EDUCATING BEYOND THE CLASSROOM: THE FORGOTTEN ROLE OF COMMUNITY IN HIGHER ED

I took a recent hiatus from social media. The world is changing in how we communicate and exchange information, and for the first time in a long time, I realized I needed a break. There was too much noise. Too many opinions. Too many unaswered questions. Too many likes, shares, and comments that often take away from the real intention of the messages we share.

As an educator who has dedicated my entire academic career to studying English, literature, composition, and rhetoric, I found myself overwhelmed with the lack of effective communication I see daily, especially on social media. So, I took a much needed break. When I logged back in a day ago, I was appalled by what I saw.

Social media was once designed to create a safe space for scholars who wanted to "stay connected" or build a community. Now, we spend much of our time in these social spaces, building communities only to bulldoze them down. That is also the hurtful truth about the current state of higher education practice and where it is headed. On one end we are hyper focused on "fixing" systemic issues, while also disregarding those who we intend to fix the system for.

Nelson Mandela once wrote, "Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world."

But, are we weaponizing education in the wrong way?

I'm part of a few "communities" on facebook where other educators connect, share ideas, resources, and other things to help us all move forward in our careers. When I returned from my social media fast and saw the posts that I missed in those groups, I realized that this was the wrong space for me. Call me naive, but I actually am passionate about what I do in this space. I dreamed of this as a kid.

I remember sitting on the front porch of my godmom's home with those old-school, hard plastic, yellow chairs, lined up with my chalk board facing them. I would play school with the kids in the neighborhood and we would do this every saturday morning.

I have taught every grade level. Pre-k, primary, secondary, and now higher education. I have learned about students experiences, their academic triumphs and hardships, their vision and goals... all of it. And it has only inspired me to continue to build in this community and give it my all.

What I don't like, is that we have steered so far from community, that it is disgusting. And this is not a negative blog post. This is a real one. Something we all need to hear. The post that I saw was a professor telling a student (who asked to bring their child to class) they needed to give their child benadryl or something to prevent from disrupting others in the classroom, because the student didn't have childcare and didn't want to miss class. While this was very negative in my opinion, the comments I saw under the post were even more negative.

"Alone, we can do so little; together, we can do so much."?– Helen Keller

As stakeholders in education, it is our responsibility to advocate for our students. Yes, there are policies and politics that emphasize the do's and don'ts of this profession. However, our students matter most of all. Without them, there are no jobs, no education practice, no need for professional development, and the long list of things we have forgotten about. Our students are the reason for every single thing we claim we are working toward in education.

What happened to our community?

Why have we become such mean stakeholders in education? Why are we unwilling to provide and extend grace? Why are we so quick to prosecute students or even our colleagues for their differences and experiences? Yes, accountability matters, but why does it have to come with such a hard lesson to be learned? Every student you encounter should not pay for the issues and challenges of the student before.

When we collaborate in our community, we are working toward achieving a shared goal, that is advocacy for our students and changing the value in education.

"The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character—that is the goal of true education."?– Martin Luther King Jr.

When we lose sight of the goal, we lose sight on the blueprint of making a real difference for those we serve. Remember, being an educator is an act of service. It won't always look pretty. It won't always be a cake walk, and it won't always come with the level of gratitude and appreciation we so desperately want to hear.

The world operates because of Us! Without the lectures, lesson planning, structured curriculum, constant implementation of course rules and policies, our passion for the niche and dedication to what we love, there would not be doctors, lawyers, more educators, singers, musicians, and the like. None of these amazing people who pour back into our communities would be where they are if it did not begin with an educator who showed them the way.

I challenge you to reconsider. Think about the communities you are part of. The ones that are being bulldozed right in front of you. The ones that are filled with negativity and disdain toward the same community they claim to be building. I challenge you to reconsider these spaces and be the waterseed needed to produce living and growing flowers that will continue to bloom and transform the way we as a community see life.

"It is not what is poured into a student that counts, but what is planted."?– Linda Conway

With Love,

Takara M. Carter