Section I: My Family is a Community
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A community is a group of people that live in the same place or have a particular characteristic in common. Membership in a community often results in shared common attitudes, interests and goals. Based on this definition, it is possible to be a member of numerous communities and to contribute to or take away from them in various ways. Most people do not consider themselves to be a part of numerous communities and often there is only a verbal association with the community in which we live. My students need to understand that the possibility of community is everywhere. This unit will inform my third graders about the different communities that exist and the ways to be an active member of those communities. In a family, everyone plays roles that are necessary for the family to function. Different family roles warrant different behaviors and symbolize variety in the household that spills over into the community and schools and even the workplace in the future. There are standards and expectations that have been set for people who live together. Students should be encouraged to think about what values make families work and what it takes to be a part of the family community. For example, the adults go to work and pay the bills in a household. It is known that siblings protect each other and provide companionship for each other.
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The different relationships and discussions that happen in households are the stepping stones for what happens outside of the home in the neighborhood, schools, and classroom. The interactions that students have with their parents and siblings reflect directly on the interactions they have everywhere else. The ways that children are treated in the household is usually how they will treat their peers and teachers in the school setting. When it comes to the family community, the way that children play with their siblings will result in the way that they play with their classmates. If there are opportunities to argue and bicker at home when the parents are not present or not engaged in their lives, the same behaviors transfer into the classroom. When teaching the first lesson of the unit, students will be conducting family member interviews to find examples of community and positive interactions that happen in households.
Section II: My Neighborhood is a Community
When a person is asked about their community, the first thing that comes to mind is the place they live and the people that live nearby. More often than others, people can identify themselves as members of a neighborhood community where they live rather than where they spend time or work. The same goes for young children in school. They do not recognize outside institutions or groups as communities and unfortunately this deters them from being willing to work together with people from outside of their comfort level at home. The students that I teach are from the Hill area, which has the reputation of being the poorest and most dangerous in the city. Located between Ella Grasso Boulevard and the train tracks, there is an area that travelers are advised to avoid and has a history of poverty and dissent. Fights in my classroom, are caused by students when it comes to differences in street addresses. As a classroom teacher in a poverty stricken area, I am exposed to conversations revolving around anger, violence, death and disrespect. As early as third grade, my students already know about all of the darks things a community has to offer. In turn, they have little respect for the people and things around us that make life beautiful.
When discussing community, the first thing that comes up in my classroom is those people who are not welcome in the community and how "bad" the community is that they live in. I feel it is my duty to address these misconceptions and to build a unit that would allow higher order thinking skills and demand more self-control from the young people who are in my class. There are so many community structures that bring us together and hold us together that students take for granted or view as unimportant entities. These community structures include the New Haven Free Public Library, the Walgreens Pharmacy, The New Haven Boys and Girls Club, Yale New Haven Hospital and the neighborhood church.
Community Structures
Community structures help make a community what it is. People that live in the same community utilize the same establishments and rely on the same businesses in order to survive in the community. From sharing church space to riding the same public transportation lines, our young children share so much in common that they do not realize. This is why I grapple with trying to understand why they fight with each other so much and feel so uncomfortable with sharing their ideas, thoughts, wishes and even resources with each other. Living in such a harsh environment has caused many of my students to have trust issues and dislike each other for nonsensical reasons and differences. The community structures that help keep communities together are viewed as buildings on the street and not as shared space that helps to build communities up.
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For lesson number two in this unit, a walking tour of the community will allow the teacher and students to see these places and discuss in depth the contributions that they bring to the city. This conversation would include taking careful notice of location and spacing of structures placing an emphasis on the shared spaces and mapping out the community for all students to see together. The use of a graphic organizer would allow students to visualize and conceptualize the resources available to them in their community as a "shared" experience. Discussion could include statements like "Who can tell me what this building is? Who has visited this place? What are the uses of this space? What would happen if the place was not available to us in our community? Do you share this space with your peers? What is the relationship between being able to share this space together with others but not share space respectfully in school or on the bus?" Conversation and critical thinking about these essential questions would lead students to write expository texts about the community they live in and inform their families and friends about all the positive aspects of the community.
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Community Helpers
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While walking and talking about the community structures, students will be able to connect these positive structures to the community helpers that work there. Community helpers serve a great purpose in young children's lives without them ever knowing it. When students are asked what they want to be when they grow up, a common theme is that most of them want to be community helpers and they do not realize it. "I want to be a doctor" or "I want to be a police officer" are often the responses when asked about the future. Although these jobs are appealing to them, they rarely consider the question, "how will you save each other's lives and help each other out in this community if you cannot get along in the place you are growing up together or the in the classroom?" While touring the neighborhood and interacting with the community helpers, students will be able to gain an appreciation for the efforts of the workers who keep the community safe and functioning.
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Section III: My School is a Community
Now that students know what it takes to be a member of a community, the discussion can shift to the ideal that we are a part of a separate community when at school than when we are at home or in the neighborhood. There are barriers and borders that keep communities isolated from each other as well as the encounters and interactions that fuse communities together. In the school, age differences yield different jobs and duties in the building and building leaders and principals keep order and enforce the rules the same way that police officers do in the community. Compared to the neighborhood community, there are many similarities in the school building. There are class jobs for those who earn them.
Section V: My Contribution to my Community
Now that your students know what it means to be a part of a community and they have a better idea of what it takes to maintain a community status, there is an opportunity to present the concept of contributing to the communities that they identify with. Community service can come in various shapes and sizes. Each and every person can contribute to the community; they just have to find ways that are useful and beneficial to the greater good of the others in that community. There are many ways to make the community better than it was the day before and there are many ways to give back. From helping others when they are down to cleaning up when you see a mess in the park, some community services are free and others can cost time and or money. The students need to understand that when the community is comfortable with sharing and caring for one another, the possibilities are endless for what could come of the neighborhood.
