1. ENG 101 (Fall 2010)<br />Essay Assignment #3<br />Writing Workshops: Mon Oct 25 and Wed Oct 27<br />Final Due Date: Friday, October 29, 2010<br />For our third paper, I am going to ask you to watch a PBS documentary called Discounted Dreams (2007). This documentary sheds light on community colleges--critical yet often invisible institutions. Reported and narrated by Peabody Award-winning correspondent John Merrow, the program was filmed at Los Angeles Trade-Technical College and San Diego City College, both in southern California; Joliet Junior College in Joliet, Illinois; and LaGuardia Community College in Queens, New York. Merrow reports that community Colleges represent the fastest growing segment of American higher education; their open admissions, low tuition and flexible scheduling draw students from all walks of life. They are the gateway to the American dream for millions. Vital yet flawed. Huge but virtually invisible. Government generally spends five times as much on prison inmates as it does on community colleges. Resolving these issues is essential for the American future<br />This is the web site for the documentary:<br />http://www.discounteddreams.org/story.html<br />There is also a New York Times report on this video as well:<br />http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/22/education/edlife/merrow.html?_r=1<br />This series has four different articles attached to it – each focusing on the different “jobs” of community colleges<br />So what is the actual assignment??<br />After watching the film, I would like you to write a “letter essay” in which you respond in some way to the information presented about community colleges. There is too much information, of course, to respond to everything mentioned (budgeting, developmental courses, effective teaching, etc), but I would like you to use your analytical skills to respond in some way to something that you have an opinion about. You can bring up a problem or a joy (something you think the campus is doing well at addressing!)<br />For example, perhaps you took a developmental course like ENG 95 or ENG 96 before entering ENG 101. What do you think SWIC can do to prevent students from attempting and failing developmental courses? You could even bring in your own experiences – what worked – or didn’t work?<br />Or perhaps you might think about the current construction occurring on our campus? How does this impede – or challenge – your education? Is this something that you think is getting in the way of your studies? Or do you think that ultimately such a hassle will end up being a positive for students? If so, why exactly?<br />Your Audience: For this paper, you will address your letter to one of two people: Patricia Pou (Associate Dean of Instruction) or Chuck Whitehead (Executive Director of the Campus). Decide on which individual would be the best audience for the topic you want to address.<br />Important Note: You are required to bring in one quotation somewhere in the body of your essay (in other words, a source!). At this point you do not need a “Works Cited” page (we will do this for your final essay of the semester). But you must be clear about where you got the quotation (i.e. According to John Merrow, “Two-year colleges receive less than 30 percent of state and local financing for higher education.”) You want to make sure that your source/ quotation is somehow working at helping you back up your idea/ assertion about community colleges.<br />