Community II Breaking the Boundaries:

School as the Village Commons

Jane Addams“ The democratic ideal demands of the school that it shall give the child’s own experience a social value; that it shall teach him to direct his activities and adjust them to those of other people.”

(Democracy and Social Ethics, 1907, p. 180)

Teaching Social ValuesWhose values do we teach?

What are those values?

How do they change?

Why do they change?

Creating a 21st C. Global Village Classroom

1. Have a common purpose.2. Maintain stability.3. Foster Cooperation.4. Balance independence and

interdependence.

(Ricardo L. Garcia, Teaching for Diversity, 2011)

Common Purpose: Learn How to Learn

Academic and Social Development Learning autonomy Intellectual effectiveness Cultural efficacy

Service to the Community Local State National Global

Stability Implement simple rules for classroom

behavior.

Give students input on rules.

Create a system to integrate transient students into classroom.

Foster Cooperation Promote genuine interaction.

Create opportunities to balance self-interest with social responsibilities.

Design tasks that draw out individual talents for common ends.

Balance Independence with Interdependence

Motto: Freedom within order.

Maintain balance between individualism and collaboration.

Foster critical and creative thinking.

Provide opportunities to link students to the broader society.

Build Trust Among Students

Cooperative learning activities provide Individual accountability & positive

interdependence Training in social interaction skills Implementation and monitoring of social

interaction skills Reflection for effectiveness and improvement

of productivity AND self-reliance, self-efficacy, conflict

resolution, sharing, and turn-taking

Schools as Village Commons Teachers build communities within the

building: civil interaction with colleagues, staff, and admin.

Schools build communities within the village: social unity, partnerships, model for adult community life (viable citizens).

Students learn how to engage with issues of diversity from their roles in the school and in the community by exhibiting awareness and sensitivity through “a critical mind and a socially oriented attitude” (Einstein, 1968, p. 310).