Guest blogger Lee Binz: The R-Rated Environment of Today's Community Colleges

My children attended community college for one year, during their senior year of high school. We were quite surprised at what we found when they enrolled. From pornographic magazines in the bookstore, to calculus professor using the "f-bomb" to liven up his lectures, to the music teacher requiring students to recite blasphemous mantras, it was not what we expected, to say the least. Community college is often a “Rated R” environment with pervasive sexual content bombarding students.

My students were well prepared for college. Within the first 2 weeks of community college, they had done all the reading and completed all the assignments they could. They spent the remaining 6 weeks learning how to do nothing and get A’s without working hard. Community college mixes the best and brightest students with those who struggle the most – and put them in the same class, much like a public school. We had difficulty finding classes that would challenge my sons and at the same time not offend our faith.

Now that I have graduated my own children, my concerns about community college have increased. One community college representative took me aside at a college fair to warn me. She explained the situation on campus. “Please tell homeschoolers not to send their children to community college! We have adjudicated people in the classes!” She warned that felons and registered offenders were on these campuses, and she worried about innocent homeschoolers.

Ask your local friends about their community college experiences. They may start with the positives. When you talk to parents who have gone before, they will often say things like, “We had a wonderful experience but….” Listen for the “But….” If you had heard that disclaimer about a public high school, would you be tempted to enroll your child?

Think deeply about your feelings about public and secular universities. Community colleges are public education at an adult level. If you would not want your child to go to a public university or if you are concerned about the values at a private university, then community college will likely not be a good fit. One parent enrolled her children in community college and then explained, “My husband and I think that college is not worth the money and what kids are taught in college is questionable. If they choose to go to college, the school will be carefully chosen.” Those same parents did not filter the community college environment for their children. If you feel a university experience is not a good fit for your child for moral or religious reasons, than community college is likely to be an extremely poor choice for your family. Rather than being less questionable, it is much more questionable.

When you are considering community college, don’t see it through rose-colored glasses, and think it’s a perfect educational utopia at an affordable price. Instead, keep your eyes open. It may be more “Rated R” than you expect.

Lee Binz, The HomeScholar helps parents homeschool high school and is a leading internet home school resource helping families homeschool to college. She is a foremost expert in how to craft a winning homeschool transcript. She has an award-winning Christian homeschool blog and one of the most popular homeschool newsletters available. Lee is a dynamic speaker at homeschooling conventions as well as homeschooling support groups. Check out her homeschool online free minicourse and training webinar on how to give homeschool credit in high school You can find Lee online at www.TheHomeScholar.com and can email her at Lee@TheHomeScholar.com. You can learn more about The HomeScholar by watching this brief video.

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Guest blogger Lee Binz: The R-Rated Environment of Today's Community Colleges

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