Importance of human relations in school and community engagement

Human Relations in Schools and Communities

The relations between humans are an absolutely imperative concept, both historically and in present day. The subject of human relations in schools and communities is something to be explored more in depth, in an effort to find out what it is, how it works and ultimately, the value and impact that it has on the schools and communities where human relations are being cultivated and fostered.

Adam and Eve, Barack Obama and the United States, Oprah and her television viewers, friends, family- relationships between individual, entities, communities and things are fundamentally what fuels and propels life forward. The relations between humans are an absolutely imperative concept, both historically and in present day. The subject of human relations in schools and communities is something to be explored more in depth, in an effort to find out what it is, how it works and ultimately, the value and impact that it has on the schools and communities where human relations are being cultivated and fostered.

In schools, human relations are important to foster in order to provide "positive interactions that promote a spirit of collaboration and learning and a sincere respect for diversity" (Carpenter, 2011). Schools are in communities to provide an education for the future generations and a great forum to cultivate skills that students will need their entire lives. For example, the Fairfax County Public Schools in Falls Church, Virginia have outlined five standards that comprise "good human relations" including: inclusion, diversity, modeling, partnering and communication (Carpenter, 2011). The first component of the human relations model is inclusion, which intends to "maintain learning and work environments where students, parents, community and staff feel supported, respected and values for who they are," diversity is something that has the goal of providing respect and awareness to the differences amongst the individuals in the school system, modeling which is a concept that attempts to provide innovative programs that foster positive human relations climates" partnering which encourages relations to be built amongst all the different individuals in the school and finally, communication, which attempts to facilitate dialogue between students, teachers and the community at large (Carpenter, 2011). Taking all of the components outlined by the Fairfax County School system, at its essence, human relations in school is respect one another and providing positive interactions with one another, despite differences. The value of this type of ideology is extremely valuable in modern day society, as our schools and communities are growing increasingly diverse- different cultures, different likes and dislikes, sexual orientations, preferences for certain things among other things, are forcing individuals to learn about one another and respect those differences. By fostering positive human relations in the school system at a young age, it gives the possibility of engraining a more accepting culture for the future. By using this foundation, it is possible to liaise with different cultural groups including, but not limited to, Native American tribes in places like Wisconsin. The Wisconsin State tribal iniatative was prepared by the Department of Administration and contains a plethora of information about "the history of Tribes, elected Tribal officials, Tribal Government and Tribal demographics" (Wisconsin State Tribal Initiative). It is through this type of education that human relations can be formed between tribes like these in Wisconsin and with the greater population. By starting with education and moving to open communication, a strong relationship can be formed.