This week Toni discusses the community college experience in rural areas with her guest Jessica Breidinger, a Social Science instructor at Treasure Valley Community College (TVCC) in Ontario, Oregon. Rural community colleges offer the interpersonal benefits of most community colleges with their small class sizes (usually 13-25 students at TVCC) and instructors with advanced degrees leading courses.
TVCC’s location in a small town offers an additional advantage because interactions between students and educators extend beyond the classroom. Toni and Jessica laugh about seeing students in the grocery store and around town on a regular basis. Students profit from this extra level of empathy and connection, having what amounts to a team of cheerleaders for their entire academic journey. Adding to this community spirit at TVCC is its on-campus housing, a rarity among community colleges. Students have a sense of belonging and know that they have continuing support as individuals with the encouragement to test their limits in their road to success.
Resources
Treasure Valley Community College
OEA supports Community College Faculty and Staff
Jon Kabat-Zinn, Wherever You Go, There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life. Hachette Books, 2005
Maggie Berg and Barbara Seeber, Slow Professor: Challenging the Culture of Speed in the Academy. University of Toronto Press, 2013.
James M. Lang, Small Teaching: Everyday Lessons From the Science of Learning. Jossey-Bass, 2016
OEA Grow is a proud member of the Labor Radio Podcast Network
Popular Podcasts
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations.
Death, Sex & Money
Anna Sale explores the big questions and hard choices that are often left out of polite conversation.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.