Running Head: A SCHOOL'S RELATIONSHIP WITH THE COMMUNITY 1

A School's Relationship with the Community

Jennifer Sumner

EDU 647: Families, Communities & Diversity

Dr. Angela Coleman

July 1, 2016

Introduction
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Success of the students does not only depend on the efforts of the teacher but also the

effort of the community at large. Because of these, it is important to ensure that there is good

relationship between the school and the community. Without these relationships, it may be

difficult for the students to get the required services that promote their educational success. The

support given to the students give them morale and good direction that they can follow in life to

attain their life goals.

Services Provided to the Students

Some of the services that are provided to the students include social support. Through

multicultural education, students and families get social support that allows them to develop

good relationships with people of different cultures. With this, when teachers work with the

community, students are in a position to be given education on how to live with people of

different cultural groups. The students are equipped with the skills that help them interact and

develop good relationships with others. Amatea (2013) argued that, “through cultural education,

students and families will become familiar with some of the causes of inequality in education, as

well as the sources of diversity in classrooms”. The other service is that is provided to the

students and families is the financial support. Students who come from poor families are given

financial support through payment of school fees. Through this, students are able to get

education and read like their peers who come from rich families. With the support given to the

students by the community members, all students are able to receive education despite their

family’s financial problems (Epstein, 2011).

Community Association

One of the community associations that operate within my community is the Illinois State

Bar Association. This is an association that was founded in the year 1877. This association
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focuses on lawyers who are in the practice of law within the community. It also tries to improve

on the administration of justice to all citizens regardless of the cultural differences. Through this

association, students have been in a position to live with diverse groups of people within the

community. These association advocates for diversity and inclusion. The association values the

contributions wisdom, and creativity of people who comes from diverse cultural backgrounds

Cultural Event within the Community

One of the cultural events that occur in my community is the initiation ceremonies. In

these ceremonies, children who are teenagers are taken through some initiation ceremonies

where they are supposed to be educated on their roles based on their gender. The children are

taken to a particular place where they are supposed to be given education by community leaders.

During these times, they are educated on their roles as well as how to live with people of

different cultures. These initiation ceremonies are supposed to take place only once a year for a

period of one month.

In this cultural event, there are norms, values and assets that this cultural event creates

and perpetuates for the community. One of the norms that this culture creates is the division of

labor based on gender. Through the event, children are taught on their roles and responsibilities

and what the community expects from them. When the ceremony is done, every child is able to

know the expectations of the community as well as their responsibilities. The other norm is that,

the event creates a transition point when a person is considered to be an adult. When a child has

gone through initiation ceremony, one is therefore considered to have gone to a different stage in

life. Through this therefore, a transition point in life is created.

On the other hand, there are values that the cultural event creates and perpetuates for the

community. One of the values is children within the community. Since these event marks the
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transition from one stage of life to the next, it makes children within the community to be valued

as adults of ‘tomorrow’. The reason is that, when children passes through this cultural event,

they become adults who are expected to take on various responsibilities within the community.

Through this, children are respected and valued regardless of their culture. The event also values

some months of the year. Through this event, some days of the year have been valued and taken

to be the most important period in life when many children are expected to transition from one

stage to the next. In this, the month of December have been considered to be the most important

time for the community at large because of the ceremony, therefore it is valued. The other value

is the cultural diversity. In this ceremony, children who belong to different cultural groups

undergo these ceremonies and given education regardless of their culture.

One of the assets that the event creates and perpetuates for the community is the young

adults who will become leaders of tomorrow. Through initiation ceremony, children are educated

on various roles that they are supposed to take in their life. After the ceremony, the children are

expected to have graduated to adulthood and therefore considered to be adults who will take on

adult roles in life. They are therefore considered to be assets within the community that will

teach all the coming generations. During cultural events, students are educated by community

leader who are expected to teach cultural roles and responsibilities to the students (Marshall &

Swan, 2010)

Impacts of the Event

There are many impacts that this event has on the students of the community. One of the

impacts of this event is that, it teaches the students to be responsible and respectful people within

the community. Through education that these students receive during this initiation ceremony,

they learn new roles and skills. After the ceremony, children become adults who are expected to
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take on new responsibilities. In addition, since they are considered as adults, the community

expects them to show respect to all the people including adults and the children.
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References

Amatea, E. S. (2013). Building culturally responsive family-school relationships. Upper Saddle

River, N.J: Merrill; London : Pearson Education.

Epstein, J. L. (2011). School, family, and community partnerships: Preparing educators and

improving schools. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.

Marshall, L. & Swan, P. (2010). Parents as Participating Partners. Australian Primary

Mathematics Classroom, 15(3), 25-32. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.