Prof Ed 10 Unit 2 - Introduction

**Prof Ed 10** **UNIT 2:** **Introduction** School is a training center that helps develop pupils into efficient social being as well as train them to become productive and ideal members of their society. The school is a special environment where an individual\'s morals, values, attitudes and beh...

**Prof Ed 10** **UNIT 2:** **Introduction** School is a training center that helps develop pupils into efficient social being as well as train them to become productive and ideal members of their society. The school is a special environment where an individual\'s morals, values, attitudes and behaviors are cultivated along with their intellect. **A. The Role of the School as a Socializing Agent** The school is one social organization designed to improve the socialization and education processes. It is an important agent of socialization and encourages social integration. Socialization is the process of developing a social self, discovering one\'s own culture and understanding the cultural rules and expectations. It is a lifelong process during which we learn about social expectations and how to interact with other people. Only behind the family, school is the second most important agent of socialization. Aside from the standard goal of the school to develop the student\'s intellect and life skills like following directions and meeting deadlines, the school also provides for the development of the student\'s social skills through their interactions with the teachers, staff, and fellow students. **Below are the important functions of the school in socializing students.** - School and classroom rituals, led by teachers serving as role models and leaders, regularly reinforce what society expects from the youth. Sociologists describe this aspect of schools as the hidden curriculum, the informal teaching done by schools. - Schools teach students about citizenship and national pride through socialization. - Schools also serve a latent function in society by socializing children into behaviors like practicing teamwork, following a schedule, and using textbooks. - Education teaches languages and allows people communicate with each other according to positions in society. - Education widens the mental horizons of pupils and teaches them new ways of looking at themselves and their society. - Education teaches the laws, traditions and norms of the community, the rights that individuals will enjoy and the responsibilities that they will undertake. - Education will train useful citizens who will obediently conform to society\'s norms, and will accept the role and status that society will confer upon them when they have finished their schooling. **B. The School and the Community** *\"Learning and the areas to be learned should not have boundaries. Education, as a public property, should belong to everyone, not just the academically successful but also those who have wisdom outside the school.\"* -Sayer and Williams, 1989 A community is a geographical location of people who have some sense of belonging or interpersonal connection, and who have shared attributes, culture, traditions, and beliefs. Any school, from primary to tertiary, public or private, is located in a community- rural or urban. Because of this, the community, naturally has a stake or assumed stake in the life and continuity of that school. Therefore, there is a strong need for the school to establish a good relation and a mutual existence with the community. According to Lindsey (n.d.), a well-developed community relations skill is a necessary component in administrators\' being responsive to the needs of students and other educators. School community relations is a two-way symbiotic arrangement through which the school and the community co-operate with each other for the realization of goals of the community and vice versa. What happens in a school affects the community, and what happens in the community affects school. This means that community builds its schools and the schools build their community (Sidhu, 2007). This further means that the school cannot exist in isolation but in co-operation with the community in which it finds itself (Thebereme, 2008). **C. Types of School-Community Relations** There are different types of relationship which exist between school and community. Pawlas (2005) has identified six types of school community relationship. **1. Parenting** Both the school and the community serve as parents to the child. The community, specifically the family, provides for the child\'s health and security, as well as a home environment that encourages learning and positive behaviors. The school, on the other hand, provides for the honing of the child\'s knowledge and skills, as well as provides the family with information on the child\'s performance, progress, and behavior development to help them understand and provide support for their child. **2. Communication** School must reach out to families with information about the school programs and student reports, as well as new information on topics such as school choice and making the transition from elementary school to higher grades. Communication must be in forms that families find it understandable and useful. **3. Volunteering** Parents can make significant contribution to the environment and functions of a school. School can get the most out of this process by creating flexible schedules, so more parents can participate, and by working to match the talents and interest of parent to the needs of students, teachers, and administrators **4. Learning** With the guidance and support of teachers, family members can supervise and assist their children at home with homework assignment and other school related activities. **5. Decision-making** School can give parents meaningful roles in the school\'s decision-making process, and provide parents, with training and information so they can make the most of those opportunities. This opportunity should be open to all segments of the community, not just people who have the most time and energy to spend on school affairs. **6. Collaboration** Schools can help families gain access to support services offered by other agencies such as health care, cultural events, tutoring service, and after school childcare programs. They also can help families and community groups provide services to the community, such as recycling programs and food pantries