Pro/Con: Teachers

MOHAMMAD DJAUHARI Reporter @17thletter

The purpose of school is to help prepare us for the next stage in our lives and each level of education gets exponentially harder. If the ultimate goal of school is to prepare us for our career path, wouldn’t we want teachers who would be strict so we can be ready for what awaits us?

Most of us would rather have things easy, but we can’t afford that kind of luxury with our education. If we want to succeed in life, we must strive to seek out teachers who will not only inspire us to reach our goals, but also inspire us to be at our best with strict educational regiments.

The unemployment rate this month dropped to 4.6 percent, which is at its lowest rate since 2013, but it has been as high as 8 percent in 2012, according to a report by the U.S. Bureau of Labor.

If you currently have a job, you can be comfortable knowing that job security isn’t an issue that concerns

Photographers: you, but the economy can be volatile, as seen in recent years with the recession, and you can just as easily lose your job due to economic swings. It is because of the teachers who are strict with their courses that help us to adapt to the challenges we will face in our adult lives. Their rigorous course outlines help us maintain a sense of responsibility to ourselves. Because our society works on the concept of meritocracy, the career path we do decide to take on work no differently than how school operates. You won’t be able to land the job with great salary and benefits if you don’t build on the skills you need or getting by on average performance. We may not enjoy our time with teachers who are strict, in the moment, but we have to recognize that they are here to help you become a better you and build your future.

Cartoonists:

Difficult teachers can potentially hurt us more than help us.

Most college students are already stressed with a full load of classes, work and any other responsibilities they may have going on. Why have to deal with professors that often make the work more difficult than it should be?

My first semester at Pierce, I got very discouraged with the first English professor I had. Although he had an infamous reputation, I believed the warnings that his past students gave me were all exaggerations. However, they were not. His class seemed unreasonable. He would assign work without fully discussing his expectations with the class and then proceed to tell us why we did the work all wrong. Rather than criticize our has publicly declared his support for immigrant students. The LA Times reported that during a Board of Trustees meeting in Cal. State Long Beach, White said that unless forced by law, the California State University system would not make any agreements with federal agencies that could jeopardize the education and sense of safety of its immigrant students. LAPD, the Los Angeles mayor, and the CSU chancellor have come forward to quell the fear that many immigrant people have began to feel since early November. LACCD should follow suit and create sanctuaries for all those who seek it. work, why not be more specific with what you want? By midsemester, half of the class ended up dropping- including myself. This truly can affect enrollment considering it is discouraging for most students. tcastaneda.roundupnews@gmail.com

In addition, intimidating professors can instill fear. Although that’s what seems to be the goal for some instructors, it can negatively affect the student as it discourages them from asking questions. Instructors should be build up the student’s knowledge and confidence so that they feel comfortable enough to ask questions. After all, school is meant for learning.

College Roundup position is presented only in the editorials. Cartoons and photos, unless run under the editorial masthead, and columns are the opinions of the creators and not necessarily that of the Roundup. The college newspaper is published as a learning experience under the college journalism instructional program. The editorial and advertising materials published herein, including any opinions expressed, are the responsibility of the student newspaper staff. Under appropriate state and federal court decisions, these materials are free from prior restraint by the virtue of the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America. Accordingly, materials published herein, including any opinions expressed, should not be interpreted as the position of the L.A. Community College District, the college or any officer or employee thereof.

UC transfer applications extended

Students will have until Jan. 3, 2017 to apply due to low enrollment across universities systems

MOHAMMAD DJAUHARI Reporter @17thletter

Students next year may receive some financial relief from a new online content program, that would eliminate the need to buy expensive textbooks, was one of the topics discussed during the Academic Senate meeting on Monday, Dec. 5.

The Open Educational Resources (OER) program was brought to the attention of the senate by Clayton Gediman, librarian for the Library/ Learning Crossroads, during a PowerPoint presentation.

OER offers educational resources, such as textbooks and materials, online at little to no cost. This would offset the costs of certain classes, like math and science, that require expensive textbooks, according to Gediman.

“Some students decide to take classes depending on the cost of the textbook they need to buy for the class,” Gediman said. “With OER, students would be able to take the classes they need, and succeed and not worry about the financial cost to them.”

The program is new at Pierce. A few instructors are implementing OER material into their curriculum, and though there is a growing interest among faculty in the program, it's a challenge to implement its materials to a wider degree because some instructors have already used textbooks they decided on, according to Gediman.

The deadline for students applying to transfer to UCs and CSUs has been extended due to a low number of applications, according to a report made during the meeting by Sunday Salter, the Director of Transfer Center.

[For the full story visit theroundupnews.com] mdjauhari.roundupnews@gmail.com