Collaborativeness

Collaboration and What Makes Up a Highly Effective Group

In education, there are many different groups of people that make up a highly effective group.  These include fellow teachers, parents, administrators, the students in the classroom, and the community.  In an ideal world, all these groups would be working together because they all have a stake in the outcome of education, but unfortunately, we do not live in an ideal world and our education system is unfortunately failing our students.  When a new teacher comes in, they are most-likely filling the shoes of someone who came before them.  This can be a hefty job to do and the support of your colleagues and the administration is very important.  Students and parents will have become used to the old teachers style and when you come in and change things to make the job your own it might shake some people up.  Support is the lifeline that can keep you strong.  Without support, people can bend you into the mold they want, which is the old style that they are used to, not the person who you are.  Also, parents need to be involved in their students' education.  Many students need a good household at home that values education and learning.  To foster this try and incorporate the parents into the learning experience.  A few projects I still remember from grade school are the projects that incorporated my family.  One was a career paper I wrote for my English class about one of my parents, another was a History class project about the experiences my grandpa has in the service, and the biggest was a family tree I did on my family.  These projects taught me writing skills, interview skills, research, and organization skills.  Both of these papers were very interesting to me because they incorporated my history and family into them and I remembered the information and skills I learned much better.  That is the reason I remember the projects so well.  Finally, the community needs to be involved in the education of its children.  Children's education directly effects the community because those children will become tomorrow's businessmen, engineers, architects, lawyers, and yes even teachers.  Without community support a school cannot function to its full potential.  Educators need to give the community a reason to support the school.  Do community projects and incorporate community awareness into the classroom.  Education needs to be practical and applicable to everyday life, so make sure children know and understand how the information they are learning applies to the world outside the walls of the school.
A book I just read for Educational Psychology talks in great detail about this topic.  The Third Teacher greatly emphasizes the important of community involvement in education.  This book is mainly about design ideas for the new generation of schools.  Design schools with all parties involved.  Incorporate the community and explain why things are being designed like they are.  Add colors and natural light to classrooms.  Construct playgrounds with a greater outdoors feel and allow children to explore.  In any way possible educators and the community alike need to give students every opportunity to succeed that they can.  With the support of the community and all the other groups who have a stake and role in education, educators can accomplish many things and change the face of education for the better.