Rethink Community College | Matthew Dempsey | TEDxLone Star College

Key Concepts

• Stigma of Community College: The negative perception that community colleges are for those with no other options.
• Foundation: The fundamental knowledge, skills, and resilience built through education, particularly emphasized as a core strength of community colleges.
• Fundamentals: Basic, essential principles or skills that are crucial for long-term success in any field.
• Growth Mindset: An attitude that one's abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work.
• Strategic Advantage of Community Colleges: Their unique strengths, such as small class sizes and a focus on teaching over research.
• Resilience: The capacity to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness.
• Potential: The inherent ability or capacity for development and success.

Challenging the Stigma of Community Colleges

The speaker addresses a prevalent stigma associated with community colleges, often perpetuated by memes or comedy sketches, suggesting they are a last resort. He strongly refutes this, asserting that for many, including himself, community college serves as a crucial "foundation" and a place to "get the courage to take your next first step." This idea is reinforced with analogies from athletics, where golf, football, and baseball coaches consistently emphasize the importance of a "strong base and a solid foundation" as fundamental to success in sports, education, and life.

Personal Experience: Overcoming Doubt in Grad School

The speaker recounts his first day of graduate school, where he felt immense anxiety and doubt. He was the only student with a community college background, surrounded by peers from prestigious four-year institutions, leading him to question if his "foundation" would be sufficient. During a fast-paced class, he initially felt overwhelmed by unfamiliar terminology and a sense of falling behind.

However, a pivotal moment occurred when the instructor posed an "unanswerable question," a tactic used "year over year to humble his students," even stating, "No one's going to get the answer to this question." To the surprise of the class and the instructor, the speaker was the only one to raise his hand and answer correctly. The instructor paused the class, asking, "Son, where did you learn this depth of scientific knowledge?" to which the speaker proudly replied, "Community college." This moment built significant momentum, leading him to answer more questions, tutor his fellow students, earn an A in the class, and "never look back." He concludes that his community college education "didn't hold me back. It had my back."

Debunking Myths and Highlighting Success

The speaker directly challenges common misconceptions about community college education, such as it being "less," the "13th grade," or a "second tier education," declaring all such notions "untrue." He provides compelling evidence of the success of community college graduates, having personally handed diplomas to individuals who have gone on to achieve "fantastic and wonderful things." These graduates are found across various professions, from "astrophysicists to zoologists," and are involved in critical roles like "working on the plumbing in your house" or "working on the plumbing of a loved one's heart."

He cites numerous famous individuals with community college ties, including:

• Tom Hanks
• Robin Williams
• Morgan Freeman
• Eileen Collins: The first woman to pilot the space shuttle.
• Jim Sinegal: Co-founder of Costco.
• Ross Perot: Attended Texarkana Junior College.

The speaker also highlights that the decision to attend a community college often has "absolutely nothing to do with academic preparedness or academic readiness." Instead, it can be a response to life events such as "rejection," being "fired, divorced," being in a "dead-end job in a no growth industry," or simply needing "a place and a time to reset." He emphasizes that "Beginnings are powerful places, not shameful ones," and sometimes "the best place to start over is close to home."

Strategic Advantages of Community Colleges

Community colleges excel at teaching "the basics very well" due to several strategic advantages:

• Small Class Sizes: They teach in "classrooms, not in auditoriums," fostering a more personalized learning environment.
• Faculty Focus: Their faculty are dedicated to "teaching and learning" rather than being primarily focused on research, ensuring students receive direct instructional attention.

The core mission of community colleges is to "create a growth mindset in our students" and ensure that students "walk out better for having been there." The speaker posits that "Building better lives begins with creating a foundation that will not falter when tested."

Rethinking Assessment and Defining Success

The speaker argues that students should be assessed "by where they are at that moment that they are tested," rather than by their initial perceived status or institutional pedigree. He uses powerful analogies from professional sports to illustrate this point:

• Football: In a critical, game-deciding drive, one wouldn't hesitate to put in Tom Brady, despite him being a "sixth-round draft pick."
• Basketball: For a last-second shot, one wouldn't avoid giving the ball to Michael Jordan, even though he "didn't make his high school varsity team the first time he tried out."

These examples underscore that true success is not about initial "heights" or perceived status, but about "building a strong base and a solid foundation." A solid foundation "builds a resilience," "creates a muscle memory that generates success over time," and "when tested, it will not fail." This aligns with the adage: "The amateur practices until they get it right. It's the professional that practices until they can't get it wrong."

Conclusion: Empowering Community College Graduates and Future Students

The speaker offers a powerful message of encouragement to community college graduates, assuring them, "You've got this. Your foundation is strong. You can do this." He extends an invitation to those considering starting their educational journey to "Come on in. Try a community college." He promises that at a community college, students will "earn more than credits. You will earn a foundation that will help you rise." The ultimate takeaway is a forward-looking perspective: success is "not looking backwards and wondering if where you started is less is about seeing your future and your potential as more." With the right foundation, he concludes, "there's no limit to how high you can go."