Potential Actions to Support the Development of My Ideal Community

Having a dream is one thing.  Setting the dream in action is another.  Below are some actions I could do to support a number of characteristics, taken from my prior blog post, of my ideal community.

2. No litter on the ground

                Ensure my students do not leave my room until it looks like it did before they entered.  Make comments on how much nicer it looks when students pick up trash. 

                Do my part in keeping my work space organized.  This means coming in completely prepared, possibly prepping the night before for the next day’s lessons.

4. People are playing outside during the day

                Make some demonstrations take place outside.  Make comments on how beautiful nature is.  Share activities that are able to be done outside, for example tennis, soccer, looking for rainbows, etc.  Tell students when you plan to be at the park to play tennis.  Share pictures of bike rides along the bike path.

5. Everyone helps take care of the community

                Involve the students in classroom decisions.  Have sign ups to take care of the turtles and their tank.  Encourage all to help clean up the lab.  Make specific mentions of how much more fun and less time caring for the community takes when more people help.

10. Schools focused on student interests

                Assign a personal development plan assignment and give students options for research projects.

11. People well dressed

                Offer extra credit and have a wall keeping track of students that dress nicely.

12. People with good health

                Share with the students what my meals consist of and my exercise schedule.  Share my health goals and encourage students to set their own health goals.

Some Characteristics of My Ideal Community

There have been many ideal communities, or utopias, dreamed of in the past.  I, however, had not spent time thinking of what I want a community to be.  As a teacher, I find this extremely problematic, for I am responsible for developing the community of the future.  Moreover, the way my current students act concerns me.  For example, I've heard my students talk about how they would rather stay inside all day instead of play at a park.  Also, many students stay up extremely late because they have smart phones.  So I find myself with this question, What characteristics do the ideal community have?  Below is a very quick list I came up with. 

1. Communal living
2. No litter on the ground
3. People recycle
4. People are playing outside during the day
5. Everyone helps take care of the community
6. A research lab
7. Community garden
8. Large dinners held often
9. Weekly votes on community projects
10. Schools focused on student interests
11. People well dressed 
12. People with good health

In a future post, I will take some of these ideas and try to find a way to incorporate behaviors that support them into my classes.