NOTE: If you are short on time, watch the video and complete this See, Think, Wonder activity: What did you notice? What did the story make you think about? What would you want to learn more about?
SUMMARY
The Trump administration's battles over higher education have mostly focused on elite and some public universities. But the president's policies are also creating challenges for some community colleges, and could undermine those schools' plans to build more economic opportunities and jobs. Paul Solman reports for our series, Rethinking College.
View the transcript of the story.
News alternative: Check out recent segments from the NewsHour, and choose the story you’re most interested in watching. You can make a Google doc copy of discussion questions that work for any of the stories here.
WARM-UP QUESTIONS
- What is the goal of most community colleges?
- Why are community colleges important for local economies?
- How does the Trump administration's battle against diversity programs in colleges impact community colleges?
- Who are some of the people who have been helped by the programs that the Trump administration seeks to cut?
- How do other cuts to benefits that the Trump administration is making impact community college enrollment?
ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS
- What role do you think community colleges could best serve in individual communities? How could the government (federal, state or local) encourage that role?
Media literacy: Who else would you want to hear from to better understand the ways the Trump administration is trying to influence higher ed?
WHAT STUDENTS CAN DO
The top segment in this lesson mentions that the Trump administration is cutting funding for programs that seem to promote DEI, or "diversity, equity and inclusion." But what are these programs, and why is the Trump administration targeting them? Watch the following segment and discuss as a class —
- How do you think the changes that the Trump administration is trying to force will change higher education in the future?
- How might this push impact the economy and society beyond college?
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