EDU Trending: The Wonder of Community in Our Schools
It is a movement, a Community Schools revolution that is impervious to the political tug-of-war that has held us in its grip for so long. Inspired by visionary educators from coast to coast, in metropolitan cities and rural towns, red states and blue, parents and other community members help kids in and out of school and, by so doing, expand their own horizons as well (https://www.the74million.org/article/12-educators-weaving-stronger-schools/) “looking for the good” (Helberg)
The concept of full-service community schools was introduced into American education in the 20th century (https://cyc-net.org/cyc-online/cycol-0607-harris.html) to provide health and social services that students and families needed and could not afford. Great idea, but the schools were dependent on the charisma and dogged determination of one person, usually the principal, to build and maintain partnerships with suppliers. When that leader stepped down, often the community partners left as well.
Health and social services are still part of the community schools model, but its purpose has expanded (https://www.communityschools.org/news/full-service-community-schools-empower-students-to-succeed/). Today, many educator-leaders are encouraging students (and their parents) to pro-actively build stronger relationships within their schools, in their hometowns or neighborhood communities, and then to broaden their perspectives by interacting with other people, places, and cultures in the global community. An excellent report in The74 newsletter highlights 12 such remarkable educators (https://www.the74million.org/article/12-educators-weaving-stronger-schools/). Two of them are featured below in News and Views.
All of these imaginative, passionate, and tireless educators are heroes. You will marvel at their energy, enthusiasm, and nothing-will-stop-me attitude. You will want to jump on a plane and join their teams. You do not have to go that far. You can make a difference by helping to weave strong community sensibilities and connections in your own backyard. That is the point after all.
How did this movement start? Listen to David Brooks, a journalist who conceived “Weave: The Social Fabric Project” in collaboration with The Aspen Institute. Brooks will describe Weave’s potential to heal our divisions and nurture our children to grow and thrive when we come together as a community. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKcrGvQXJII&ab_channel=TheAspenInstitute).
News and Views: There’s No Place Like Home
On the surface, the two educators featured in this space do not have much in common. Mitchell grew up in the Northwest’s Portland, Oregon, the state’s largest city which has a hostile history with its Black residents. Helberg spent her childhood on the family’s ranch in the rural Midwestern town of Taylor, Nebraska, population 190, 95% white. Both left the places where they grew to adulthood. Neither had considered education as a career. Mitchell was a Pulitzer nominated journalist; Helberg considered becoming a pharmacist. Yet, when education called each of them to serve, they chose to return to live and work in their respective home towns. Their educational beliefs and methods are strikingly similar. So are the goals for their students and communities. See for yourself.
“I Am MORE (Making Ourselves Resilient Everyday)” is her mantra. Mitchell shares it with others, especially the young adults whose feelings of shame and isolation, whose struggles to be seen, heard, and loved were once her own. In programs she created – the Superhero Awakening Ceremony and Black Girls’ Magic Club – and in an autobiographical children’s book, Mitchell uses the arts as therapeutic, safe ways for kids to express themselves and learn self-love. Recently, she partnered with Black leaders and artists to open The Soul Restoration Center, a Black arts intergenerational, gathering place where children speak, adults listen, and together they reinforce their culture and build a stronger community.
The benefit, not only to Black youth, but to Portland has been noticed and rewarded with the city’s $1.0MM annual commitment to the Center and its youth development programs. This may be the opportunity for one community to welcome others and be welcomed by them in turn. It would be a fitting outcome because acknowledgment and acceptance of our interconnected humanity is at the heart of Mitchell’s work. Read the article noted above for more details. Enjoy Mitchell in her own words at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o51QlZdmiK8&ab_channel=infoddor
When she was a child visiting relatives all over the country with her parents, Helberg realized “not everybody is like me” and that different people, lifestyles, foods, religions, and cultures are good because all people are needed to make the world work. As an adult, she traveled the globe, and the concept of good in diversity was reinforced. Helberg became fiercely determined to bring the world to her students and her students to the world. She wants them to experience life beyond Taylor, develop empathy and recognize the good in humanity everywhere.
Before COVID, Helberg started a Travel Club and invited students and parents to visit different people and places and broaden their world view together. She hopes to resume the Club in 2023. Until then, she brings the world to Taylor – sometimes via Zoom. In addition, this year after students read The Diary of AnneFrank, Helberg helped to bring a touring Anne Frank exhibit to Taylor. Her students trained to lead the tours as docents. Finally, because she believes that schools and communities are interdependent, Helberg leads by example, performing community service year round.
Another goal is a Tolerance Center to present art shows, film festivals, and other cultural events from all over the world. Helberg’s premise is that the arts can be emotional and intellectual pathways to understanding the issues, opinions, and realities of people and life in faraway places. She knows that it takes individuals working as a community to make things happen. That is why her motto is also a call to action: “Find the good” and “if you can’t find it, create some.” Read The74 article and hear Helberg in her own words at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2HAApmstHak&ab_channel=The74
Question of the Day: Community – Where We All Belong.
Which educator is credited for conceiving Full-Service Community Schools?
Geoffrey Canada
Joy Dryfoos
Jean Anyon
Dennis Littky
Ted Sizer
For the answer, reference the newest blog post linked here.
From Me to You: The Arts: Freedom and Healing
The Arts (visual, literary, performing, and culinary) are creative forms of expression that require skill and imagination to communicate ideas and emotions to others. For those who may be too shy or too afraid to claim painful thoughts and feelings as their own, or who may be reluctant to do so for fear of rejection, your art is your mask and makes it safe, but no less brave, for you to speak. Your art fosters understanding and empathy for you who give and we who receive your personal gift.
Because art so often imitates life, I recommend Bronx Masquerade by Nikki Grimes. It is the story of 18 high school students from different backgrounds, all with secrets and problems they do not want to admit to anyone. That is, until their English teacher starts an open mic night for poetry readings. Poetry is the thin mask that allows them to share themselves and to listen, learn, and accept others who do the same. The experience leaves them more confident and also kinder, connected. A community. The book’s power is its characters: Completely authentic, vulnerable, relatable to all of us - regardless of age, race, gender, geography, or economic status. Students will get it and discuss it. As for you and me: We know these kids. Once upon a time, we were these kids.
For what it’s worth, I believe that the Arts relieve stress and free the soul to acknowledge happiness, hurt, and everything in between. They define our individuality. That is why, it is unfathomable that with all the concern about social/emotional well-being, we have not turned to the Arts as one of the core course requisites – as important as reading, writing, math, science, and social studies; as necessary as a foreign language. The Arts are a fount of well-being, and give each of us the space to let our light shine.
