Honestly Believe That the School Which I

¶ … honestly believe that the school which I am a part of is more of an inclusive school rather than an exclusive one. For quite some time now, garnering parental and family participation has been a priority at this learning institution. As such, there are several specific facets of the educational experience at this school that are dedicated to including families and helping to build a sense of community among educators, staff, and parents and other family members.

The descriptor 'inclusive' is appropriate for my school because of all of the things that the school does to attempt to include parents in the educational process. For one, we have a back to school night for each of the "semesters" -- meaning during the fall and the spring months. Most schools generally have one such function in the beginning of the year. Additionally, the Parent Teacher Association (PTA) plays a strong role in helping to foster a sense of community.

This organization puts on approximately two events each month, from bake sales and car washes to award shows and dinners. It deliberately attempts to have a strong presence in the school and in the surrounding community so that parents and family members can stay involved with and keep abreast of the educational process. Lastly, it should be noted that our principle is really active, certainly more so than most principles.

Once a month she hosts question and answer sessions with parents, which give them an opportunity to voice their support and grievances in a public forum to the leader of the school. Doing so is a critical way to involve families within the educational process. Also, it enables them to understand better the objectives and the goals of the various educators and classes taking place. Our principal's involvement, as well as our PTA association and frequent back to school nights, make this school an inclusive one.

Personally, I believe there are a number of specific actions that I can take to strengthen my school's inclusiveness of parents and community. Perhaps the most salient of these is to involve the surrounding community more in my lesson plans and pedagogy. Not all learning needs to come from the classroom and from textbooks; community resources can be just as valuable for helping students to learn about and fully grasp concepts that they are introduced to via the aforementioned conventional means.

Specifically, then, I can assign homework to students in which they are required to involve various aspects of the community. Examples may include brief interviews with various types of employees to demonstrate ideas related to history or perhaps even mathematics. Additionally, I can adjust homework requirements so that students actually have to engage their various family members and get.