Read on Twitter
1/ Anyone with teaching experience understands that the more prepared for college your students are, the easier they are to teach (particularly writing). Community colleges are *not* for "slow learners," whatever that means. But many are still building their core skills. https://twitter.com/ProfMMurray/status/1339779093819080706
2/ To teach English at CC, you have to understand pedagogy. You have to be skilled in teaching writing and expression. Only someone with zero understanding of teaching would think this is *easier* than teaching a room full of Harvard undergrads with 5s on their English APs.
3/ As someone who takes my teaching craft seriously and who has taken great joy in becoming a better teacher, I'm painfully aware that higher education's dual missions- teaching and scholarship- often under-value teaching.
4/ Any given day on here you can find a half dozen threads from college students frustrated with their professors' refusal to see them as people. Teaching is *HARD* and many of us are committed to doing it better in post-secondary education, though it's not always valued.
5/ Dr. Jill Biden's dissertation explores CC students' academic, social, psychological, and physical needs and provides recommendations to better serve and retain these students. This is important work. Why?
6/ Community college is a good path to the middle class AND a way avoid student debt. Student debt disproportionately falls on people who didn't finish degrees and those who invest huge amounts of $ on for-profit institutions with low completion rates/ non-transferrable credits.
7/ When community colleges serve students well they can become career or 4-year college-ready at low cost. But as Dr. Biden's dissertation explores, retention is a challenge. This is particularly true in the student population she studied, but it's actually true everywhere.
8/ Even 4-year colleges have about a 50% graduation rate. Recognizing how important preparation is, more colleges are investing in first-year courses that facilitate a successful transition.
9/ I co-authored a book on preparing for college because like Dr. Biden, I recognize that we should all be thinking deeply about student success. Studying student success might not be as glamorous as, e.g., writing about the works of Hume, but it is just as important.
10/ It's disheartening to see the study of education trashed. "Actually, she's got an ED.D., not a PhD," is not a brilliant comeback, people. Damned right she's got an Ed.D., and we need more of those. We're in a misinformation pandemic. Who do you think is going to get us out?
11/ 2020 should have been the year we finally learned something about elitism. This year our nurses, grocery store workers, and sanitation workers saved our collective butts at great risk to themselves. This was the year we learned how essential schools are-because they closed.
12/ This year teachers at every level had to think more about pedagogy than ever before, because the challenges got steeper. I for one am grateful people study student retention. I and my students directly benefit from this work. But let's be real- it's women's work.
13/ When I applied for my current teaching role, a tenured interviewer called it a pink-collar job.
And as the attacks on Dr. Biden show, that's true. Teaching- with its associated nurturing, listening, collaborating, and low pay- is gendered female to many.
And as the attacks on Dr. Biden show, that's true. Teaching- with its associated nurturing, listening, collaborating, and low pay- is gendered female to many.
14/ So of course it's being mocked. How dare someone in a female profession use the title she earned as an expert practitioner and scholar? Silly kiddo!
She's Dr. Biden. It's a fact. And facts, I'm told by a very serious fellow JD, don't care how some feel about them.//
She's Dr. Biden. It's a fact. And facts, I'm told by a very serious fellow JD, don't care how some feel about them.//
CODA- I feel like the ableism in this attack hasn't been discussed enough either. There are all kinds of learners. Some- whether in CC or elite 4-year schools- have processing, visual, or learning disabilities that affect the speed with which they learn. Why insult them?
Answer- ableism. It goes hand in hand with the sexism and classism in these attacks on Dr. B and community colleges. Instead of punching down at students, what if we all made higher ed more universally designed? Fortunately, that's what Dr. B's work is about.//
