We can all agree, educators and future educators alike, that teaching students is so much more than just presenting information to them. There is more to learning than only speaking. We’ve all had those teachers who were brilliant in their subject area, but not brilliant in making the students know the information. These are not true teachers; they are only smart. They teach in one way only, and doesn’t believe in individualized instruction, even though we all know that “low-income students and students of color tend to feel less “connected” to their schools than affluent and Anglo students, and that older students feel less connected than younger ones” (Schaps). As a future educator, sometimes I fear that I will become like one of these teachers, and I want to make sure that each of my students enjoy coming in class to learn, and is able to apply what they’ve learned to their unique lives. So for this inquiry project, I’ve decided to focus on classroom community. I believe that every great teacher establishes this concept in his/her classroom; without this concept, learning cannot happen. In this paper, I will define classroom community, discuss different ways to implement it in every classroom, and show the results of making an effort to keep it in your classroom. Eric Schaps defines classroom community for us in his online article titled “Creating Caring School Communities”. The following is his definition: “At the heart of a high-community school is an inclusive web of respectful, supportive relationships among and between students, teachers and parents. We learn best from, and with, those to whom we relate well. High-community schools emphasize not only the importance of academic learning, but also the other qualities that ... ... middle of paper ... ...g. 58-64. Piatt-Jaeger, Sally. (2011). Unity in the Classroom: Building Community Through Increasing Positive Social Interactions Between and Among Students. Dominican University of California Press. Pg. 1-38. Saville, B.K.; Lawrence, N.K.; and Jakobsen, K.V. (2012). Creating Learning Communities in the Classroom. New Directions for Teaching and Learning, no. 132. pg. 57-69. Schaps, Eric (2008). Creating Caring School Communities. Association of California School Administrators. Retrieved from http://www.acsa.org/FunctionalMenuCategories/About/A CSA/CommitteesGroups/EAD-for-Success/Creating-caring.aspx Solomon, D. and Schaps, E. (1990). Schools and Classrooms as Caring Communities. Educational Leadership, 48(3). p38-42. Wilson-Fleming, L. and Wilson-Younger, D. (2012). Positive Classroom Environments = Positive Academic Results. Alcorn State University Press.
That broader conception of school allowed those schools to better support the students and address social issues that prevent students from accessing their full potential. This conceptual shift can only be spurred by a clear vision of “good education”—which then caused an improvement in their community’s education
“When schools, parents, families, and communities work together to support learning, students tend to earn higher grades, attend school more regularly, stay in school longer, and enroll in higher level programs.” (Van Roeckel, 2008, p. 1) Deer Valley High School in Glendale, AZ is the first high school built in the Deer Valley Unified Scholl District, and with a population around 1800 students, the high school is one of the bigger schools in the state. It has a tradition of family on its’ campus, where there are still teachers teaching that were there when the school opened in 1980. A number of former students have become new teachers on campus and just about all the teachers’ children have attended and graduated from the campus. With a school like ours, there are many connections to the community around it and it is demonstrated by the programs that bring in parent and community to help with the development of our students. There are numerous booster clubs run on our campus to help support student achievement on the sports fields, a school to work programs to teach the students necessary skills in different areas of either nursing, sports medicine classes, and in the culinary arts classrooms, and funding to our school to help ensure all students graduate on time. There are many programs on our campus, but I will discuss four of the programs: baseball booster club, C2G program, “school-to-work”, and the special education program sponsored by Arrowhead Hospital. These programs are designed to improve the relationships between the campus and the people in the community, and give all students on campus every opportunity to succeed in their future.
Palmer noted community was not traditionally valued in objective based education. Palmer believed community is useful as students seek meaning with the resulting transcendent communal greater than sum of its parts. Community may be based on the student, teacher, patient/family, school/institution, community, nation, or world.
High school or more generally education plays a vital role in society here in the United States. It provides a necessary transition from childhood to adulthood through education and conditioning. Others would argue it serves as a competing group for resources or a center for learning and practicing the implied meanings in society.
Sapon-Shevin, M. (2008). Learning in an inclusive community. In J. W. Noll (Ed.), Taking sides: Clashing views on educational issues (17th ed.) (pp.226-232). New York, NY:McGraw-Hill.
The limited experience that a high schooler receives does not give them the opportunities that they deserve. Also, the general information that is taught to students does not apply to their needs; this information does not allow them to find their path in which they want to live their lives. In addition, a democratic education system is not portrayed throughout high school. Relationships between students and teachers are nonexistent, and students are dropping out of high school as a result. Our society is full of unsuccessful human beings that have no idea of how to live their life. This is what our education system has created. Now, we must make the change and stick to Dewey’s educational
Flutter, Julia. "‘This Place Could Help You Learn’: Student Participation in Creating Better School Environments." Educational Review, vol. 58, no. 2, May 2006, pp. 183-193. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1080/00131910600584116.
Therefore, teachers teach the whole child since they maintain cultural identity of a student not only do they emphasize on the importance of academic achievement. Consequently, when promoting academic community for students, teachers play a role in responding effectively to the learners needs (Gay, 2000).
As a shy freshman, I wandered around the halls, struggling to find where each of my classrooms were. I assumed that every high school was just like mine, and didn’t think anything of the undesirable lunches or early start times. I looked past the trite freshmen programs that were set up for me, and school “spirit” sessions that just left me feeling less spirited than before. Going into my junior year of high school, I have become accustomed to the ways of Columbia City High School. However, along with becoming accustomed, I have become aware of different programs that other schools facilitate. Desiring the same programs, I began to think of innovative ways to change our high school.
A teacher today needs to have an ability to relate to and create partnerships not with their students, but also families, administrators and other professionals. This ensures that all persons involved with the education of the student are on the same page. All involved then work in harmony and help each other achieve the common goal of educating the student in the best possible way for the best possible result. (Wesley, 1998, p 80)
According to Meriam-Webster, community is defined as “a group of people who live in the same area (such as a city, town, or neighborhood)” and “a group of people who have the same interests, religion, race, etc”. Many people think of a community as a group of people interacting in a common location. However, to me, a community is a network of people with a common goal, agenda, or concern, individuals who collaborate with one another by sharing information, ideas and other resources. A community consists of individuals who look to form relationships overtime and help one another in their future aspirations. Furthermore, I believe there are three key aspects that define a community; geography, one’s identity and
I’m a firm believer in maximizing the educational experience through effective classroom design to maintain conflict prevention, increasing time on task and being an added tool for content material; but now I also believe effective classroom design can be used effectively to build a inclusive arena for students to learn in. By consciously focusing on improving the inclusiveness of culture into my design of the classroom, student’s can develop a stronger link to the classroom and school community. This can allow students who may have felt culturally excluded from their environment to develop a stronger connection to their learning and improve their performance not only as academic learners but as members of their school
In the book Introduction to Teaching: Becoming a Professional, Kauchak and Eggen (2014) identified schools as social systems and wrote, “Social systems work effectively when their components work together to meet their goals” (p. 181). The components listed were the staff and faculty members of a school, the physical building of the school itself and surrounding areas, and the curriculum. The characteristics of an effective school such as its optimal size, good leadership, high collective efficacy in teachers, teachers involving students in learning activities and lessons, frequent assessment of students by teachers and continual feedback from teachers to students, safe and orderly environment, and positive parental and community involvement may all be grouped with these components. For instance, the staff and faculty members of a school include teachers and the leader. The physical building itself and its surroundings include the size of the school as well as the parents and community surrounding it. The two previous components can both be associated with a safe and orderly environment. Plus, the curriculum is related to interactive instruction and the monitoring of student progress.
There are many factors that play a role in the learning process for every human being. Race, religion, language, socioeconomics, gender, family structure, and disabilities can all affect the ways in which we learn. Educators must take special measures in the delivery of classroom instruction to celebrate the learning and cultural differences of each of their students. As communities and schools continue to grow in diversity, teachers are searching for effective educational programs to accommodate the various learning styles of each student while promoting acceptance of cultural differences throughout the classroom. It no longer suffices to plan educational experiences only for middle-or upper class white learners and then expect students of other social classes and cultures to change perspectives on motivation and competition, learning styles, and attitudes and values that their homes and families have instilled in them (Manning & Baruth, 2009).
Acknowledging and facilitating individual needs with resources that enrich the learning process. This could be attained by taking the classroom and the learning outside, to another classroom either in person or via Skype, inviting community members into the classroom to share information and to participate with children in the activities and learning opportunities (Claiborne, Morrell, Bandy & Bruff, 2014).