Community and Schools

We all have heard the old adage that “you are what you eat,” but on similar terms, an idea should also exist stating that “you are where you live.” This idea reflects the concept of community, and what it means to live as a community.  The general definition of a community is “people with common ground” (Encarta Dictionary).  It can be literal in geographic terms, but it also means shared background, interests or ideas.    The latter idea stretches further to include schools in a sense that schools are generally referred to as community schools.  It is important to address this idea because of the growing discontent with public schools and the growing gap in communication between parents and school personnel.  The clearest example could be seen in the explosive conflict that was created about a year ago when renowned teacher Ron Clark posted an article on CNN called “What teachers really want to tell parents,” and the fired up response he received from parents that CNN called “Teachers v. Parents:   Round 2.” What we all fail to realize is that from the outside looking in, if we see a dysfunctional school or school system, we are not looking at individualized and unrelated causes, we only see a dysfunctional school in an equally dysfunctional community.  So while the internal battle rages on, the external perception is handed upon the community as a whole.  I take a unique perspective on this issue being that I am a transplant into this community, not being a born and raised here, and not knowing the history of the area.  When the word got out about where I received my first teaching position, some didn’t hesitate to give me some “history.”  This immediately struck me in the fact that where I was born and raised, the entire city supported all of the schools.  There was the “city” system, and the “county” system, but it was for geographical reasons only.   There were no added tags that separated the two or set precedence of one over the other.  The deeper issue lies in the fact that no matter which system one represented, there were an alarming amount of people who supported the “history.”  Let me speak clearly on what I saw, being an outsider.  I saw competition between areas, which is natural.  Healthy competition challenges expectations and calls for those involved to push to their greatest potential to be the best.  However, there were some with negative and borderline derogatory attitudes either towards the other zone, or towards their own zone.  As an outsider, I thought if you could easily put down your zone or school, you have no esteem for yourself.  People who think that their own school is bad, in a sense, is saying that they themselves are bad.  It goes without saying that comments come out of genuine protection of their own children, but part of protecting family is protecting community.  Community is the closest bond a group of people has next to family.  All families have issues.  How many people would have the routine of publically labeling their family as a “bad family” because they have issues?  The normal response is to resolve the issues while still respecting the value and integrity of your family.  Community should have a similar respect, as well as the school, with it being a community institution. Putting down the school in which your children attend only give outsiders the justification and also put down the school and the community.  In my outside opinion, if you do have issues in your community, first take personal ownership.  See if you are contributing to the problem, or the solution.  The hardest part, especially with adults, is admitting their own fault.  Next, make it a family and community effort for everyone to take a personal and internal stance on locating the issues.  The most important step is then unselfishly addressing the issues as adults, remembering that with schools, the focus is on the children; not just YOUR children, but letting all children have the same opportunities that schools present.  The added part is having pride in your school and your community.  Pride is contagious and leads to motivation.  Those things support healthy competition among areas. But, in the end, everyone will win by have thriving communities that can be sustained throughout generations.