Community Education: The Importance Of Community In Education

Since the beginning of the academic year, my Discernment and Discourse class has learned a great deal about education, ranging from what an educated person is to the qualities that a successful teacher must have. Now, in our final writing assignment of the semester, we have been asked to consider the importance of community within education. Former SMU student, Maddy Dockery-Fuhrmann, says that community is “like a coal burning fire” in the sense that, when “all coals are in the fire, they stay hot” but if one coal is removed, the “[fire] will cool down quickly”. (Fuhrmann 34) What Fuhrmann means is that our educations benefit the most when there is a bond or “fire” created between each other as students. Creating and maintaining relationships with our peers serves as a vital role in the development of all of us into educated people. I believe that having community in education serves as a foundation for knowledge in all aspects of our lives that we go on to build from the ground up.

Before I get to why it is important, what exactly is community in education? To have community in something signifies the coming together of individuals who are striving towards a common goal, in this case that being to obtain an education. So where can we find our own community on campus? Author Parker Palmer states

(Palmer 51) A teacher who tends his students needs and “builds a community” within the classroom is considered a guide by the side. An example of this is found in Renaissance Man, where freshly-employed Bill Rago finds himself teaching at an army military base. Rago exemplifies the traits of a guide by the side as he teaches his students about Hamlet. (Renaissance Man) This teaching style is important because it encourages interaction and growth between student and