Schools aren’t the only source that has the vital role of educating children and the younger generation. Prioritising the education of our youth is essential and coming together as a community to support education is vital to set children up for their futures.
Students social and emotional requirements need to be a priority in order for them to perform well when learning. This can include poverty, lack of parental interest or dysfunctional families. Schools are equipped to provide the best education, but they aren’t always able to support these social and emotional needs due to limited resources and staff. This is where the community can step in. Through community support, children and young people can gain vital support for these needs and their educational needs too. The voices of students, teachers and community members come together to help shape and support schools.
Discover everything you need to know about community support in education and the benefits to see how a united community can change the lives of the youth and transform schools for the better.
What is community support in education?
Community support in education is essentially all about getting involved in our children’s education. The local community comes together to offer support for schools and teachers. This helps to create a familiar and safe education environment where the youth can learn, explore and develop to the best of their abilities. It is also about providing every child with the tools, knowledge and equipment needed to help them succeed in the future.
Tips for healthy community involvement
When partaking in community support for local schools and educational buildings, it is important to ensure that the community’s involvement is healthy to get the best solutions and goals out of it. The best way to keep the community’s involvement healthy is to ask for guidance. Seeking guidance from the school and vice versa allows everyone to explore topics that really matter and clearly decide where to put their focus for support. It also prevents too many ideas and thoughts from confusing and straying away from what needs to be supported.
Setting out rules for community support and ensuring no one overpasses these is crucial. This allows a direction for the community to steer in, ensuring that all the vital aspects are covered to boost the school and support children. Within this, you need to make sure that everyone works toward the same goal so that you can achieve it. Reminding the community why their support is valuable helps everyone to stay on track and focus on what the children need to reach that end goal.
Who can partake?
Parents and teachers are the main people who partake in community support for education. Apart from these, anyone in the community can partake as long as they want to and are passionate about education and sharing their knowledge to help guide the students.
How can you get involved?
There are multiple ways to get involved in a community that supports youth education. It can be a huge part of your life by partaking in regular meetings or you can choose to be a little passive and less involved through donations. There is a way that suits everyone in the community to help shape children’s lives. These can be:
- Donations, such as when Muslims Pay Zakat. These payments can be a funding source for education and skill-building initiatives.
- Communicating with children and answering their questions.
- Volunteering to help with extracurricular activities.
- Collaboration with the community to improve the school system, upgrade the knowledge of staff, enhance cultural awareness among kids and teach them to accept everyone.
- Taking time for home learning.
- Parenting by being there when your kids need you and listening to them.
The benefits of community support
Community support in education has multiple benefits for the children, school staff, parents and even the community.
Enhances student achievement
The main benefit that arises immediately from community support in education is an improvement in academic achievement. When community members and parents actively partake in the education process, students can perform much better. They are more likely to complete tasks, participate in class and strive for higher grades. The community’s involvement shows a care and passion for education which boosts their focus and motivation.
Increases motivation and confidence
Due to education feeling valued through community support, it can boost students’ confidence, motivation and self-esteem. Students who see that their community cares about their success feel valued and supported. This makes them strive for success as they can believe in themselves more because the community believes in them. With this belief in themselves, students are more likely to be motivated to achieve the highest possible grade they can.
To boost this more, local businesses, community leaders and mentors can be role models who offer encouragement and guidance. This can give students someone to look up to and give them a sense of accomplishment.
Opportunities for extracurricular activities
Through community support, children can gain more opportunities for extracurricular activities. This can be via monetary donations or support to give new and improved extracurricular activities. These activities are vital to help children discover their passions, interests and learn new things that they can’t do during school hours. Plus, they help to open doors in the future for their careers.
Better access to vital resources
As communities collaborate with schools, they can give students better access to vital resources that support their learning. Often, local businesses and organisations can donate materials, supplies and funding for vital school programmes. While volunteers from the community can give their time and expertise to enhance the classroom and its resources. Professionals can hold workshops, offer career advice or provide mentoring to supplement the traditional curriculum.
More support for teachers
Teachers can benefit a lot from having a supportive community. Members of the community can volunteer to assist in the classroom so teachers can focus on individual student needs. Businesses and organisations can provide professional development opportunities for teachers, helping them to stay updated with the current teaching strategies and technologies.
A strong bond between the school and the community
A school that actively engages with their community creates a strong bond and positive relationships between each other. It makes a sense of shared responsibility for the well-being and education of students. Schools should utilise the community by hosting events, involving local organisations in decision-making, and seeking community input on school policies as these all develop mutual respect and trust.
The community can highly benefit education and help children to succeed in their studies. Community support is vital to boost children’s motivation, give them the right tools and knowledge for their futures, and ensure that schools stay updated with current teaching strategies for the youth to benefit from. It’s all about striving for children to succeed and equip them for the future.
