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Our schools are failing to prepare kids for college
Letters to Editor.jpg

Editor, Ceres Courier,

I wonder how many of your readers are aware that 80 percent of students applying to California Community colleges, 40 percent at California State Colleges, and somewhere less than 10 percent  at California State Universities cannot do college entry level math/English (according to Public Policy Institute of California). Actually, I don’t know which number shocks me more but I would think the University number should be zero.

I wonder how many of your readers know that the community and state colleges have begun to implement a program where students will no longer be required to take remedial courses before being allowed to take freshman courses at said schools. I call this the “sink or swim” method and I find it to be, well, insane because I went through this myself. The removal of mandatory remedial classes is an attempt to cut down on the dropout rate and reduce the time it takes to obtain a degree (according to the Sacramento Bee). Unless you reduce the academic standards to accommodate students, I don’t see how this policy helps those who can’t do the academic work and if you want to speed up the time it takes to get a degree why don’t they adopt the policy that Santa Clara used to have; A. Here’s your courses, B. Here’s the time they are held, C. Show up like you are supposed to and you’ll graduate in four years.

I truly hope that someone somewhere can explain why such a large number of high school graduates apparently can’t do college entry work. 

After this discussion plays out, I’d like to talk about “Medicare for all.” Does anyone really know what is being proposed here in California?

   

Jon Lautenschlager