Community

Since the local community is the building block of a larger society and a necessary manifestation of the human condition, philosophically speaking, community involvement is essential for every citizen, and in many ways especially for the successful educator, because schools are by nature community centers supported and run by an assortment of people, including parents, teachers, students, faculty, administrators, etc. Effective communication and cooperation is therefore vital to a school's success. The experience I have chosen to share owes its positive consequences to the dedication of some of the parents of members of my Quiz Bowl team at Murrah. The Quiz Bowl team at first constituted a small club for a select group of high-achieving students who were involved with many other activities - basically, it amounted to some organized after-school fun. The main downside to this was that we did not have a chance to raise funds like other clubs for traveling to competitions, which were scattered in both timing and geography; continuous travel throughout the state was necessary for the club to remain viable, but continuous travel throughout the state cost too much money. So, I worked the phones. I convinced several parents to obtain official Jackson Public Schools driving permits, which itself is no small task given the understandably messy bureaucracy/paperwork involved. Remaining in constant contact, we were able to shuttle the team here and there throughout the year, including several overnight stays, so that no one was left behind for pecuniary reasons. When we eventually won the state championship, the parents helped me make contacts and raise the thousands of dollars necessary for a trip to Chicago. The community grew swiftly and organically, all for the benefit of and as a reward for the students. Furthermore, parents driving the Quiz Bowl team eventually became parents driving for the Civil Rights club, which also quickly gained a solid reputation. By the end of my first two years, dozens of phone numbers of parents with whom I was on a first name basis were programmed into my cell phone. And the number of students enrolled in Latin classes has skyrocketed despite the addition of two new foreign language teachers, a fact which I attribute to the power of networking and what I hope has been a job well done in some way.

David Jones's Professional Portfolio

dlmjones@gmail.com