No classroom exists in a vacuum. Your school is part of an active community that should play a critical role in the education of your students.

Are you teaching your students to interact with this community? Are you enhancing your lesson plan with outside contributions?

Or are you working in isolation? Are you denying students, and yourself, the full benefit your community provides?

It's Time You Found Out!
Enhancing community relations is an ongoing effort that can take on many forms.

Effective results can be found through targeting the following four areas:

1) Building the bridge between your classroom and your community
2) Connecting with parents
3) Building a community among your colleagues
4) Building the class website

This article will provide a quick overview of the first area.

Building the Bridge between Your Classroom and Your Community
Joseph Campbell, one of the most-celebrated educators in American history, once said:

If you really want to change this world - if you really want to make a difference - you will need to teach people to live in it.

Education is far more than a recitation of historical events or a listing of grammatical rules. It's the process of bringing the outside world inside yourself and rounding off the edges of your ignorance.

Teach your students to embrace the opportunities at their fingertips. Use your community to make your lesson plan soar.

How Guest Speakers Can Enhance Your Curriculum
Textbooks have always been an integral part of education, but sometimes textbooks can leave students bored and disconnected.

Guest speakers from your local community shouldn't be a special event. They should be an indispensable part of your lesson plan.

Doing a chapter on World War II? Vietnam? War in general? Call your local American Legion or Veterans of Foreign Wars. They'll gladly send a speaker that will breathe life into the cold, hard facts.

Discussing different cultures? Doing a unit on geography? More than 20% of all Americans come from a foreign background. And many communities have organizations dedicated to people of these nationalities. Their words can pique your students' interest far better than those on a page.

Finally, consider bringing in speakers from different professions. Your community functions as a result of the work of many different people. What can they teach your students?

How You Can Become More Involved in Your Community
Begin by learning about your community. What is its history? Traditions? What renders it unique from surrounding areas?

Attend community events. Become involved with local organizations. Volunteer to help local charities.

Make it your job to read every issue of the local newspaper. Cut out interesting or helpful articles. Keep a file for yourself listing the different services and opportunities found in your community that might be able to enhance your lesson plan.

Finally, become a member of the PTA. The PTA has endured for so many years because it provides a crucial intersection for educators and the outside community. It does exactly what you should, and need, to be doing.

How You Can Better Involve Your Students in Their Community
Have your students volunteer for local charities - and not just during the holidays. Teach your students to understand that they are part of a whole, and that whole cannot exist without their participation.

Plan field trips that will enhance your students' involvement with their community. Are there local plays or exhibits that tie into what you are teaching? What about a field trip that teaches students about a local industry critical to their community's experience?

If you cannot plan a field trip, keep track of multicultural events in your community and encourage students to attend on their own time.

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