Does the community need better schools - Essay Example

Examining a Problem and Exploring Possible Solution Setting better schools in the community is tremendously essential for proper growth and development of an individual Introduction Does the community need better schools? The natural reaction to the interrogation is: yes. Certainly, it is not possible to have an issue of raising the question if at all there existed already extremely good schools in the society. And with most of our teenagers possessing a lot of ‘appetite’ for receiving better education in trouble, and there existing no way of getting noteworthy numbers of new and more better schools, there has been a sense of urgency on everyone’s part with an interest of attaining better and quality education which efficiently and effectively achieves its main purpose through ensuring better physical and intellectual developments for the youths which in turn affect entirely the society at large. This togetherness approach of ensuring the encroachment of good schools in the society proves to hold water; definitely unity is strength. The problem, as old as my rural society, has continued into the present due to the following human initiated forces; the failure of the community members to take a vital role in ensuring that the existing school are made far much better than just a mere mediocre. Another very important reason behind this phenomenon is total lack of better teachers, who are vision and mission oriented and have a student-centered culture to ensure the better performance as well as full satisfaction of their students’ need (Tatnall, 2009). In addition, another aspect that made the few available schools in the community less fortunate hence contributing to the problem of the urge for better schools is the actual environment of the rural school which had continued to be unfavorable for learning. This a times makes it hard for the focused students to succeed. Poverty still continues to take advantage of the rural schools. They actually depend much on the urban and national economically. This brings up the issue of dependency which has a lot of impact on underdevelopment of individuals, societies among other parties. This make the community based school culturally and geographically isolated as a result of their locations hence limiting their abilities to acquire materials for their student and teachers. (berliner, 2004) As long as the above factors contribute to the problem hence the need for better schools, we must as well never forget the fact that a school is like a system composed of the subsystems which the various parts are making it. It therefore, make us prepared to argue the fact that failure of effective co-operation between these various componential parts in the community as well, has contributed to the problem of lack of better schools. Imagine a ship whose various components are built with experienced engineer, skilled carpenter, and competitive electrician as well, but all these individual lacking a sight of the master plan, I believe you won’t like the outcome since all these will not stop the ship from sinking (Yang, 2013). So with no doubt the problem has to concern every individual belonging or not belonging to the community in concern here, since you never know when you are going to give a knock at the door of fruits yield by this effort of coming up with better schools in the community. Moreover, I believe that in one way or the other, bit directly or indirectly, you must benefit from the success of such desires. Just as the words of the Wiseman confirm; no condition is permanent. This actually give us much vigor to focus our minds in solving this problem facing us as a community with adequate support of the society as well. The challenge thus becomes the master question: how can the problem be solve? Having seen clearly where the rain started beating us, a good number of possible solutions to solve the issue scrutinized are as follows: First and for most, encouraging community participation in realizing better schools in the community since they are the first hand group affected by the problem and thus possess a good understanding of it (Stronge, 2007). This in its capacity has a lot of strengths which include; increased efficiency in that involving community resources and skills helps make better use of external and expensive costs. In addition, it increases the effectiveness of such undertakings since it ensures that all activities and actions taken are based upon resident knowledge and understanding of the issue thus its relevancy to the community needs. Participation is also vital in the sense that it develops the capacity of the community residents to manage and negotiate such problems in order to avoid a repetition in the future. More importantly is the fact that participation makes beneficiaries assume the ownership of the project and will be highly willing to ensure its momentum. This in turn will assure the success of the strengths to realizing better schools in the community (Phillips, 2013). However, we must not deny the vivid reality that, at least any step that proves desirable must as well have just a little regresses or rather weaknesses and so is community participation. Shifting of burden of responsibilities to the poor locals by the national government with responsibility of promoting better schools all over within their boundary of jurisdiction with equity is actually going to be witnessed. This would in one way or the other affects community participation but all in all the strengths of this participation basically outweighs its weaknesses, so go for it and realize the dream of getting better school. Secondly, talk about community economic empowerment. An economically empowered community develops a sense of independence and motivation toward achieving the objective they got in mind. The community will have a potential of improving the already under-level school and make them better as well as coming up with new better schools as well. This will ensure that the community will be able to acquire more easily materials needed for students and teachers as well immediately the need arises instead of having to wait much longer while making more struggles to network with individuals from the national government in an attempt to get such materials (Noonan, 2013). This approach main strength is that it increases access of the community and community schools to the resources required in order to realize the dream of better schools. This access to resources increases the capabilities of the schools, making it less likely that they remain mediocre. The main fall back to this could be empowering the wrong people with no good vision for education in the community. But all in all, it still proves the potential to solve the issue and ensure good community schools are sustained in the community concerned. Besides it helps keep away the disadvantages of overdependence such as taking order and not actions due to dictation of plans to take and not to take. This could mean the one you denied an opportunity could be the best to ensure getting better schools in the society (Perkins, 2008). Third, talking about improving the sitesof the already existing school in the community which basically entails what they have or don’t have that contribute to their qualifications of not being better schools can be actually termed as infrastructure backwardness in my concerned community. This in include improving the infrastructure e.g. roads and ensuring electrifications in the sites or location of the school. Roads actually ensures that vision oriented fellows, effective material will actually be able to reach the schools. These materials or fellows plays a major role in modelling what we call better schools in every community globally with no exclusion of the community in question here, if at cost proper steps are taken and at the right time. Better teachers who are visionary and missioned managers all will access the school only through such roads and their comfort determined by the availability of electricity. This in turn ensures their job satisfaction hence they will be able to lead the school towards the best direction to achieving the desired issue. Lastly, ensuring availability of better teachers for the community schools. To be good, a school of course requiresan expert staff able and well-versed in the execution of best practices in their classrooms. More importantly, the need for guide by a shared vision a sense of mission. It requires a bring-together principle that places the need of the children at the focus of every activity, surrounded by a culture that value learning and holds on reflectiveness, thoughtfulness, and self-assessment as well. And it as well requires a staff interactingon a regular basis and repeatedly, join forces to make decisions concerning all aspects of the school grounded on rigorousprofessional judgment, and taking individual and cooperativeobligation for the accomplishment of its students. The focus on how to teach and what to teach at the expense of the above guiding principle, tend to limit teachers time span available for staff interaction and much less collaboration results. Note that better teachers are well aware of the new content they are required to teach, possess didactic knowledge and have the necessary skills to teach the new content to help their students realize new standards of performance. Ensuring availability of better teachers with the guideline principle equals better school in the community in my concern here (Fiore, 2014). In conclusion, having deduced the possible solutions to the issue at hand in the community, I therefore, throw the die to every individual residing or not residing within the community in concern here to help in joining hands together in order to ensure the applications of such solution suggestions with the aim of achieving better school in the community in focus for their benefits has no limits to beneficiaries. References Arthur Tatnall, J. O. (2009). Information Technology and Educational Management in the Knowledge Society. 2005: Springer. Fiore, D. (2014). Creating Connections for Better Schools: How Leaders Enhance School Culture. Routledge. Noonan, S. J. (2013). How Real Teachers Learn to Engage All Learners. R&L Education. Perkins, D. (2008). Smart Schools: From Training Memories to Educating Minds. Simon and Schuster. Comparative Inquiry and Educational Policy Making. Routledge. Stronge, J. H. (2007). Qualities of Effective Teachers. ASCD. Yang, X. (2013). Conception and Characteristics of Expert Mathematics Teachers in China. Springer. Read More