STANDARD 9 - Collaborative Relationships

The teacher understands the role of the community in education and develops

and maintains collaborative relationships with colleagues, parents/guardians,

and the community to support student learning and well-being.

1. Fully state the standard in bold text. Then write a paragraph explaining your

knowledge and understanding of that standard—put the standard into your own

words.

I believe that this standard aims for the competent teacher to realize the

importance of the connection between the community and the school. The students,

parents, and even employees at the school are products of the community. Therefore,

the community is a part of their identity and needs to be understood by the classroom

teacher in order to sustain a positive relationship. A successful learning atmosphere

with the students comes from a teacher’s strong dedication to get to know their lives

outside of the classroom in order to implement the most appropriate teaching styles

for the students. This understanding will come from building relationships with

parents and other adult figures in the community, being aware and even participating

in community events, and implementing community values into the classroom.

Finally, I believe the teacher should know about the valuable resources that the

community has to offer such as various professionals who could come speak to the

class or even different venues that would be great field trip opportunities. Overall, I

think this standard aims to help teachers recognize and understand that the school is

simply an organization within the larger community context.

2. Explain how the artifact you chose demonstrates your understanding and
application of the standard.

The artifact I chose is my Community Presentation required by my Teaching

Elementary Social Studies class. The project challenged a small group of student

teachers who were teaching at the same school to come up with a performance based

assessment to present to instructors and classmates with information regarding the

community surrounding the assigned school. As a group, we went out into the town to

interview people about what it means to be a part of the community. We also

interviewed the Superintendent of the district as well as teachers within the school

that were all members of the community. Finally, we gathered information regarding

monetary and physical resources, the literary environment, different organizations

within the community, and information regarding parks and other natural resources.

After acquiring all of this information and really getting to know members of the

community through spending time with them and through interview, our group

decided to create a presentation that highlighted the benefits of teaching and living in

a small town community. As a result of going through the process, I truly feel as

though I gained an understanding for the importance of knowing the community in

order to better understand your students. I gained insight into the small town values

that the students bring into the classroom as well as the interconnectedness of the

community that provides strong support for the schools. I came away from the

experience with a deep appreciation for Monticello, IL and the determination to get to

know every community that I have the privilege to teach in.

3B. If the artifact has not been used in your practice, i.e., a class assignment, reflect

upon how your teaching will be impacted by the assignment.

My teaching will be impacted by this assignment by allowing me to realize the

importance of getting to know the community in which your students live. I have
come to understand that a community plays a large role in shaping an individual and

therefore has a direct impact on the student and his or her ideas surrounding

education. Although it will not be required of newly hired teachers to go out and

investigate the community of their new school, I intend on repeating a similar process

of the one that I completed for this project. Especially if you are an outsider of the

community, I think it is important to show students and parents that you care enough

about establishing a comfortable learning environment that you are willing to go out

and discover ways in which your students will be able to connect to their learning. I

really feel as though students will be more willing to show the teacher their best effort

once they feel as though the teacher has given his or her best effort towards really

getting to know them and gaining an understanding for who they really are. I really

believe that my teaching will be positively impacted through making a firm

connection with the surrounding community.

4. Conclude with a paragraph discussing how you are more prepared to Teach and

Learn in a Diverse Society as a result of satisfactorily meeting the standard

I feel as though I am more prepared to Teach and Learn in a Diverse Society

as a result of satisfactorily meeting this standard by showing my willingness to go out

and investigate the surrounding community in order to help me understand any

student dynamic that I may not be familiar with. If I were to get hired in a community

that is composed of students of differing ethnicities or backgrounds, I am now

prepared to use my experience from this project and adapt it to another community in

order to gain an understanding for the students in my classroom. I now understand

that investigating the lifestyles of community members and experiencing community

events truly work towards making a strong connection with your students. I am now
prepared to do whatever it takes to adjust for any differences that may occur between

my students and myself so that we may work together to create a successful learning

environment.