Community Building: Knowing Who You Are in the Room.

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Introduction:
An area of utmost importance to educators and education communities is the establishment, growth, and maturation of the partnership between parent communities and teachers/administrators. Parent/family communities are foundational to student success and achievement providing essential elements of support and enrichment for students at home. These communities are also potential sources of important resources and diverse expertise and skill sets which can supplement those of the educational staff itself. With the addition of such essential resources one would think that educators would race to establish strong ties with these communities but such is not always the case. For a variety of reasons school & community relations can present significant challenges for educators to negotiate. The scope of issues impacting this complicated area of the classroom/school environment is such that it cannot be broached in a single blog posting. With this in mind the focus of this installment relates to the paradigms and perspectives that educators must be mindful of within themselves so as to not create hurdles in these vital relationships sabotaging any hope of partnership before they can be established.

To build relationships, collaboration, and community within often diverse communities calls for the educator to mindfully employ many relational skills. One in particular relates to perspective and awareness. Many times, lack of sensitivity to the diversity and perspective of community members can sabotage the best intended and laid plans of the teacher. It is therefore incumbent on the educator to always be aware of who they are in the room.

The Issues at Hand:
There are a variety of key areas which the mindful educator must consider when looking to

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connect with their parent/family community. Past experience has shown that these areas are often those where educator and community perceptions may not be in alignment. As such it is important for the educator to grasp this reality and react accordingly. First, for parents/families past educational experiences might be negative or full of frustration and failure. Without a firm foundation of educational success and personal relevance it is understandable that distrust of, or disengagement with the educational process might be deeply ingrained in the individual and familial narrative. A related consideration is the ability of parents and caregivers to support their students academically. This is especially true further in the student's educational carrier. Often students are learning skills and content which is either outside the expertise of the parent, or beyond the content knowledge that the parent has in a subject area.

Another are of consideration relates to the importance of education to life and career paths You would be hard pressed to find a parent or caregiver who doesn't agree that a good education is important for their student. For some careers in sports, a trade, the arts, etc., education, especially college, might not be seen as essential. Teachers on the other hand, can often see the value, both tangible and intangible can seem self-evident.

Finally, a series of considerations might possibly seem minor to some, can have significant impacts on parent/caregivers perceptions of education. Some parents are unsure how to help or support their students, teachers, classroom and schools. They often desire to support their students, teachers and classroom, but don't know how, where, or if to even start. Other community members struggle with effective communication pathways. Such hurdles often send the message that community involvement is neither desired or needed. It is also possible that educators don't provide information along pathways which communities are familiar with or are comfortable using. Finally, teacher affect and lack of receptiveness/friendliness can dissuade parental involvement and support. Simply put, teachers can send out the (at times) unintended message that they are the professionals, the classroom environment is theirs and theirs alone, and that outsiders are not welcome.

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Potential solutions:
At a number of points educators have opportunities to address the task of community building in the above noted contexts. A first step is to develop awareness for the potential of such possibilities. Too often as we walk through life, we humans seem to operate under the delusion that everyone thinks like us, or that they should think like us. Grasping, understanding, and respecting that others have differing opinions, experiences, and perspectives, is a first step to establishing connections with others. Next, creating effective communication pathways, speaking to the needs, capacities, and capabilities of the community is vital. Teachers cannot afford to wait for their communities to come to them, or to always use the communication formats that they (the educators) are comfortable with. Rather, communication should be friendly, ongoing, easily accessible, delivered in formats and language that is easily accessible to non-educators. It should be to the point, transparent, honest, not burying communities in detail only of interest to education professionals. Finally, respectfully engage the community to explain the pedagogical reasoning for their professional practices. Educators should fully understand why the do what they do in the classroom. This firm foundation of pedagogical clarity should be translatable to non-professional communities. Never assume your communities understand what it is that you are trying to accomplish in your classrooms. Sharing such knowledge and insight can be foundational in the development of the understanding and rapport which will nurture vibrant communication pathways.

Conclusion:

To successfully interact with all the various parties in the room calls the educator to be aware of who they are in the room. They are the education professionals who can bring their unique perspective to the conversations and efforts. Yet, while all this may be true, they must also respect and take into consideration other community members. Parents and caregivers care deeply for their students, holding closely to the hopes and dreams that they have for them. Seldom do they not act in the best interest of their students, as they understand it. Not every relationship will go well. Even the best laid plans and efforts may not result in the healthy supportive relationship that is desired, but for educator awareness, respect and outreach to the parent/caregiver community is a professional necessity. Students are more effectively supported. Diverse resources, supports, information, and perspectives, might become available. And in the end, the fruits of such mindful, proactive professionalism often far out weight the effort and sacrifices made to bring about. In short, is teachers are aware of who they and others are in the context of their educational community environment, they have a far better chance of creating conditions optimal for their students' achievement, their professional success, and community harmony.