Chapter 6 - Frequently Asked Questions about the Community-in-the-Classroom Program

I am often asked questions similar to the following by educators who are interested in implementing a Community-in-the-Classroom Program as part of their social studies curricula. I thought it might be helpful to share some of these questions and answers with you.

Q: What are the key benefits of a Community-in-the-Classroom Program?

A: All levels of students enjoy having "living history" resources and/or community speakers who have special expertise in specific subject areas visit their classroom. Critical thinking skills improve as students learn to develop intelligent questions. Communication skills improve as they learn to ask their questions in front of a large audience.  Writing skills improve as they write numerous reflective letters to our community guests throughout the year. Students begin to make connections between social studies and the real world! Most of all, it is interesting and exciting!

Figure 6.1.Wake County High School students have established an e-mail link with Raleigh’s Barbara Abernethy, who is currently teaching English in Vietnam.

Q: Have you ever had an ineffective guest speaker visit your classroom?

A: Yes, but we all learn from experience. It is important for the teacher to get to know his/her "guest teachers" by telephone and/or personal discussions. Speaker recommendations from colleagues and friends are also very helpful. The biggest problem I have encountered is the tendency for some speakers to focus on themselves too much. As a result, they fail to listen to the students. Others may speak too long, therefore not allowing enough time for Q & A (often the best part of the class). Careful preparation on the part of teacher, students, and speakers can prevent these problems from occurring. Overall, our community resources have been outstanding!

Q: How do we as social studies teachers justify a Community-in-the-Classroom Program, especially with the current emphasis on End-of-Course Test scores?

A: A Community-in-the-Classroom Program can link directly to the North Carolina Social Studies Standards. Bringing into our classrooms those who have lived the history and/or those who have great expertise in a social studies subject area can help students learn more and remember what they learn longer (Chapter 5).

  Q: How does one find the time to coordinate such a program?

A: It does take time to set up your initial network--and keep building upon it, but if the speaker's experience  in your classroom is a positive one for everyone involved, we have found that he or she is very willing to return--often on a bi-annual or annual basis. Many of our US History community resources simply wait for that yearly phone call or e-mail. You might also ask your Community Development Coordinator to make some initial contacts for you. However, it is very important that you, the teacher, establish a working relationship with each of your community resources. Never have our parents and our community been more willing to contribute to our schools. Why not let them share their time and expertise with our students if this can

Figure 6.2. Bringing the community into the classroom brings students into personal contact with leading members of the business community. And it can, as it did with Steven Gut, a Millbrook High School senior, lead to an invitation to meet personally with Alex Mihajlov, Branch Manager of Raleigh’s A.G. Edwards and Sons.

Q: How do these community resources help our students expand their educations even further?

A: Many students spend a day job shadowing with our guest speakers as a follow up to these classroom visits. New career interests are sometimes tapped.   Thanks to visits by public servants such as State Senator, Eric Reeves, and City Councilman, John Odom, several students have served as legislative  pages and as representatives at Boys' State and Girls' State (Figure 6.3) . This past year, a large delegation of Millbrook High School Students became very involved in the Kids Voting Program. War veterans sometimes inspire students to consider the military or foreign service as possible future careers.

Figure 6.3. Millbrook High Schoool Junior, Latoya Jones, was inspired by Community-in-the-Classroom Speakers to become involved in the North Carolina Senate Page Program.

Q: Has your Community-in-the-Classroom Program produced some surprising results?

A: Absolutely! We have discovered that a caring community can contribute greatly to students’ knowledge and character development. The reflective letters written by students to these "guest teachers" are incredible! Challenging classes inevitably become respectful audiences. Few students are absent when they know an exciting guest will be visiting their classroom. Many students interview these community speakers for various projects. Some speakers respond with their own thank you letters. A true school-community bond often occurs!

Questions?

If you have a question and would like it answered about how you can successfully adopt the Community-in-the-Classroom approach, please email lgpoling@juno.com.