Connecting Community and Humanity

When was the last time you did community service? Talked to a neighbor? Attended local events? Too often, people are wrapped up in their own lives and are disengaged from the communities they live in. For many students, school is separate from the other activities they participate in, a place they disconnect from once the final bell rings. Our articles this week described the many ways that educators and families can support youth to make them see the importance of community involvement.

Ana Maria Villegas and Tamara Lucas wrote “Preparing Culturally Responsive Teachers: Rethinking the Curriculum” in order to delineate the strategies that educators can use to move “beyond the fragmented and superficial treatment of diversity that currently prevails” (20). They discuss how teacher education courses often skim over culturally relevant teaching practices, and identify six characteristics that make up a culturally responsive teacher. They explain that these six strands should “serve as the organizing framework guiding the infusion of attention to diversity throughout the teacher education curriculum” (21).

These six strands encompass many of the ideas that we have studied this semester, such as ‘sociocultural consciousness’ (Strand 1)  and ‘constructivist views of learning’ (Strand 4). Strands 5 and 6 speak specifically to how schools and communities are intertwined, even when educators do not recognize so.  Strand 5, ‘learning about students’, emphasizes how necessary it is that teachers realize the impact that a student’s home life can have on their school life. The experiences students have at home are directly reflected in their behaviors at school, and teachers cannot fail to recognize when they overlap. As Dana Goldstein writes in “The Only Valid Passport From Poverty”, “Effective teaching is intimately related to how well a teacher knows who his charges are and the nature of their surroundings” (128). If we do not understand who our children are, there is no way for us to implement ‘culturally responsive teaching practices’ (Strand 6). These practices build on students’ personal and cultural strengths while allowing students to have a stake in their learning. Inquiry based projects meaningfully allow students to engage in purposeful activities. These projects give students the opportunity to see how they can help their communities, and put these plans into action.

Blank, Shah, and Johnson give more insight into these practices in “Community as Text: Using the Community as a Resource for Learning in Community Schools”.  This article describes the success of schools where families and individuals are all treated as part of the same community. They have found that “In schools that provide high-quality teaching and a wide array of experiences and skill-building opportunities, in a variety of community environments, learning is deepened and strengthened” (107). It makes perfect sense. Humans are innately tied to the places they come from, and losing their heritage can be a devastating event. Being involved in the community they call home is a bonding experience, and creates deeper ties and more investment in creating a better world to live in. Since “collaboration strengthens families and builds healthier communities” (108) it is logical to center this collaboration around schools. Many community members have some tie to the schools in their towns. Whether through relatives or acquaintances, it is very common to know someone who is connected to a person of school-age.

In Community Schools, both students and community members have access to before- and after-school programs, family support, health and social services, and adult education and job training. The schools focus on the real-life problems that students face at home and in their communities, and relate state standards to civic involvement. These communities see students as resources, not as problems. A variety of community school models include service-learning and place-based education. Here, they “ground learning in local phenomena” (114) which influences young people to stay in their hometowns rather than finding ways to escape. Students are actively involved in creating places in which they would actually like to live.

The idea that students are more engaged in places they care about is not a complicated one. In order for schools to function as vehicles for students to recognize and celebrate their individuality, they need to be encouraged and supported. In “The Future of Healing: Shifting from Trauma Informed Care to Healing Centered Engagement” Dr. Shawn Ginwright explains how traditional methods of treating trauma can be detrimental to young people.  Just as Blank et. al. describe community schools, Ginwright agrees that “youth development offered an important shift in focus from viewing youth as problems to be solved to community assets”. He explains that treating and eliminating problems in the lives of young people does not equate to making them better, nor does it promote well-being. He states “everyone wants to be happy, not just have less misery”, which I think is an important distinction to make. Ginwright makes it clear that treating a symptom does not eliminate a problem, and that we need to go to the root causes of the issues our students face. In keeping with the theme of community, many students suffer because of the world around them, and that is not an easy fix. It is only by transforming our communities that we can see healthier, happier students.

Instead of Trauma Informed Care, Ginwright suggests that Healing Centered Engagement is more akin to well-being in our youth. He argues that HCE acknowledges culture as being central to a person’s well-being, and by nature it addresses conditions that contribute to a lack of success in life. The qualities of HCE are extremely similar to those of restorative justice practices, in that they encourage reflection as a means of rehabilitation, and help those involved to begin to believe in themselves.

Ginwright ends his article with a quote that struck me the most: “Healing centered engagement...encourages us to think and act more boldly about how to restore young people and create spaces where they can truly flourish”. This sentiment echoes everything we have discussed in class. Our role as educators is not only to impart academic wisdom, but to help create students who are individuals and citizens of the world. We need to be brave enough to challenge the systems we operate in so that we can do justice for our students. In a world that tries so hard to oppress, we can be the support that lifts a student to realize their full potential.