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Katherine Freeman

School and Community Analysis Paper

ED299

2-19-22

Through eighth grade, I attended an incredibly small Catholic school in my home town.

And even though I switched to a public high school, I am still oblivious to the inner workings of

a normal public elementary and primary school. Doing this project has opened my eyes a lot and

forced me to think about all the ways my small Catholic school fell short in the ideas of

demographics, financials, and general social and cultural exposure.

Switching to my high school was a big culture shock for me. I went from a predominately

white environment to an ethnically diverse school setting. Although my research showed me that

the majority still sways heavily towards white – with 70.5% of all students identifying as white

and only 29.5% identifying as a minority group – there were a great many more diverse students.

Through this cultural change and as I became more exposed to the other cultures around me

rather than reading about them in textbooks, I saw how little I knew thanks to my lack of

exposure. Cultures are something to share and celebrate. They are ways of life and nobody

should be ashamed of where they come from and their history. Our cultures make up who we are.

If we share that piece of us, we create a deeper connection. That’s why incorporating not just the

teacher's culture but the student’s culture into the classroom is so important. Finding something

so personal to connect to while going through the uncomfortable task of learning will lead to

incredible results within the classroom.

That deep connection can help not only the intellectual development of a child, but the

mental and emotional health of the classroom as a whole. If the teacher is insistent on only
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incorporating their culture, that can be incredibly discouraging and difficult for the children if

they do not feel accepted. When a child does not feel accepted, they don’t feel comfortable. And

when they don’t feel comfortable, they cannot learn. Creating a connection with your students on

such a profound level is so incredibly important.

In terms of socialization, I believe there is more to it than just spending time with others.

During my research of Charles Elementary and my own community, I found many different

natural parks, educational centers, and places for socialization that I had never thought or heard

of before. I realized how many parks we have in my community: we have at least nine different

places within the surrounding area that families can go to and explore nature. I was reminded

that we house the Wayne County Historical Museum along with an incredible museum at

Earlham College and the Richmond Art Museum attached to the public high school. We have

two different performing arts centers and an incredible library that is sorely out of use. So while

kids can learn from each other and socialization among kids their age is beyond important, we

need to begin socializing children with the community. Becoming familiar with the educational

opportunities these incredible organizations provide must become a priority. Because we don’t

just learn through classrooms and others. We learn by exploring.

Historically, girls and boys have been taught separately. To this day, there are still all girl

institutions and all boy institutions around the nation and the world. It has been scientifically

proven that girls and boys learn differently. However, I would like to counter this in saying that

everyone learns differently. Yes, gender may play a part in it but I believe if you pulled someone

from the same ethnicity, familial background, financial status, and school district they would not

learn the same. In saying that, CO-ED schooling is still incredibly important. I remember during

certain anatomical lessons at my Catholic school, they would separate the boys and the girls.
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This led to a sore misunderstanding and ignorance of the opposing genders bodies and even my

own. It is important for kids to interact with not only people of their own gender, but others. We

learn best from each other, as I said before. We need to be able to come together and work as a

team and see each other as people.

A great many factors go into the success of a child's education. And when I say education

I mean the physical, mental, emotional, and intellectual growth of a child. School needs to teach

more than just flashcards and important historical dates. We need to also teach kids how to

function in the real world, how to interact with our peers, and how to navigate an incredibly

diverse and complicated political and social climate. We must show children that no matter what

the media says, no matter what our friends say, staying true to ourselves – our culture, our

histories, and ourselves as a whole – is the most authentic form of self preservation. In a world

that is constantly changing, we must show children how to stay true to themselves.