I believe that parents, family and community are essential to creating a stable and TRUSTING environment and relationships where students become, and are willing to be lifelong learners.
I witnessed and was a part of an amazing community development program while serving in Iraq with the United States Marine Corps, from 2004 - 2005. During my deployment our primary mission was to train the Iraqi National Guard (ING), and the Iraqi Police, while also directly confronting and outing any combative or terrorist elements. This was in preparation for the 2005 elections, and violence was at its peak. Upon first arrival the Iraqi people were not very accepting of us, as they did not feel safe. After implementing a similar patrol pattern to a “beat cop”, and with foot patrols running through towns and villages 24/7, the community quickly came to understand that we could be trusted. We established ties with local Sheiks and even broke bread with many families while on long foot patrols. This trust allowed them to feel more secure in their setting, as well as allowed us to feel a bit more secure while outside the wire. Because of these strategies I witnessed and was apart of the 2005 election, where for the first time in Iraq women were able to vote.
In addressing parent, community and school needs there are many requests and demands that could be addressed. The involvement and support of parents in academic settings, the involvement and support of parents in field study settings, and the involvement and support throughout fundraising and extracurricular activities. Also, identifying how communities can be identified and potentially supported by the school and their students.
I would like to focus on the school and students supporting their community.
In my current setting I believe we have gained the trust of our students, but have limited opportunities to develop ties and gain trust with our community. Currently technology drives all forms of education. This could be formal education, or simply accessing a YouTube video to fix something around the house. In order for students to become lifelong learners and valuable community members they and we need to learn alongside of one another and teach one another. As a school leader I would implement a program the empowers students to share their knowledge, and learn alongside their family and community. The program that I would propose would be a small, student run computer lab that is open after school hours (4pm-6pm), and accessible first to the families of students, and with a later discussion of community involvement. This takes learning to a new level and promotes life skills involved to continue student success and lifelong learning.
I witnessed and was a part of an amazing community development program while serving in Iraq with the United States Marine Corps, from 2004 - 2005. During my deployment our primary mission was to train the Iraqi National Guard (ING), and the Iraqi Police, while also directly confronting and outing any combative or terrorist elements. This was in preparation for the 2005 elections, and violence was at its peak. Upon first arrival the Iraqi people were not very accepting of us, as they did not feel safe. After implementing a similar patrol pattern to a “beat cop”, and with foot patrols running through towns and villages 24/7, the community quickly came to understand that we could be trusted. We established ties with local Sheiks and even broke bread with many families while on long foot patrols. This trust allowed them to feel more secure in their setting, as well as allowed us to feel a bit more secure while outside the wire. Because of these strategies I witnessed and was apart of the 2005 election, where for the first time in Iraq women were able to vote.
In addressing parent, community and school needs there are many requests and demands that could be addressed. The involvement and support of parents in academic settings, the involvement and support of parents in field study settings, and the involvement and support throughout fundraising and extracurricular activities. Also, identifying how communities can be identified and potentially supported by the school and their students.
I would like to focus on the school and students supporting their community.
In my current setting I believe we have gained the trust of our students, but have limited opportunities to develop ties and gain trust with our community. Currently technology drives all forms of education. This could be formal education, or simply accessing a YouTube video to fix something around the house. In order for students to become lifelong learners and valuable community members they and we need to learn alongside of one another and teach one another. As a school leader I would implement a program the empowers students to share their knowledge, and learn alongside their family and community. The program that I would propose would be a small, student run computer lab that is open after school hours (4pm-6pm), and accessible first to the families of students, and with a later discussion of community involvement. This takes learning to a new level and promotes life skills involved to continue student success and lifelong learning.