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For too long, a simplistic and
ineffective educational paradigm has prevailed, whose major assumptions include the
following:
- 1. School plays the only important
role in education
2. Delivery of information is confined to within school walls
3. Teaching is the direct transfer of formal knowledge from teacher to student
4. Content is restricted to the cognitive realm
In this model, schooling is exclusive,
insular, hierachical, and narrow. Youth need to be fully educated along spiritual,
affective, cognitive, and affliative dimensions. Education must be inclusive, integrative,
interactive, and wholistic to be full. Neither school nor parents alone can accomplish
this mission.
The community is a rich learning resource both during school hours and for after-school
enrichment. The potential power of school/community collaborations is awesome: there
is perhaps no better alliance than one that draws schools, family, and community
into a shared responsibility for mentoring and raising future citizens. And there
is no better way to reduce and prevent the symptoms of isolation, whether they be
violence or withdrawal, than by nurturing vibrant, active, participatory education.
Some excellent examples from our current issue (V15-4) are linked below.
Research
and Practice:
School-Community Collaboration for Learning and Teaching:
Findings From Research and Practice
-Meredith Honig,
Joseph Kahne, Milbrey W. McLaughlin
Fall 1999,
v15-4
Making
an ImPACT: The Power of Community-Based Service Learning
-Curtis Ogden
Fall 1999,
v15-4
Project
Learn:
Making the After-School Hours Work for Boys & Girls Club Members
-Carter Savage,
Ed.D.
Fall 1999,
v15-4
Educating
for the Seventh Generation
-John P. Terry,
Ph.D.
Fall 1999,
v15-4
Publisher's
Notes: School and Community Collaborations
-Della Hughes
Fall 1999, V15-4
In addition, we recommend afterschool.gov, a site designed to assist local communities
with accessing Federal resources for supporting children and youth during out-of-school
hours.
Also check out the following articles in the New Designs archives for additional
information about school and community collaborations:
Educating for Democracy: Overcoming a Culture of Powerlessness
-Francis Moore Lappé
V14-3
The
Kids Online March Against Child Labor
-John Terry,
Donna Woonteiler
V14-3
Challenging the Norms: Democracy, Empowering Education, and Negotiating the Curriculum
-Joshua Sean Thomases
V14-3
Playing the Community Game: An Educational Framework for Investing Human Capital
-Gaylod Neal Maine,
V14-1
El Puente: The Real Deal
-Shana Burg
V14-1
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