 In the land of community colleges, with budget and workload challenges, we need strong professional ties. But more importantly, our interactions with students who depend on us to nurture and educate them as they strive to change their lives require these ties. Our links to each other, to innovative teaching methods, and to quality interaction are facilitated by our professional organizations.
And if our own professionalism and commitment were not enough, outside forces continue to make demands upon us. Among the issues being explored by TYCA at the national level are
- Several states' implementation of multiple-choice exit tests for composition programs;
- Increasing accountability for student success with emphasis on soft skills;
- Education as customer service to students;
- Defining the parameters of a two-year college instructor's professional role;
- Preparing interested candidates for careers in community college teaching;
- Defining workload parameters that yield student academic success.
As your North Carolina representative to TYCA-SE and a central region CEI representative, I am worried. At a time when we need each other most, when our professional organizations should be growing as we bring new colleagues into our networks, our numbers are falling.
We need to act now. CEI and TYCA need your support and energy to remain vital. Your attendance at our CEI annual meeting is heartening. If you “used to go the TYCA” annual conferences because, like CEI, they focused on what we really do in the classroom, or if you are new to your community college teaching role, it's important for you to re-establish or establish these ties to others who do the essential work of community colleges.
If you are not a member of CEI or TYCA, please become a member today. If you are already members of these fine professional organizations, please urge your non-member colleagues to connect with these resources and send their checks.
The future will only be brighter for our profession if we take hold and take charge.
Jo Ann Buck
Chair, English and Humanities
Guilford Technical Community College
Telephone: 336-334-4822/2489
Email: jmbuck@gtcc.edu
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