When looking at a timeline of the education system throughout America’s history, there have been many changes and advancements since the first “school” in 1635. With that being said, one of the topics of changes made to the system that caught my eye was the creation of the first community college, Joliet Junior College. I found this intriguing because this school is around 20 min from my house and my brother currently attends school here. It came as a surprise to me that it was the first of its kind, it was something I never knew. With so many changes since 1635, the education system has come a long way, and for the first junior college to be founded over 250 years later right by house is very intriguing. It comes at a surprise to me that the first community college was not on the east coast or created earlier.
Joliet Junior College is extremely significant to the education system of the U.S. because the concept of a “community college” let students who wanted to stay within their community pursue an education. Im JJC’s case, the school was able to pull students from the Joliet high school system. It was a major step in the history of education in this country. Today Joliet Junior college is a part of a larger Illinois Community college board of 40 junior colleges across the state. It is crazy to think that 120 years ago the first community college was created and today there are over 1,100 community colleges across the country. They prove to be a staple in the education system of today.
