The Ranger (San Antonio, Tex.), Vol. 81, No. 22, Ed. 1 Friday, April 20, 2007 Page: 30 of 31
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Letters
The Ranger • www.theranger.org
April 20, 2007 • 35
ourselves from distractions and divisiveness
Instructor Jane Focht-Hansen
Professor Carol Reposa
English Department
Values flabby abstractions While we ceaselessly toil to provide enlight- faster business model we’ve described, con-
enment and illuminating experiences which help uunuumiiy ei__l o „ _.v
Editor: We’ve been puzzling over the tone on to bridge these gaps and improve our students’ contempt for our “failure,” how do we explain
torpor of post-spring break, pre-finals exhnus- district elite. College in Texas when it comes to the success
tion. What led us to this observation, among This defies the ideals of a college. of our transfer students, how have we ' “ ”
other things, is a list of words and phrases from Let us provide some context. Colleges were If receiving transfer institutions prefer incom-
we mushehoose flve vataes that typify
"'7SXZS canceled Casses,
“d^i“sX“toS
Franklin s assertion, Let thy discontents be thy influence of commerce. The business tenet of the research, medicine, veterinary science, and den-
But we know someone needs to say some S Saed'a^ S imS™ ”7 “*^t
thiM n^nSl Ma7te w^n wXTad* Comm mS ^2 wei S mS t7 “ H
access to'the'edu^tion^necessary w carv^out^a w^paid attemion
agreements wherein-we shared our diversity good future, to serve and empower the working to the many ways in which SAC’s faculty and
and excellence, airing our thoughts in honest classes and veterans. staff labored to Improve our students- success
gone? We think we know. In our haste and' , Yet suffering from extreme fiscal restraint and§ the Baldridge Award application process
“dn ‘d’spZrtiXe^ *1 “ SSSXZS aPfS^£Xt be sa.isf.ed exdusive-
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well-educated professional people managing the sometimes exotic climes. successes and glitches amid pauper-like funding,
college together for every benefit to our students. Have we set aside our collegiality and tradi- We know a little bit about hard work at SAC,
College describes the body of professionals who tion - ironically - for the admirable business especially the English department’s.
has^"f» ss m
"w^Z^our unity of purpose. S’fS^^
We endure constant pressure to reduce the Does a commodity-driven, profit-oriented Despite evidence this approach improves
but who usuuliy have been focused on success! t0 achieve its own agenda. . „ '
enment and illuminating experiences which help comitantly enduring a titanic lump of district which destroy our unity.
tn KriHop thpcp nanc -tnd imnrnup nttr cturlontc’ nnrttomnt Fr>r run- “fnilnro " knm rlr, nm mUSt be StTOOg CDOUgh tO 1OVC the idea
’ of college education so much that we deny the
If we are second only to Austin Community sullied specter of change for profit’s sake and
r----x--— o ------- x-.-------—College in Texas when it comes to the success develop stronger unity in our. real goal: to ora-
tion. What led us to this observation, among This defies the ideals of a college. of our transfer students, how have we faded? pare our students to be better human beings who
Hthpr thlDQS ta a lict nf wnrdc anH nhracoc frnm lot tie rtr/Mnrlts cnmo Tf COBtinUC 0V6T thf? COUTSC Of their lives tO Stand
up for what is right regardless of the difficulty or
cost of the process.
During our terms of service here, we recall
isure examina- few sterling district administrators, but vividly
practice what we learned from our years of colle-
its students through giality: we’re here for our students, to challenge
and to change them for the best, one at a time.
And maybe, just maybe, if we keep our eyes on
the prize, we can defeat the diversions.
As Franklin wrote, "I think opinions should
be judged by their influences and effects."
Virtuous, not vicious, and certainly not dan-
gerous, we hope the influences and effects of
this essay will embolden our college forcefully
to demand respect from the district as well as
appropriate funding to carry out our work.
Respect coupled with an adequate and fluid
budget would go far. in helping us achieve our
dream.
As for SAC’s ideals, rather than the flabby and
meaningless abstractions offered by the list, we
propose the following five core values: 1) aca-
demic freedom; 2) academic standards; 3) stu-
dent accountability; 4) intrinsic love of learning;
and 5) collegiality, that is, shared governance.
And by the way, not one of these academic
; - ------- ------------z- — — —r------------------------ j----But only in attributes appears on the list to which we refer
What destroyed our unity of purpose? district is disconnected from us. Why? its fulfillment of AtD has it been taken seriously, at the beginning of this essay.
We endure constant pressure to reduce the Does a commodity-driven, profit-oriented Despite evidence this approach improves stu-
price per capita of education while we concur- approach fit the goals of any community college? dents’ outcomes, we must seek funding outside
rently labor to solve the paradoxes of students When we reduce college operating costs, we the district to fulfill this objective.
whose motivation and preparation vary greatly,, know the district will abscond with those funds Our college has embraced improvement, but
but who usually have been focused on success- to achieve its own agenda. ’ we’re bamboozled by the busirtess-oriented bot-
fully completing standardized tests. And if indeed we are embracing the cheaper- tom line. The real bottom line is we must avert
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San Antonio College. The Ranger (San Antonio, Tex.), Vol. 81, No. 22, Ed. 1 Friday, April 20, 2007, newspaper, April 20, 2007; San Antonio, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1354398/m1/30/?q=music: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting San Antonio College.