[slideshow_deploy id=’7778’]

Legislators, administrators and even we educators all spend a lot of time trying to “fix” education, but we rarely talk about what we mean when we say “education.” Faculty addressed this very question at our first Friday Forum in October. Steve Drake had suggested over the summer that this was a question that we as a college should be discussing and considering, so it made the perfect topic to kick off this year’s Friday Forum series. Founders Hall 110 was packed, and once everyone started talking, the ideas and debate took off. By the end of the discussion, groups had raised some very important questions:

• How do we make sure the system doesn’t crush educators who innovate?
• How can we keep the “community” in community college?
• How do we as educators stay relevant especially in a world that is changing so much in terms of credentialing, student behavior and expectations, and easy access to almost limitless information? How do we guide students through this world?
• Is education being devalued in this new world of MOOCs, YouTube, and other ways of getting information?

As we continue through the year, let’s keep thinking about these fundamental, important questions and let’s continue this community conversation.