skyrocket if they were free. First, every school would charge whatever the federally subsidized cap would be. Second, the theoretical return on investment now would plummet because the enducation being paid for now is done in large part to enable the person to better themselves and create weate wealth if for no other reason than to pay for the student loan debt. Free schooling would increase non-productive use. There's so many unintended, yet obvious, consequences of this hair brained idea, it makes my hair hurt.
Moreover, while Mr. Hanks contributions to the Democrat Party can be easily found, his contributions to Chabot can not. The only mention of the two come from a board meeting where they suggested inviting Mr. Hanks to a fundraiser to help meet their lofty goals of $150,000. No other mention that he was invited, attended, donated, or even gave them a good reference.
For a guy who allegedly owes it all to Chabot, he sure hasn't put his money where his mouth is, but boy if he can't act the part via this article.
3
I don't have an MIT degree, but I presume they teach that evidence and real world experience trump ideology and theory. And by that score your vision of how this plan plays out fails utterly.
In the 1960s and 1970s, Community College (and many 4 year programs at public universities) were "free." Costs did not "skyrocket." In the last four decades, we have shifted the costs to the students based on the exact ideological reading of economics and humans you use here and then costs did skyrocket!
Furthermore, the ROI for society at large was greater when students were not debt-ridden and individuals flourished (with commensurate benefits, both economic and social, for the rest of us) when they had the flexibility granted by "non-productive use" (which really means self-directed) of education to shift their focus and careers into areas where their passion and drive took them.
The
In the 1960s and 1970s, Community College (and many 4 year programs at public universities) were "free." Costs did not "skyrocket." In the last four decades, we have shifted the costs to the students based on the exact ideological reading of economics and humans you use here and then costs did skyrocket!
Furthermore, the ROI for society at large was greater when students were not debt-ridden and individuals flourished (with commensurate benefits, both economic and social, for the rest of us) when they had the flexibility granted by "non-productive use" (which really means self-directed) of education to shift their focus and careers into areas where their passion and drive took them.
The
1
Costs have skyrocketed for the very reasons Constance Underfoot describes. We give away student loans at an enormous rate now, and guess what? Costs have skyrocketed because of it. What Constance is referring to is an economic theory known as supply and demand. If you artificially increase demand, costs go up. I thought all schools taught basic economics? I guess not.
1
As I remember, the right wingers among us denigrated welfare because poor people depend on it and, yes, sometimes abuse it (they never denigrate hedge-fund managers for exploiting society because they get laws passed to legalize their expropriation of the common weal).
Anyway, ranting aside, I think it was the GOP that insisted on workfare, as a way of preparing the poor and unskilled to learn real jobs and get of the public dole. In many ways it was an offensive denigration of the real needs of the poor, but at least it was aimed at giving them a chance.
Community colleges should be viewed as another, clearly effective, form of 'workfare'. We know that making higher education available is good for the country, and the 20th century proved that rather clearly.
My point is that even the GOP ought to be squarely behind this, as a progressive, non-abusive way to add to the constructive contributions of our citizens, no matter how far behind the 8-ball their circumstances have put them. This is investment, not waste, work rather than free rides.
Anyway, ranting aside, I think it was the GOP that insisted on workfare, as a way of preparing the poor and unskilled to learn real jobs and get of the public dole. In many ways it was an offensive denigration of the real needs of the poor, but at least it was aimed at giving them a chance.
Community colleges should be viewed as another, clearly effective, form of 'workfare'. We know that making higher education available is good for the country, and the 20th century proved that rather clearly.
My point is that even the GOP ought to be squarely behind this, as a progressive, non-abusive way to add to the constructive contributions of our citizens, no matter how far behind the 8-ball their circumstances have put them. This is investment, not waste, work rather than free rides.
1
Thank you Mr Hanks for this vivid, first-hand account of your community college experience. To your list of typical students I would add those with disabilities and those for whom English is a second language.
When I started teaching at a nearby community college sixteen years ago, my ivy league education left me with a chip on my shoulder that I am ashamed to recall. That chip was knocked off quickly as I learned what was going on in the classrooms of our elite professors.
Many of the most respected faculty teach the courses whose numbers start with zero—remedial classes now renamed "preparatory". These professors bring writing, reading, and math skills up to the level required for college classes. For many students these classes are the last chance at an education—and a daunting challenge to educators.
Not a few of my art students grew up in homes devoid of reading material, or have disabilities (intellectual, mobility, hearing, or vision)—yet are often brilliant, funny, compassionate, and eager to improve their prospects. Not all of them will survive to get the degree, or even make it through the end of the semester. But there are enough successes to make teaching there a humbling and gratifying experience. It is heartening to see that from the White House to Hollywood, and in boardrooms of major corporations, community colleges are being seen with renewed respect.
When I started teaching at a nearby community college sixteen years ago, my ivy league education left me with a chip on my shoulder that I am ashamed to recall. That chip was knocked off quickly as I learned what was going on in the classrooms of our elite professors.
Many of the most respected faculty teach the courses whose numbers start with zero—remedial classes now renamed "preparatory". These professors bring writing, reading, and math skills up to the level required for college classes. For many students these classes are the last chance at an education—and a daunting challenge to educators.
Not a few of my art students grew up in homes devoid of reading material, or have disabilities (intellectual, mobility, hearing, or vision)—yet are often brilliant, funny, compassionate, and eager to improve their prospects. Not all of them will survive to get the degree, or even make it through the end of the semester. But there are enough successes to make teaching there a humbling and gratifying experience. It is heartening to see that from the White House to Hollywood, and in boardrooms of major corporations, community colleges are being seen with renewed respect.
1
If memory serves me, I didn't apply to Long Beach City College. My high school just enrolled me there as a default when I checked a box and signed at the bottom. I wasn't mature enough for college, but I spent three semesters there with a C average and was very active in a JC fraternity and student government.
I got that out of my system and found myself in Vietnam within a year.
Nights of guard duty during the Tet Offensive provided many Balzacien moments (though I didn't know then who Balzac was), and I swore I would go back to school and get it right. Still in service, I started taking night courses a Riverside City College. I started getting straight A's, seemingly without trying to. I was into learning. Mr. Bill Wiley's American Lit courses (I took both) confirmed me as an lit student. I was accepted to UC Santa Cruz, then the hottest school in the country, and graduated with honors. It was then off to France, more degrees, and teaching internationally. I had a fine career, full of challenge, fun, travel, hard work, and learning. I never would have imagined, in high school, that one day I would speak French, much less teach it.
Ok, I never gave up on my education. But junior colleges were there to help me along. I got an education as good as any in the world. It was all up to me, and the progressive California college system ("The Master Plan") made it possible when I didn't have much money. Nor did my parents.
I can only agree with Tom Hanks.
I got that out of my system and found myself in Vietnam within a year.
Nights of guard duty during the Tet Offensive provided many Balzacien moments (though I didn't know then who Balzac was), and I swore I would go back to school and get it right. Still in service, I started taking night courses a Riverside City College. I started getting straight A's, seemingly without trying to. I was into learning. Mr. Bill Wiley's American Lit courses (I took both) confirmed me as an lit student. I was accepted to UC Santa Cruz, then the hottest school in the country, and graduated with honors. It was then off to France, more degrees, and teaching internationally. I had a fine career, full of challenge, fun, travel, hard work, and learning. I never would have imagined, in high school, that one day I would speak French, much less teach it.
Ok, I never gave up on my education. But junior colleges were there to help me along. I got an education as good as any in the world. It was all up to me, and the progressive California college system ("The Master Plan") made it possible when I didn't have much money. Nor did my parents.
I can only agree with Tom Hanks.
5
Lovely, Mr. Hanks. There are a lot of people who have not received an acceptable high school education because of where they attended school. At the least, going to community college can help some of these people to level par on the high school education baseline.
Another important point is the assistance afforded in learning how to use the available tools to educate ourselves through life. Educating our populace makes for better employees, more self evolved, happier people, and a better country. Providing two years of community college to our citizens is a worthwhile national community goal and will provide many a chance to jump start their educational dreams.
Thanks for your insight, Tom.
Another important point is the assistance afforded in learning how to use the available tools to educate ourselves through life. Educating our populace makes for better employees, more self evolved, happier people, and a better country. Providing two years of community college to our citizens is a worthwhile national community goal and will provide many a chance to jump start their educational dreams.
Thanks for your insight, Tom.
I started off on a farm in the Ozarks, worked for a couple years after high school, avoided the draft by joining the military and started my career at Mesa Junior College in San Diego after returning from Vietnam. I believe is was a couple dollars per semester. The eventual follow-up was a doctorate at Cal and I don't remember the cost but I was able to live on the pay of a research assistant. Education has gotten much more expensive because of administrative costs and state governments cutting their support for higher education. The idea use to be that states wanted a skilled and educated population and they backed that belief up with support of higher education. That is no longer the case. Now students can take on a life time of debt for their education. We should get back to supporting the development of our citizens.
5
Thanks Tom Hanks for endorsing Obama's best idea yet! I come from a family of 9 kids, poor but happy, no college money available. We all went at least to a community college, with most working hard to get the grades at the community college to move on to Cornell University or another well known four year school. Making community college free is one of the more empowering suggestions I have heard for those born into lesser circumstances or having lesser circumstances thrust upon them by divorce, bad decisions early on, or poor high school performance. It's a second and third chance in many cases and salvation for those who can't afford or feel they are not college capable. Poverty often creates obstacles keeping kids who are capable from fulfilling their promise in high school. I am not the only poor kid who realized they had deficits but were in fact very capable once pulled out of a difficult home environment and pushed to focus and encouraged as capable at college. And some prefer or are best suited to specific career training rather than four years of college. Community colleges are great vehicles for linking career training to locally available jobs. Offering free community college is like unlocking the gate to opportunity for those otherwise shut out.
3
At about the same time as Mr. Hanks, I took a similar route to a college degree. Although the eventual trajectory was considerably less noteworthy, I've had a successful and rewarding life, made possible in large part by the tuition-free open admission policy of the City University of New York at that time (I paid about $50.00 per semester in administrative fees). When I started classes, my entire income consisted of the GI Bill and a $32.00 disability check each month.
Some people cannot be kept from succeeding, regardless of the obstacles; others unfortunately will never succeed. But most of us fall between those extremes, needing only to gain our footing while we seek our path. My college experience gave me that footing and I found my path, as millions of others of limited resources have. My diploma - that single piece of paper - made all the difference. If President Obama's newly announced policy were a stock offering, I'd buy shares. It strikes me as one of the wisest investments one could make in our nation's future.
Some people cannot be kept from succeeding, regardless of the obstacles; others unfortunately will never succeed. But most of us fall between those extremes, needing only to gain our footing while we seek our path. My college experience gave me that footing and I found my path, as millions of others of limited resources have. My diploma - that single piece of paper - made all the difference. If President Obama's newly announced policy were a stock offering, I'd buy shares. It strikes me as one of the wisest investments one could make in our nation's future.
2
The price tag of this proposed community college project $ 60 billion demonstrates two things. Nothing is free. And dollars are only one part what some thing costs.
America spent $ 640 billion on it's military in 2014 which does not include the cost of war on our budget and veterans. That is more than the next 8 nations combined including more than 3 times China and 8 times Russia's. One Ford Class Aircraft Carrier costs $ 13 billion. The military-industrial complex is bloated wasteful misguided misleading misgovernment. See James Fallows cover story January/February 2015.
American kids are increasingly lagging behind their peers in other nations in educational attainment because of the failure to focus on providing access to local quality public school education from K-12. By the time they reach the community college level it is the proverbial too little too late. But cheaper and better than nothing.
All of the rhetoric about the importance of education is lost in socioeconomic political digressions about private enterprise and unions and race and ethnicity.
Tom Hanks was a very cheap "date" at Chabot. A 4 year college education is not required for every one. Jobs, Gates, Hanks are exceptional but not unique. Someone has to build and make things work.
America spent $ 640 billion on it's military in 2014 which does not include the cost of war on our budget and veterans. That is more than the next 8 nations combined including more than 3 times China and 8 times Russia's. One Ford Class Aircraft Carrier costs $ 13 billion. The military-industrial complex is bloated wasteful misguided misleading misgovernment. See James Fallows cover story January/February 2015.
American kids are increasingly lagging behind their peers in other nations in educational attainment because of the failure to focus on providing access to local quality public school education from K-12. By the time they reach the community college level it is the proverbial too little too late. But cheaper and better than nothing.
All of the rhetoric about the importance of education is lost in socioeconomic political digressions about private enterprise and unions and race and ethnicity.
Tom Hanks was a very cheap "date" at Chabot. A 4 year college education is not required for every one. Jobs, Gates, Hanks are exceptional but not unique. Someone has to build and make things work.
1
Good Column Tom. I too started my career at a two-year school. I am now a full professor and scientist. Two-year education provides a great alternative for those who (like me) did not achieve academically in high school, so I wasn't prepared for a higher-ed, four-year program but later succeeded there. Likewise, two-year schools provide certifications and technical education that is a valuable alternative to four-year programs. SO the President's program is great. BUT the Obama administration and the state of Montana (like many other states) have been stripping funding and resources from bachelors and graduate programs in favor of two-year programs as an alternative. Cutting Pell grants, graduate stipends, student loan support and limiting financial aid based on credits is punishing those who seek to advance beyond the two-year level. This reductionism is toxic and antithetic to everything the America has stood for since the inception of the (formerly) greatest higher education system in the world. Let's commit to providing opportunity and great education at ALL levels.
1
I went to community college in San Mateo, CA and then on to San Francisco State. Later received two Masters degrees, published in the the most prestigious journal in my field and made hundreds of millions of dollars for my employers. I started my own companies, where I now have employees. I would say that the community college works great for late bloomers, or disadvantaged, or people who learn to focus later in life. But I also think that the efficiency of community colleges will be destroyed by federal money. It isn't the role of the federal government to pay for or run community colleges.
2
This is a coherent plan, for a number of reasons, and one of the better ones from this administration. "Community College" is a bit of a misnomer; all colleges are of a community, and all, one way or another, receive federal, state and agency funding. Moreover, they are tax except organizations and thereby subsidized. Some of the finest colleges in the nation are within this sector; Middlesex Community College in Middletown, Connecticut is an example (an effective farm school for Wesleyan) as is the College of DuPage in Glenn Ellyn, Illinois, which feeds the University of Illinois, the Illinois Institute of Technology and other fine universities, while providing outstanding STEM preparation and vocational training in high wage sectors.
This proposal naturally invokes a discussion about harmonizing high school and college, including the unfortunate remedial instruction that is present on nearly all college campuses. This proposed legislation might include rationalizing high school and junior college to a combined three to four years.
As for the price tag, it's nearly immaterial in the larger federal budget, moreover, it's merely a classic guns and butter choice. The US spends $20Billion per month (that's every month) on the GWOT and related paramilitary activities.
Lastly, this proposal will likely generate a fundamental consideration over private university practices including tuition of course, but degree program duration and design.
Nicely written Op-Ed.
This proposal naturally invokes a discussion about harmonizing high school and college, including the unfortunate remedial instruction that is present on nearly all college campuses. This proposed legislation might include rationalizing high school and junior college to a combined three to four years.
As for the price tag, it's nearly immaterial in the larger federal budget, moreover, it's merely a classic guns and butter choice. The US spends $20Billion per month (that's every month) on the GWOT and related paramilitary activities.
Lastly, this proposal will likely generate a fundamental consideration over private university practices including tuition of course, but degree program duration and design.
Nicely written Op-Ed.
2
Attending Cabrillo Community College in Santa Cruz, CA and City College in Santa Barbara was the critical piece that allowed me to move beyond my useless (sorry!) bachelor's degree from UC Santa Barbara (where I partied the whole time) toward my life's real calling: to become a biologist. I knew I'd have to have some basic science and math courses under my belt in order to apply to a graduate program in biology, so I took chemistry and calculus at both Cabrillo and City College for a year. The experience was so different from my party-drenched one at UCSB -- yes, I was a bit older, more serious and focused. But the instructors at both community colleges were, without exception, the best ones I had had in my college career. Interesting, innovative in how they knew and delivered content, very committed. To make a short story long, I view that year-long experience as the critical piece in preparing me for a Ph.D. at Berkeley, followed by a pretty happy and successful career in research and teaching as a university professor. I would encourage anyone, at any stage of their life or career, to check out the community college possibilities. I'm very excited about President Obama's initiative.
5
When I graduated from high school in 1962, I had to help my family financially, so I couldn't afford to go to college. For the next two years, I worked in factories around the Cleveland area. Then in the fall of 1964, Cuyahoga Community College opened a branch within walking distance of my home. I started night school there and was taught by some excellent professors. In 1965, I transferred my credits to Ohio State, which accepted all of them. From there I went on to graduate from Harvard Law School and had a long and successful career as a lawyer. In the process, I employed many other people--one of whom was a young woman who started with us as a secretary, went to Tri-C during the flex-time we gave her, and ultimately returned to become a lawyer at our firm. During my career, I paid enough taxes to repay at least a hundred times over the cost to the public of the subsidized education I received at both Tri-C and OSU. I hope Congress understands that these government investments in educating our young people can have enormous payoffs in the long run.
17
I too started out a community college - Community College of Philadelphia (CCP). I like so many others described here was a youth who spent more time in the hallways cutting class than sitting in them. The one school that "anyone" could get in - Temple - rejected my application cold. CCP gave me, indeed anyone, a chance. Due to its low cost, my tuition was covered with Federal and State (PHEAA) grants. And I was able to transfer to a four year college the following year.
For years, CCP used a picture of me on the cover of their brochures to reflect their mission. An unstaged photo of young man bent over his desk trying to figure a math problem with the teacher leaning over him guiding him to right the answer and in the end much more...
For years, CCP used a picture of me on the cover of their brochures to reflect their mission. An unstaged photo of young man bent over his desk trying to figure a math problem with the teacher leaning over him guiding him to right the answer and in the end much more...
3
Anecdote, does not make good public policy. Affordability and access to community colleges is not the issue. Community colleges are already underwritten by state government and students enjoy state subsidized tuition - $3,300 for two year programs (College Board).
The problem is that community colleges produce poor outcomes. They have a 6% completion rate. They are not structured for job placement or assistance. Affordable education is not the answer. Good education is the answer. Like so many policies from this administration, they state a broad problem, obfuscate, and then propose an expensive solution based on a failed governmental apparatus.
The problem is that community colleges produce poor outcomes. They have a 6% completion rate. They are not structured for job placement or assistance. Affordable education is not the answer. Good education is the answer. Like so many policies from this administration, they state a broad problem, obfuscate, and then propose an expensive solution based on a failed governmental apparatus.
55
I agree that anecdote does not make for good policy, but numbers often aren't as reliable as we may think. That 6% completion rate is misleading, since not all community college students take classes in order to graduate. Most of them (at least where I teach) take enough classes so that they can meet prerequisites at the four-year schools they will transfer to. My best students are in the Honors Program. Not many of them get a diploma from our institution, but they do get diplomas from Michigan, Georgetown, Harvard, Northwestern, Hunter, Texas, Loyola, to name a few. The personal attention they get from faculty, who recognizes the potential of non-traditional college populations, helps them confidently thrive during their undergrad and graduate studies. I call those students a success even if they keep the school's completion numbers down.
2
With all due respect, you are using disingenuous rhetoric to articulate a political position. The U.S. DOE states that "community colleges have a 22 percent completion rate. In comparison, using the same measure, non-selective four-year public institutions have a graduation rate of 29 percent." Not sure where you came up with the 6% number. Even at one of the country's lowest completion rate systems, the City Colleges of Chicago, we have been between 7 and 14% over the past several years. (I'm a former student there, which ultimately used that as a springboard into a prestigious four-year school and have now returned as a professor at CCC.
Additionally, community colleges, by their nature, will have a very low completion rate because receiving a credential is not the goal of so many students there: transfer students and individual students dominate the student population; it's a big part of the community college's function.
Finally, implementing a blanket qualification of all community colleges is simply shortsighted.
Additionally, community colleges, by their nature, will have a very low completion rate because receiving a credential is not the goal of so many students there: transfer students and individual students dominate the student population; it's a big part of the community college's function.
Finally, implementing a blanket qualification of all community colleges is simply shortsighted.
3
The American Association of Community Colleges contends that, if the government counted students who complete at least 30 credits at a community college and then finish their degrees at four-year schools, the proportion who should be considered to ultimately graduate would be closer to 40 percent.
3
Lovely. After being a mediocre student in high school, I got pregnant my first year in college. Life re-focused as a mother, I tried out community college. Lo and behold, it was a different experience. Here was an entire school filled with teachers whose single goal seemed to be my success. And so I was.
Still brings tears to my now senior eyes, strangers who didn't care that I had dropped out of college pregnant and refused to put the baby up for adoption, thereby 'ruining' my life. I did well. I remember that there was a requirement that each student had to do public speaking. Which I think meant presenting something to the entire class. We all did it and we all did well.
I can't remember the teachers names, or faces, or most of the classes. But I remember the incredible healing nature of people who cared for my success. The first I had met in my life. I became successful.
It seems that community college teaches to a certain type of student. Or many types. It is the American way of life, second chances woven into our fabric. We none of us unfold in the path that we think we might or should. We have second chances peppered across this great land of ours. But many can't find the door into them. Community college is one such door. We owe it to ourselves to implement Obama's plan of opening this door wider.
Still brings tears to my now senior eyes, strangers who didn't care that I had dropped out of college pregnant and refused to put the baby up for adoption, thereby 'ruining' my life. I did well. I remember that there was a requirement that each student had to do public speaking. Which I think meant presenting something to the entire class. We all did it and we all did well.
I can't remember the teachers names, or faces, or most of the classes. But I remember the incredible healing nature of people who cared for my success. The first I had met in my life. I became successful.
It seems that community college teaches to a certain type of student. Or many types. It is the American way of life, second chances woven into our fabric. We none of us unfold in the path that we think we might or should. We have second chances peppered across this great land of ours. But many can't find the door into them. Community college is one such door. We owe it to ourselves to implement Obama's plan of opening this door wider.
352
Free community college is a great idea, but it must not become the sump for public funds that the federal guaranteed college loan and local charter school programs have become, and public employee unions cannot take undue advantage of the fresh infusion of funds.. The loan program finances many schools, most of them private (and having bipartisan political support an investment banker would envy), that take students' money without graduating them, leaving the taxpayer with the bill and the ex-student with an unmanageable debt load. Also, private contractors and unions cannot use the wash of federal money to unduly benefit themselves without helping students. Otherwise, the whole thing risks becoming something like the charter school boondoggle that plagues so many school districts, sucking money away from real education and into the hands of thieves.
1
I'm all for education and it is the defining factor in our millennium. I wonder how we, America, are going to pay for this new extravagance. Programs to help the poor are wonderful and necessary, but the reality is someone has to foot the bill. My best guess is the Middle Class - AGAIN - or borrowing from China to prop up an educational experiment.
If this makes its way through the system, will there be a retroactive refund program to help recently graduated poor student?
You can look all over this country to see examples of how people value gifts from the government. This educational welfare. The Prado Principle applies here in that 80% of the students will do 20% of their work and that will reap 80% of the benefits.
Education should cost - it should be expensive - it should not be easy - it should not be taken for granted - it requires and investment. This proposal lowers our standard and causes adaptation to a lower common denominator. It causes Lower standards so everyone graduates - Low admission criteria - increases class sizes - Creates meaningless courses - Disenfranchises professors - Devalues the two year degree.
America needs more Retail Clerks with AA degrees.
If this makes its way through the system, will there be a retroactive refund program to help recently graduated poor student?
You can look all over this country to see examples of how people value gifts from the government. This educational welfare. The Prado Principle applies here in that 80% of the students will do 20% of their work and that will reap 80% of the benefits.
Education should cost - it should be expensive - it should not be easy - it should not be taken for granted - it requires and investment. This proposal lowers our standard and causes adaptation to a lower common denominator. It causes Lower standards so everyone graduates - Low admission criteria - increases class sizes - Creates meaningless courses - Disenfranchises professors - Devalues the two year degree.
America needs more Retail Clerks with AA degrees.
1
while perhaps "education should cost" how can you actually state it "should be expensive"? Sure, you list a bunch of rationalizations but please education should be expensive? Okay, Grinch.
If community colleges are working for people like Mr. Hanks, then why do they need the federal government to "fix" them? The federal government has been "fixing" K-12 education for 40 years and making a bigger mess of public school. It has been pouring money into 4-year colleges and the result has been skyrocketing inflation in tuition. The same will happen with community colleges if the President's latest scheme to pander to college age voters succeeds. In addition, community colleges will have to hire a massive army of bureacrats and administrators to comply with the thousands of pages of rules and regulations that always come with federal money, further increasing their cost and ultimately tuition for those who do not qualify for the subsidies.
Rather than urging the federal government to hit up middle class taxpayers for more subsidies and corporate welfare for colleges and universities, perhaps billionaires such as Mr. Hanks could spare some of their own billions to fund financial aid for these colleges.
Rather than urging the federal government to hit up middle class taxpayers for more subsidies and corporate welfare for colleges and universities, perhaps billionaires such as Mr. Hanks could spare some of their own billions to fund financial aid for these colleges.
2
This is awesome, Mr. Hanks. Too many high school students look at community college as something lesser, not cool, not the "real" college experience, where all the "underachievers" go. But your description here makes it come alive with diversity, opportunity, affordability, practicality, creativity, accessibility--all in all, a healthy, dynamic place to go after High School. This at a time when many traditional colleges have become more about partying than experimenting with career options, and too expensive to explore impractical areas. Community Colleges need more badges of pride, more bumper stickers, more descriptions like this, so young graduates know that where they are going is way cool, such an opportunity, a place to trumpet with pride and explore with vigor.
I agree, we should spend the 60 billion. Such a wise investment in our future, and it is peanuts compared to what we spend on military weapons, which become obsolete in a few years. The ripple effect of free Community College could help transform our country, uplift the middle class, and give many a message of hope--not to mention a first class education, and a ticket to a fulfilling career.
I agree, we should spend the 60 billion. Such a wise investment in our future, and it is peanuts compared to what we spend on military weapons, which become obsolete in a few years. The ripple effect of free Community College could help transform our country, uplift the middle class, and give many a message of hope--not to mention a first class education, and a ticket to a fulfilling career.
3
I grew up in a, say troubled household. My parents were massively dysfunctional, and being the oldest of 4, I was generally left to my own devices after the age of 9. This didn't bode well for my high school experience. I did terribly, almost exclusively for lack of will. I saw no point, and took no interest in the persistent demand for filling out worksheets full of questions to which I already knew the answers. I was a wise 15 year old. I knew what was best for me, and homework was not on that list.
At 18 I dropped out of high school (under 18 required a parent's consent), and continued my video store job as I planned my next step. And that step was community college. Being independent, and broke meant I got a full pell grant which covered my expenses, plus, the final years of a program that rewarded high scores on state tests, meant I had just enough cash that first year to pay rent, and not starve (though I did lose something like 25 pounds).
Community college meant that a person like me, who had the aptitude, but not the support, could start over. I got reasonable grades in my two years, and transferred to a state university. This semester I will finish my law degree. If not for a community college experience that was completely finished by need and merit based aid, I could not have gotten to where I am.
I am pleased with Mr. Obama's proposal, community college can provide a path to not just higher academics, but also trades, and other skilled work.
At 18 I dropped out of high school (under 18 required a parent's consent), and continued my video store job as I planned my next step. And that step was community college. Being independent, and broke meant I got a full pell grant which covered my expenses, plus, the final years of a program that rewarded high scores on state tests, meant I had just enough cash that first year to pay rent, and not starve (though I did lose something like 25 pounds).
Community college meant that a person like me, who had the aptitude, but not the support, could start over. I got reasonable grades in my two years, and transferred to a state university. This semester I will finish my law degree. If not for a community college experience that was completely finished by need and merit based aid, I could not have gotten to where I am.
I am pleased with Mr. Obama's proposal, community college can provide a path to not just higher academics, but also trades, and other skilled work.
510
Making higher education more affordable for all is a worthy goal. However, making community college "free" is not the solution, since many other obstacles than the already-low fees exist, and creates new problems. What prevents massive overenrollment in general education classes, necessitating costly excess classrooms and instructors when many students repeatedly take and drop the class term after term? Why not drop and repeat if there is no cost to enrolling? What prevents community colleges' continued decline into remedial high schools (now funded by the federal government instead of the local governments which failed to educate marginal students?) What about the difficulty in earning enough to support oneself, and one's carelessly begotten out of wedlock children, and having the time to attend and study for college classes? It's easy to throw money at a problem, more difficult to come up with good solutions.
2
I join with all those who have thanked Mr. Hanks for his thoughtful and moving tribute to one of America's great contributions to democracy and equality - community college. If he is successful, President Obama would be giving a gift to Americans that is rivaled only by Social Security and Medicare in ensuring that a basic requirement for a full and productive life is made available for all who want to improve their lot. And the consequences would be both immediate and profound, for both our economy and our culture.
Perhaps business interests, which have been complaining for years that potential workers are not well-trained enough to step into jobs, will get behind this initiative and push. This is a much better idea than the poorly executed and completely unfunded No Child Left Behind law that has created such chaos in our educational system for the past 14 years.
Perhaps business interests, which have been complaining for years that potential workers are not well-trained enough to step into jobs, will get behind this initiative and push. This is a much better idea than the poorly executed and completely unfunded No Child Left Behind law that has created such chaos in our educational system for the past 14 years.
1
I, too, have an appreciation of community colleges. With university bachelors and advanced degrees and decades-long professional careers from "out west," my husband and i moved our family to central New York in 2008 just before the economy fell, reasonably well off with investments, future pensions, dreams, and hubris. And then of course the economy dropped and so did those resources. And our hubris.
After looking for jobs that no longer existed - my sector was government - I looked for the closest and cheapest college - Mohawk Valley Community College - and found excellent teachers and programs (to name a few - digital animation, respiratory therapy, nanotech, anatomy and biology and chemistry). Who knew? And I found a consistent attitude hopeful for our kids - to have affordable programs relevant to the region and to the future, to be acutely interested in seeing their students employed.
Even near $20,000/year (tuition, room/board (2-3-fold cost of tuition), etc.) for community colleges is in no way cheap, but it is less expensive than their 4-year colleagues. Now if the "4-years" will get beyond that marketing ploy of inflating the "sticker" price to appear exclusive, and then offering financial aid to make it affordable. (Sale!) This hammers middle income families who must pay the inflated price (or go elsewhere), because they are not poor enough to qualify for student aid. FIX THIS.
After looking for jobs that no longer existed - my sector was government - I looked for the closest and cheapest college - Mohawk Valley Community College - and found excellent teachers and programs (to name a few - digital animation, respiratory therapy, nanotech, anatomy and biology and chemistry). Who knew? And I found a consistent attitude hopeful for our kids - to have affordable programs relevant to the region and to the future, to be acutely interested in seeing their students employed.
Even near $20,000/year (tuition, room/board (2-3-fold cost of tuition), etc.) for community colleges is in no way cheap, but it is less expensive than their 4-year colleagues. Now if the "4-years" will get beyond that marketing ploy of inflating the "sticker" price to appear exclusive, and then offering financial aid to make it affordable. (Sale!) This hammers middle income families who must pay the inflated price (or go elsewhere), because they are not poor enough to qualify for student aid. FIX THIS.
3
I absolutely agree with Mr. Hanks' assessment of the value of junior college. I was adrift in the late '60's, landing up in Berkeley, CA. I attended Merritt College (affectionately known as Huey Newton U., now part of Peralta Jr. College) in Oakland, CA in 1969-70. It changed my life and cost $5 for a student GO card, plus books for the year.
I cannot overstate how valuable it was to be in such a diverse environment with rational debate and mature leadership. It changed my life. I found my chosen path in a journalism course that led to a 40 year career in media production. The women were great, the men were great, the experience was enlightening and a wonderful alternative to the manual labor I was experiencing working nights, loading tractor trailers. Junior college gave me self confidence and skills I would apply while finishing an undergraduate degree later and throughout my life.
Thank you Maurice Wolf and colleagues for showing me the value and relevancy of advanced education. It is an absolute necessity for our national well-being and global competitiveness that we support higher education as a top priority. The greater good requires a much stronger commitment to education.
I cannot overstate how valuable it was to be in such a diverse environment with rational debate and mature leadership. It changed my life. I found my chosen path in a journalism course that led to a 40 year career in media production. The women were great, the men were great, the experience was enlightening and a wonderful alternative to the manual labor I was experiencing working nights, loading tractor trailers. Junior college gave me self confidence and skills I would apply while finishing an undergraduate degree later and throughout my life.
Thank you Maurice Wolf and colleagues for showing me the value and relevancy of advanced education. It is an absolute necessity for our national well-being and global competitiveness that we support higher education as a top priority. The greater good requires a much stronger commitment to education.
5
Community colleges are the cure to so much of what ails American higher education. This is true especially for those who were not high-achievers in high school, but also true for people with other academic options who for various reasons would like to stay near home.
The alternative for those who are not high-achievers is often a for-profit school like AIU (American InterContinental), Phoenix, DeVry, etc. Those schools seemingly exist mostly to separate bright-eyed students' money from their wallets - often preying on first-generation students and others who are naive to the limited value of those degrees.
Furthermore, the quality of the faculty at many community colleges exceeds what you'll find at many "name" four-year schools. A passionate professor can change your entire outlook (as Mr. Hanks notes), while four-year schools often deploy unqualified TAs to handle introductory classes. In short, community colleges are great resources that potential students too often overlook.
So thank you to Tom Hanks and President Obama for shining a light on a tremendous educational asset. Community colleges, whether serving as de facto prep schools or for two-year degrees, offer students tremendous value. Making those resources even more accessible to millions of Americans will only strengthen our educational system.
The alternative for those who are not high-achievers is often a for-profit school like AIU (American InterContinental), Phoenix, DeVry, etc. Those schools seemingly exist mostly to separate bright-eyed students' money from their wallets - often preying on first-generation students and others who are naive to the limited value of those degrees.
Furthermore, the quality of the faculty at many community colleges exceeds what you'll find at many "name" four-year schools. A passionate professor can change your entire outlook (as Mr. Hanks notes), while four-year schools often deploy unqualified TAs to handle introductory classes. In short, community colleges are great resources that potential students too often overlook.
So thank you to Tom Hanks and President Obama for shining a light on a tremendous educational asset. Community colleges, whether serving as de facto prep schools or for two-year degrees, offer students tremendous value. Making those resources even more accessible to millions of Americans will only strengthen our educational system.
2
My experience in international education has shown me that the American community college is a unique institution. Not only does it offer a first chance to those such as Tom Hanks who cannot afford the outrageous costs of a college education, but it offers second and third chances to those who (like Hanks again) matured enough to understand the importance of learning to their futures only after high school. I could go on about these benefits and about the democratic values they embody, but there are other aspects of the Obama proposal that bear mentioning. This plan will provide support not just for the students but for the colleges and the communities that host them. In an era in which junior faculty depend on cobbling together teaching jobs at several institutions, this will provide increased job opportunities for trained educators. And it will provide job opportunities for those seeking training in technical fields such as nursing, dental technician, auto mechanics, computer tech, and so on. These are not only important training for finding jobs, but they are skills every community needs. I suspect legislators will hear from their communities on this one.
209
It's not unique. There are similar colleges in Canada and one province (Quebec) is notable for the system of free, public general and vocational college system it established in the 1960s, the principal purpose of which was to make improve inexpensive access to higher education.
2
Thanks Mr. Tom Hanks, education is important for people and citizenry; however, all the education in the world will not help each of five people get the one job that is available nor will it necessarily guarantee a living wage.
4
Education is wonderful, but I have two concerns:
1. Just because Tennessee has a successful program, that does not mean it's a "one-size-fits-all" panacea we can scale over the entire nation.
2. Whenever the government starts trumpeting around the word "free" I read "tax increases" and/or "the debt's only 18 trillion!" I hope the Congress can restrain itself at the feeding trough if this measure comes through.
1. Just because Tennessee has a successful program, that does not mean it's a "one-size-fits-all" panacea we can scale over the entire nation.
2. Whenever the government starts trumpeting around the word "free" I read "tax increases" and/or "the debt's only 18 trillion!" I hope the Congress can restrain itself at the feeding trough if this measure comes through.
2
What about the two republican wars. You paid for that with no complaints. Who benefitted? Please support a goog cause CS.
1
The people who've created the deficit and ensured the ten-fold increase in our society's inequality over the past 30 years are the ones who see "tax-increases" everywhere. But thanks for thinking about yourself.
2
You are spot on. Lefty Hanks and Obama could care less about your taxes going up but they sound nice, don't they. Lastly, going to college just to go to college is not the answer. Preparing for a future should be the first step.
1
I teach high school. I don't ask students where they are going to college. Instead I ask them what their plans are after high school.
When students mention that they are going to a local community college, I suggest that maybe they are making the most intelligent decision among their peers.
They will spend less money, and often work at a job simultaneously (and paying taxes). A great path to maturity, IMHO.
Too often, the education business is myopic and exhibits classism in its focus on the "traditional" paths of careers.
I teach high school, and the fact that students aren't directly paying for my services leads some to have an attitude that reflects their lack of investment in their education product. Free = Whatever.
Nonetheless, I believe that this idea of our President is a good one. It will promote one of our most crucial systems to produce citizens that are more capable of contributing to and multiplying the productivity of our society.
Thank you Mr. Hanks, for your detailed description of the power of education.
When students mention that they are going to a local community college, I suggest that maybe they are making the most intelligent decision among their peers.
They will spend less money, and often work at a job simultaneously (and paying taxes). A great path to maturity, IMHO.
Too often, the education business is myopic and exhibits classism in its focus on the "traditional" paths of careers.
I teach high school, and the fact that students aren't directly paying for my services leads some to have an attitude that reflects their lack of investment in their education product. Free = Whatever.
Nonetheless, I believe that this idea of our President is a good one. It will promote one of our most crucial systems to produce citizens that are more capable of contributing to and multiplying the productivity of our society.
Thank you Mr. Hanks, for your detailed description of the power of education.
8
This is what primary schools should be doing and use to do. College for college sake is not the answer. Getting into a profession and finding a way to attain it is and we have lost that somehow. We need more trades as we have plenty of college educated kids sitting at home with a degree in nothing but they went to college. We need to get back to the basic and start helping kids plan for the future and plan a way to get there instead of just offering up free stuff.
Another reason to admire Tom Hanks. Thank you, NY Times.
9
Tom and I have wo things in common now: our boyish good looks and having been saved by a community college. Graduating from Stuyvesant High School, in the late sixties, a school I had qualified for by a lucky test result, I suffered through four years of math and science, neither of which I had any talent for. I loved and played baseball, while the other students were engrossed in hard fought battles in the manly sport of chess. I graduated 707 of 714 and ended up at Queensborough Community College, which gave me the credits to advance to a four year university, where I studies to be teacher. Forty years later, I have enjoyed a wonderful life, living in Paris, London, Vienna, Kobe, Japan, Kuala Lumpur and now Seoul, Korea where I head an international school of more than a thousand students. No money or grades to go to a "real" college, I got my "Associates" degree from QCC and have enjoyed a life that is the envy of many. I believe this kind of ending can be readily accessible not just to Tom and me, but for millions of others, given the chance.
18
Three cheers for QCC!! (faculty member here!)
1
Thanks, Mr. Hanks, your essay says it all as to why the US should make community college free to all students.
9
Thank you Mr. Hanks!
I went back to school after 10 years of being a stay at home parent, to get the requirements for the CPA. My first stop: 2 classes at the local community college. My professor there was and remains one of the best I have ever had (through undergrad and grad school, both Ivies).
As someone who had studied at a different kind of school before, it was an eye opening experience. I remember standing in line at the bookstore behind a youn g man who had just returned from his second tour of duty in Iraq, had a second child on the way and was working 2 jobs in addition to the 3 courses he was signed up for. I remember my eyes widening in awe at this young man.
Yes! Community collegescan and do help so much. Like you, I'm not holding my breath re funding under the R Congress. Remember 1 of them snarking on Obama: that O was a snob bc he wanted every one to go to college.
If I were Bill Gates, I would fund community colleges, research on autism and as important, support for families of people w autism and as he already does, global public health.
Ps: I just completed and passed all 4 parts of the CPA exam. The first 2 courses I took at the CC were a hugely important first step.
I went back to school after 10 years of being a stay at home parent, to get the requirements for the CPA. My first stop: 2 classes at the local community college. My professor there was and remains one of the best I have ever had (through undergrad and grad school, both Ivies).
As someone who had studied at a different kind of school before, it was an eye opening experience. I remember standing in line at the bookstore behind a youn g man who had just returned from his second tour of duty in Iraq, had a second child on the way and was working 2 jobs in addition to the 3 courses he was signed up for. I remember my eyes widening in awe at this young man.
Yes! Community collegescan and do help so much. Like you, I'm not holding my breath re funding under the R Congress. Remember 1 of them snarking on Obama: that O was a snob bc he wanted every one to go to college.
If I were Bill Gates, I would fund community colleges, research on autism and as important, support for families of people w autism and as he already does, global public health.
Ps: I just completed and passed all 4 parts of the CPA exam. The first 2 courses I took at the CC were a hugely important first step.
20
We already fund Community Colleges with our taxes now and that is why they are so much cheaper. At what point is enough, enough? Nothing is free in case you don't understand, hence the nearly 20 trillion in debt. I worked my through community college and nothing is stopping anyone else from as well. Time for a little responsibility.
Community colleges are the backbone of America's educational system. It is here that lives that need to be, and can be, transformed are transformed, because community colleges throw lifelines to students struggling to stay afloat academically and professionally. As a faculty at a community college in Northern California (near Tom Hanks's Chabot College), I see students every semester whose lives would be quashed were it not for the boost they receive to their confidence and self-esteem in the generous and inspiring environment of community colleges. Years from now, this initiative by President Obama will be hailed as one of his finest achievements.
19
I loathe his politics, but I loved this marvelous endorsement for the community college system, which leads to this question: If we already have one, as Hanks's words testify, why do we need what Obama is proposing. I see evidence of community colleges seemingly everywhere. More isn't always better and I detect another thinly-veiled pitch for minority and middle-class votes.
3
"If we already have one, as Hanks's words testify, why do we need what Obama is proposing."
Because Hanks is describing the past, not the present. Decades of slashing budgets for public education and shifting costs to students have left today's would-be community college attendees with far higher prices. Even the College Board, whose conservative calculations of higher education cost have been criticized as overly optimistic and promotional, says that the average community college costs are over $15,000/year. That is the same as a full-time minimum wage job. And the actual costs in many parts of the country are quite a bit higher. (Perversely, the poorer the area, the higher the community college prices - including all sorts of hidden fees - tend to be because public budgets are so strained.)
The opportunity Hanks describes no longer exists for Americans of the rising generation. Obama's proposal is not about experimenting what the novel, it is about restoring a path to employment and middle class life that we have foolishly allowed to wither away.
Because Hanks is describing the past, not the present. Decades of slashing budgets for public education and shifting costs to students have left today's would-be community college attendees with far higher prices. Even the College Board, whose conservative calculations of higher education cost have been criticized as overly optimistic and promotional, says that the average community college costs are over $15,000/year. That is the same as a full-time minimum wage job. And the actual costs in many parts of the country are quite a bit higher. (Perversely, the poorer the area, the higher the community college prices - including all sorts of hidden fees - tend to be because public budgets are so strained.)
The opportunity Hanks describes no longer exists for Americans of the rising generation. Obama's proposal is not about experimenting what the novel, it is about restoring a path to employment and middle class life that we have foolishly allowed to wither away.
6
Of course there are community colleges, the proposal is for free/reduced tuition because the current situation is still unaffordable for many. Higher education used to be funded at a much higher rate by the states/feds (Mr. Hank's era), but then the big government haters came in. Remember government is us - it is the money given to community colleges to help the Mr. Hanks of the world.
2
Don: the crux of Obama's plan is to make community colleges FREE, as they used to be. No one argues that they are not valuable; quite the contrary. Mr. Hanks's testimony, as do so many others' in the comments section, hinges on the fact that his community college education was FREE. I was an adjunct professor at a NYC community college, which I believe provides excellent education (and yes, much needed remedial math and English--thank goodness someone is doing it!) but these days it's to the tune of $5500 a year! Yes, yes, that's much cheaper than private schools, but it's still an unimaginable fortune for most of my students.
8
Graduated HS in 1964 with a Regents diploma and no interest in college. Enlisted and served from '64-'67. After that it was two years at Nassau Community College FREE, two more years at what was then called Richmond College (now the College of Staten Island), FREE. I supplimented my resources with a college loan at about 2%, no accrued interest until I graduated Then off and running with my BA and a lifetime of opportunity. No juggling jobs with classes, no debt, no stress. This is the level of commitment needed to resolve the problem
18
Thank you, Tom, for sharing your story. Maybe Congress will realize that there are real people out here who can use some help and who will make a difference. You have inspired and entertained many.
13
Inspiring. A lot of people need second chances, for reasons that they did not choose. Some people don't do well the first time because of family or work commitments, a lack of interest and motivation because of one's background, or simply that the time isn't right yet.
13
After essentially failing out of a four year school I went to work for G.E. Night shift, assembly line work. It was a two-year school, Russell Sage (now Sage), that allowed me to try again. Why? It was cheap. $200 a credit hour. I took a course in economics and got an A. Encouraged that I could actually handle the work, I applied to a four year school. I graduated with honors in economics two years later. Went to grad school where I got an advanced degree in economics and straight As. From there, a fabulous career in the field. Yet, I owe much to that little school that helped me get back up after I was down.
33
Thanks for the great article. Ialso attended two great community colleges, one in Orange County CA (OCC) and Albuquerque ( TV-I), both of which profoundly affected my life. Because of state funding I was able to earn degrees in a short period of time and graduate without the burden of a massive loan. Funding community colleges should be a no brainer, but the trends slashing education and trashing teachers' unions have ruined a once great American tradition; affordable education for all.
13
Great essay about the value of college--whether two-year or otherwise. I applaud the spirit of Obama's proposal and the basic idea of returning to fuller state support of the cost of higher education. But the proposal will need tweaking. The same incentive that will help those currently unable to afford college to go to a community college (good thing) will also lure a significant number of people headed to four-year colleges to the two-years (not a good thing for them, for the two-years, or the four-years).
2
Community college was the entry point for my daughter, a rebellious high school student, now a Ph.D. and a college educator. It is the re-entry point for many of my non-traditional Appalachian students, often out of work and with a family to support. Let us lower the energy of activation to returning to college and we will see a tremendous result!
32
Jeez, I had a very similar experience...after graduating high school with an F and three D's in English my senior year I went to community college where I had several fantastic teachers, wound up in an honors class my last semester, transferred to a four year college where I graduated with a degree in English Teaching. That said, I do think there should be some cost, even if a token amount to attend.
3
Loved this article. And also the origami graphic.
8
Sadly, today, most community colleges are little more than remedial English and math for graduates of our failing high schools.
9
party foul.
I can't help but think it would be better to demand more of high school graduates than to dumb down further by pretending community college is college when it is not. I say this with a lot of respect and admiration for what the community colleges locally can do. They serve as great feeder schools for students who want to go to medical school and who don't want to be debtors beforehand. I suspect that a lot of the other students are not as driven. So this is a mixed situation at best, yet with tuition relatively inexpensive to begin with, why are non-students being asked to foot the bill? This seems like another in a series of feel good but vacuous proposals.
2
I don't think you've been to a community college recently. While there may be some that offer remedial classes, for the most part community colleges are still as Mr. Hanks describes. Variety of classes. Some excellent, inspiring teachers. And, the ability to give a fresh start to returning students and first-time students alike.
What good is it for a kid to stay in high school if they'll never go any further? What chance at a decent job and career will they ever have? The community college system is one of the best educational channels ever created, offering a chance at advancement for many who would not achieve it any other way.
What good is it for a kid to stay in high school if they'll never go any further? What chance at a decent job and career will they ever have? The community college system is one of the best educational channels ever created, offering a chance at advancement for many who would not achieve it any other way.
1
Great plug for how the university library helps its students long after they are gone.
Signed
A University Librarian
Signed
A University Librarian
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All public and university libraries are the most precious places in our society. Greatest day of my life was when I was six and could get my own public library card in Chicago. The world was my oyster!
4
This a fine essay, persuasive and full of humor and wisdom. Well done.
7
What a great piece from Tom Hanks. I work at the community college I attended Once Upon A Time, and I was terribly excited to hear of President Obama's plan. It's going to help HUGE numbers of students.
10
If a reader is considering study at a community college, I think your wit along with acknowledgement of the value of such an education will be an encouraging theme. Having been a faculty member at a private university for my entire life I would add one additional observation.
Community college faculty, I have met recently, are not under the constant need to develop research and as a result do much more "teaching". This is a major benefit for students.
Community college faculty, I have met recently, are not under the constant need to develop research and as a result do much more "teaching". This is a major benefit for students.
522
Great point. I have read thatfor the reasons you cite, many community college professors are the real deal and are better faculty than at spme of the big universities. I also have seen many professors jump into "entrepreneurship" for the big bucks and neglect their classes. Students pay hugely for big name faculty and end up being taight by grad students, etc. smart and often very good, but not what pele,thought they were getting for their giant tuition fees!
2
True, we are not under the constant need to develop research, but we are under the constant need to make a living -- therefore we drive from campus to campus, taking on online classes, and teaching about 200 students a semester for a yearly salary of less than $30,000. We really try to hold regular office hours and pay individual attention to our students, but it's very difficult in this cobbled-together teaching life. My hope is that the life of the community college teacher can somehow get better with this reform, because it will also help the students in the long run.
13
Congress, just do it. In 1910 we decided that all kids needed free secondary schooling. Somehow, we figured out how to pay for it.
Don't listen to the naysayers on this one.
Don't listen to the naysayers on this one.
33
Yea Bill, just write a check buddy with your own money. We already fund the community college with our taxes now. Tell me how much more of my paycheck do you want to give away?
4
Making community college into what public secondary schools are supposed to be is not the answer.
The purpose of community college is ill defined enough as it is - a bit of technical, business, and trade school training; a bit of remedial (ESL, GED); a bit of adult recreational and continuing education (fencing, ceramics, etc.); a bit of 'place to go for a couple of years putting off adulthood'.
Until some kind of coherent standards are defined as to what community college is supposed to accomplish - including very rigorous grade point minimums to continue once you've been admitted, and yes, testing, as a counterweight to grade inflation - I would strongly resist free college.
The purpose of community college is ill defined enough as it is - a bit of technical, business, and trade school training; a bit of remedial (ESL, GED); a bit of adult recreational and continuing education (fencing, ceramics, etc.); a bit of 'place to go for a couple of years putting off adulthood'.
Until some kind of coherent standards are defined as to what community college is supposed to accomplish - including very rigorous grade point minimums to continue once you've been admitted, and yes, testing, as a counterweight to grade inflation - I would strongly resist free college.
3
As someone working for decades in Higher Ed, it is not accurate to describe the cc's of the 1970s with the cc's of 2000's. Where do I even start with this topic?
Community colleges **these days** have so overly broadened the degrees they offer that the degrees are too often not valuable on the job market. Some cc's are basically diploma mills running for profit. Obviously that is not true of all cc's but the problem is extensive and real.
The degrees offered typically by community colleges in the 1970's were very practical degrees in areas that has a good chance of landing a job. Nursing was the biggest draw at that time and cc's would do well to concentrate on that area again. Again this is a large topic.
Unfortunately, both our president and Tom Hanks do not fully understand the challenges faced by community colleges in the 21st Century. It is all happy words for the press to publish and I wish celebrities would (sorry) keep quiet about how awesome cc's were in 1970.
Community colleges **these days** have so overly broadened the degrees they offer that the degrees are too often not valuable on the job market. Some cc's are basically diploma mills running for profit. Obviously that is not true of all cc's but the problem is extensive and real.
The degrees offered typically by community colleges in the 1970's were very practical degrees in areas that has a good chance of landing a job. Nursing was the biggest draw at that time and cc's would do well to concentrate on that area again. Again this is a large topic.
Unfortunately, both our president and Tom Hanks do not fully understand the challenges faced by community colleges in the 21st Century. It is all happy words for the press to publish and I wish celebrities would (sorry) keep quiet about how awesome cc's were in 1970.
9
well, then. if you can't get into Harvard, go flip burgers.
2
You have a point. But I think the hurdles/ challenges you mention can be overcome or at least be resolved.
1
I'm a high school teacher whose students often choose community colleges. I've made it a point to learn about the ones they might attend and the programs they offer. I've spent time with cc teachers on both sides of the state. I can tell you that in Washington State a cc student has a good chance of being able to do exactly what Mr. Hanks describes. The only concern I have is for theater and the other arts. They are sometimes non-existent as the schools favor vocational programs.
3
Though community college MAY be of great benefit to many who would take advantage of a freebie to attend, noone should expect most folks who take advantage of two years free at community college to graduate with the literacy and sophistication that Tom Hanks displays in his opinion piece.
For most, community college, "free" or otherwise, is simply years 13 and 14 of high school where a trade or techinical proficiency is learned. NOT a place where one steeps oneself inthe "liberal arts" and emerges as the well rounded, highly literate scholar who is Tom Hanks.
For most, community college, "free" or otherwise, is simply years 13 and 14 of high school where a trade or techinical proficiency is learned. NOT a place where one steeps oneself inthe "liberal arts" and emerges as the well rounded, highly literate scholar who is Tom Hanks.
1
And your knowledge comes from where?
Liberal arts is one of the courses you have to take in community college.
Liberal arts is one of the courses you have to take in community college.
2
That is a very negative attitude. Community college provides a step up for those who couldn't do otherwise. Don't knock it because some of those people don't use it to its fullest. I for one started in a community college and ended up a patent attorney and electrical engineer working along side Harvard grads in one the top 20 law firms in the world. Its that the opportunity should be provided, not that success is required of those who attend.
8
You rock, Mr. Hanks, and so does this essay. I too went to community college - at middle age, when my initial career path seemed blocked. It turned out to be mighty helpful, though in ways I did not anticipate.
President Obama's free community college plan is brilliant. And, in support of this, I should mention a BBC program I heard just this morning in which a historian explained how South Korea went from being one of the world's poorest countries to one of the richest within a few decades by emphasizing education.
President Obama's free community college plan is brilliant. And, in support of this, I should mention a BBC program I heard just this morning in which a historian explained how South Korea went from being one of the world's poorest countries to one of the richest within a few decades by emphasizing education.
107
Their teachers are also called, "Nation-Builders," and are paid accordingly.
If only...
If only...
2
To paraphrase P.J. O'Rourke, if you thought community college was bad before, wait until it is free.
Yet another insane idea from King George Obama III.
Yet another insane idea from King George Obama III.
7
Did you miss the part where the community college that the writer attended was, at the time, free?
9
P.J. O'Rourke should send you a thank you note.
Having his profound observations quoted back second hand actually make them funny, in an unintentionally ironic sort of way.
Having his profound observations quoted back second hand actually make them funny, in an unintentionally ironic sort of way.
2
Please expand on this comment. Why is it "insane"? Just where does it go wrong?
4
Nice.
I like that Tom Hanks has the good grace to remember his teachers. And the humility to write about it so elegantly. We should all have that kind of class.
I like that Tom Hanks has the good grace to remember his teachers. And the humility to write about it so elegantly. We should all have that kind of class.
155
Of course the funding for a wonderful idea of free tuition will not be found, not even debated. The ones in charge of this Congress has its instructions which must be obeyed, namely supporting business in all its devastating glory with punitive social issues thrown in.
28
You are free to kick in some coin to pay for a student or two. Go ahead and do that with your money. I on the other hand paid for my community college out of pocket by myself and worked at the same time. Let's teach others that is the way to do it instead of getting knocked up first and dropping a couple kids and then crying about their lot in life. That won't cost us any more debt then the nearly 20 trillion we have now. Just a novel idea.
2
What a good read. Hanks' remembrance of his days at Chabot Community College reminded me of mine at Columbia State Community College in Columbia Tennessee at about the same time that he was attending school. My experiences were similar and was the best educational environment that I have had. I have had classes at other colleges and in the Navy, but none that affected me like the ones at my alma mater. Looking back, I realize my life was changed because of special teachers at that school. It made a difference in my life and set me on a course of continued learning. I support Obama's free community college education initiative. What better investment can we make than in our young people--better to be in a class learning than wondering alone in the streets with little hope for the future. I bet we could inspire a whole bunch of new Tom Hanks for the future.
47
What a lovely and thoughtful tribute. Inspiring reading for this community college English instructor before she heads out to teach her freshers.
97
It is truly an inspiring story of how our generation's most venerated actor started a journey to greatness and genius.
In fairness to a squawking Congress (I am assuming that Mr. Hanks is no Republican), we should also consider whether community colleges serve a similar role today, providing skills that will secure employment or an entree to a four-year degree. Many are skeptical, and the plight of four-year degree earners in a world of global competition would suggest they are right to take a second look.
For some of our most practical, there is reason to believe that teaching "vocational" skills like computer programming are becoming equally compelling areas for support.
We will see.
The world is grateful for Chabot, because it produced Tom Hanks; and you are an inspiration to all of us with your professional and personal liives. I have to say that I enjoyed your writing, but I find you (an actor) no better at making public policy than I am. I would dearly wish that Hollywood celebrities, no matter how accomplished, would spend more time exhibiting exemplary behavior (as you clearly do) off screen and less time asserting your opinion on the strength of your fame (which you did and should do less of).
If I have a life of accomplishment, and don't turn into a fine actor, that should not make your opinion and access to the media more valued in our public debate...but another valuable voice.
In fairness to a squawking Congress (I am assuming that Mr. Hanks is no Republican), we should also consider whether community colleges serve a similar role today, providing skills that will secure employment or an entree to a four-year degree. Many are skeptical, and the plight of four-year degree earners in a world of global competition would suggest they are right to take a second look.
For some of our most practical, there is reason to believe that teaching "vocational" skills like computer programming are becoming equally compelling areas for support.
We will see.
The world is grateful for Chabot, because it produced Tom Hanks; and you are an inspiration to all of us with your professional and personal liives. I have to say that I enjoyed your writing, but I find you (an actor) no better at making public policy than I am. I would dearly wish that Hollywood celebrities, no matter how accomplished, would spend more time exhibiting exemplary behavior (as you clearly do) off screen and less time asserting your opinion on the strength of your fame (which you did and should do less of).
If I have a life of accomplishment, and don't turn into a fine actor, that should not make your opinion and access to the media more valued in our public debate...but another valuable voice.
6
I never expected the author of this piece to be a man with such a profound influence on our nation's culture. Thank you, Tom Hanks, you're a national treasure.
I thank you for praising what you learned in community college, a form of education sometimes disdained by the intelligentsia with their Ivy League degrees. I thank you for tracing the source of your greatest cinematic achievements and showing us how Chabot imparted real-world knowledge (John Adams is one of my favorite series, a work I think every US citizen should see). I thank you for the obvious love you have for those professors that sparked your quest for truth and informed your career. And I thank you for letting us now that community college can, and does, change lives.
I know the right will knee-jerk veto this idea because of its cost and the unholy concept that a "free" education is wrong. But if one views it as an extension of public school for those who need a leg up and a helping hand to forming a career, I think voters will approve.
It would be great if you, Tom Hanks, could publicly support this proposal outside the editorial arena. While it might be more than you're prepared to take on at this point in your life, your endorsement of how community college made you who you are, would be more compelling than a ton of economic data.
I thank you for praising what you learned in community college, a form of education sometimes disdained by the intelligentsia with their Ivy League degrees. I thank you for tracing the source of your greatest cinematic achievements and showing us how Chabot imparted real-world knowledge (John Adams is one of my favorite series, a work I think every US citizen should see). I thank you for the obvious love you have for those professors that sparked your quest for truth and informed your career. And I thank you for letting us now that community college can, and does, change lives.
I know the right will knee-jerk veto this idea because of its cost and the unholy concept that a "free" education is wrong. But if one views it as an extension of public school for those who need a leg up and a helping hand to forming a career, I think voters will approve.
It would be great if you, Tom Hanks, could publicly support this proposal outside the editorial arena. While it might be more than you're prepared to take on at this point in your life, your endorsement of how community college made you who you are, would be more compelling than a ton of economic data.
168
"an extension of public schools" Yes. Unfortunately public education is largely a dismal failure. The average college freshman now reads at a 7th grade level and we have the lowest SAT's in history. Let's do more of the same. That will fix things.
1
He is an actor, repeating, with different expressions on his face, the words written by someone else. A "profound influence on our nation's culture"? Maybe the writers or directors but the actor? I don't think so.
1
Tell me Chrissy, how much of my paycheck should I be allowed to keep while you pass out the free stuff. We fund community colleges now with our taxes and frankly at some point you are going to run out of my money to give away, then what? I worked my way through community college and paid it all by myself. It was not expensive and I got an education I needed for the job I wanted. Let's try teaching accountability and responsibility for our own lives first before we give away the last can on the shelf. People like you on the left is always so free with giving away other people's money, why is that?
My life was changed as well in a very positive way by Valencia Community College in Orlando FL. I would not be the person or professional that I am today without it. I would love for everyone in america to have the opportunity to go there.
33
Great Chris! Valencia State College is one of the best in the US
Great piece, I had similar circumstances 30 years ago. The college was EMCC in Bangor, Me. and while it wasn't free, it was certainly very affordable compared to the University system. Being married with 2 small children, EMCC was the perfect fit that allowed me to raise a family and find a career.
26
Our community college system is one of our greatest examples of American Democracy. Everyone gets a shot at improving their lives. The freedom to learn makes us great.
44
Community Colleges, nonprofit and available to all, could help solve so many problems in this country. They can serve as springboards for students who will go on further to four year colleges and more. They can also replace the predatory profit driven "trade schools" who lure students with empty promises and bad outcomes, creating massive student debt defaults.
The education situation in this country is in shambles and we need to start improving things much earlier, in pre-school and K-12 but President Obama's proposal is a good start in leveling the playing field.
Until we get the 'big money" out of politics, education and health care, we will continue the downward spiral we have been on for the past fifty years.
Forever an optimist, my hope is that people are waking up and realizing what has been done to them and we can turn this around. "We the people", not corporations and money, should be running this show. President Obama's very sensible and affordable proposal is a good start.
The education situation in this country is in shambles and we need to start improving things much earlier, in pre-school and K-12 but President Obama's proposal is a good start in leveling the playing field.
Until we get the 'big money" out of politics, education and health care, we will continue the downward spiral we have been on for the past fifty years.
Forever an optimist, my hope is that people are waking up and realizing what has been done to them and we can turn this around. "We the people", not corporations and money, should be running this show. President Obama's very sensible and affordable proposal is a good start.
360
By the way, comparisons on student graduation rates between "predatory trade schools" and community colleges do not always look good for the CoCos. But one key distinction drives the discrepancy-- CoCos take all applicants, and allow students to take one class or enroll in a degree program. If I, with my time-varnished MBA, go to my local CoCo for a supplemental statistics class, my failure to "graduate" brings down the overall score for the public school. This issue will undoubtedly come up in discussions on the efficacy of CoCos and the merit of the President's proposal, so arm yourselves appropriately!
1
While a great believer in Community College, there is a huge downside to making it "free." Time and again its been shown that once the government subsidizes a good, the price goes up, and the quality goes down. Watch how quickly all this "free" money goes into the pockets of administrators. Just like 4-year colleges now.
There are available options to students - loans, grants, etc. - to enable them to get a two-year degree. A student - who in this case is an adult - should be expected to pay her own bills and have skin in the game. And we are over 18 trillion in debt with entitlements through the roof. America is the BROKEST nation in history.
Finally, it is immoral and unfair to take money from one citizen and give it to another one who is too cheap and un-resourceful to pay for her own tuition. Tom Hanks - and you - have every right to contribute to scholarships for students. Do so.
There are available options to students - loans, grants, etc. - to enable them to get a two-year degree. A student - who in this case is an adult - should be expected to pay her own bills and have skin in the game. And we are over 18 trillion in debt with entitlements through the roof. America is the BROKEST nation in history.
Finally, it is immoral and unfair to take money from one citizen and give it to another one who is too cheap and un-resourceful to pay for her own tuition. Tom Hanks - and you - have every right to contribute to scholarships for students. Do so.
The Republicans will fight this tooth and nail; they don't want an educated consumer.
789
Exactly right. They want precisely what they are.....
And don't forget, since this was Pres. Omaba's idea, it is DOA.
7
As usually the so-called progressives have the situation exactly wrong. It is Democrats who fare best with the low information voter (note their perennial dominance of support from voters with no HS diploma and that Romney won the college graduate demographic in 2012).
This ploy by Obama - and it is nothing but a ploy - has no true educational objectives. There are plenty of means for low income students to afford community colleges - a vast array of scholarships, grants and loans are out there as well as the option for - gasp - working your way through (average tuition at a community college can be paid for with about 10 hours of minimum wage work per week). The real reasons behind this proposal:
1) It probably won't be approved by congress and Obama and future Democrat candidates can claim Republicans are opposed to education (and low information voters may believe them - you will).
2) If he can get it passed, it immediately puts a false dent in the employment picture - kids previously in the job market will suddenly be full time students and unemployment will drop - at least until they drop out again, which should be after he leaves office.
3) If implemented, It creates greater Federal control over how community colleges operate - nothing Obama loves more than a centralized system he can make too costly to afford and too bureaucratic to be effective (see: ACA).
Its a real win-win for Obama - no improvement in the situation but lots of political and legacy upside.
This ploy by Obama - and it is nothing but a ploy - has no true educational objectives. There are plenty of means for low income students to afford community colleges - a vast array of scholarships, grants and loans are out there as well as the option for - gasp - working your way through (average tuition at a community college can be paid for with about 10 hours of minimum wage work per week). The real reasons behind this proposal:
1) It probably won't be approved by congress and Obama and future Democrat candidates can claim Republicans are opposed to education (and low information voters may believe them - you will).
2) If he can get it passed, it immediately puts a false dent in the employment picture - kids previously in the job market will suddenly be full time students and unemployment will drop - at least until they drop out again, which should be after he leaves office.
3) If implemented, It creates greater Federal control over how community colleges operate - nothing Obama loves more than a centralized system he can make too costly to afford and too bureaucratic to be effective (see: ACA).
Its a real win-win for Obama - no improvement in the situation but lots of political and legacy upside.
4
The President's plan is a modern-day G.I. Bill, and is the kind of out-of-the-box forward thinking that many Americans have been yearning for. The ROI (return on investment) would be positive, the benefit would be widespread, and the ripple effect would be felt for years to come. Bravo!
Mr. Hanks is also an eloquent spokesman for the community college experience, and someone who obviously remembers where he came from.
Mr. Hanks is also an eloquent spokesman for the community college experience, and someone who obviously remembers where he came from.
758
The GI Bill generally aimed to put vets thru a full 4 year program. So, similar but different too.
The GI bill also covered trade schools, which my father used to gain the technical skills to open a small electronics business and employ several other people, all while a veteran, father and husband.
2
G.I.'s earn their benefits. It's not "free".
1
Tom Hanks is right on the money. My local community college (in Northern Virginia) changed the direction of my life, opening up possibilities which would not have been possible had I not had the great good fortune of living near its campus. I was a young mother without much opportunity to attend college and when the chance arose in my early 40's to return to school, I jumped at it. Affordable, with a wide array of disciplines offered, the community college gave me not only an education, but the confidence to go on to a four year university. And like Tom Hanks who many times in the course of a year, thinks of the professors who inspired him, I, too, think of mine with great affection, admiration and thanks. What a life changer.
516
My wife and I have 5 children, each of whom attended our local community college - Oakton. Not only was it affordable but the quality of the education was good and allowed them to move on to (afford) 4 year institutions such as Northwestern, Carelton, Loyola, Illinois - all excellent schools. Plus it helps manage the extraordinary costs of education. They each have put themselves through school with a modicum of financial assistance from their parents.
This would potentially be a larger legacy for the president than the ACA and could help the country in great ways in the future. Bravo.
This would potentially be a larger legacy for the president than the ACA and could help the country in great ways in the future. Bravo.
4
It’s inspiring to hear the personal testaments from Mr. Hanks and readers that attending a community college was a springboard for careers, confidence and the pursuit of passions. For many of us, community college was the only option, and it opened the doors of higher education and allowed for previously unimagined opportunities.
Ginia Bellafante authored a series of articles that ran in the Times, powerfully reporting on the successes and challenges faced by our students and faculty. LaGuardia’s story is the story of community colleges, institutions that strive to open the doors of higher education to all and to provide the education that Americans need to thrive in today’s economy.
This essay amplifies the conversation started by President Obama on the critical need to invest in community colleges and thus the growth of America’s middle class.