Chabot Spectator

Issue date: 3/1/07 Section: News

Media Credit: Matters, Marc Chabot College teachers struggle to meet the gap high school has left in students education.

The presence of less difficult classes in Chabot's curriculum has given rise to the tarnished moniker of "Hesperian High," used by many students to describe an institution whose courses lack sufficiently difficult or legitimate lesson content.

Remedial classes like Basic Mathematics (Math 105) and Learning Skills (English 116-118) do not suffer a lack of students, but the Spectator saw fit to inquire why the resources being devoted to these classes are not being used to fund more difficult classes.

Dennis Chowenhill, an English teacher at Chabot, believes that these classes are a reflection of the demand and necessity of the community.

"There is a three-tiered system of postsecondary education," he says. "Community colleges, state colleges, and universities… Community colleges are local, and meant to serve the community."

Since Chabot College cannot control the quality of the high school education of its incoming students, and the demand for remedial classes is a constant factor, there would be no reason to cut or reduce the number of such courses.

When asked about the financial toll of keeping these classes in the catalog, Chowenhill added, "Talking about money is tricky… The state earmarks money for us to teach remedial classes… I don't know of any money that is diverted away from other possible uses into remedial education." Ron Taylor, Vice President of Academic Services, supplemented Chowenhill's comments by reaffirming that there is a need for classes that can more easily acclimate students to the college setting.

"Remediation is an old and outdated concept… A lot of people are taking these classes as refreshers… You also have the non-native English speakers and even those who are learning literacy (of any form) for the first time."

Granted, high school graduates are not the only demographic served at Chabot College. Taylor reminds people, "We are not a selective admissions college." As such, the college can only be conducive to the needs of its available clientele.

The question remains whether the emphasis on pre-collegiate skills at Chabot poses a detriment to college expansion into more sophisticated studies. "Not really," Taylor assures. "Higher level courses in math, English, social sciences (or 'sophomore classes,') don't actually suffer because of remedial classes. "

The question of advanced academic expansion now lies with the willingness of high schools to bolster their college preparatory efforts for their graduating seniors.

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