Stacey Harker
Royal Roads University
EDLM 540
Lisa Read
January 7, 2013

The Common Sense of Common Ground

Relationships are reciprocal and successful ones grow out of shared understanding. If communities are collaborating, it is because they have met on common ground and built a mutually beneficial relationship. If one community is not engaged with another, it is likely because assumptions of privilege (or lack thereof) have rendered it exclusive. It is the failure to recognize the foundation of a successful relationship that causes communities to feel exclusive and subsequently pathologize one another. This was the case in Crozier and Davies’ 2005 study of a small town in England where immigrant populations were deemed by schools as “hard to reach” yet Crozier and Davies concluded that it was in fact the schools that were “hard to reach”. I would take this conclusion one step further and suggest that if any of the communities in the study had been able to find common ground, a reciprocal relationship could have been created and exclusivity would not have been a consideration.

Engaging “hard to reach” students is not unlike engaging “hard to reach” parents: find common ground and build the relationship from there. This is self-evident to teachers who reach out to students every day, but sometimes a student or community of students can seem chronically difficult to reach. In many cases this is because assumptions both by the school and the student(s) preclude a common understanding. Mainstream western schools have evolved over many generations and are successful because of this accumulation of years of expertise. Yet with each successive refinement of curricula and practice, intrinsic biases are reinforced. This fact led David Corson (1998) to propose community-based education as a remedy for socially alienated learners. Relevant curriculum also led to success in community education programs Columbia, Bangladesh, and Egypt (Farrell, 2008). Whether on a small scale or large, it is looking beyond the established assumptions of propriety and being willing to meet on common ground that allow for meaningful relationships to be forged.

As a teacher, I often feel exclusive in my classroom, but this is an illusion. Teachers must first learn what they teach, and for that they need community. Whether this community is found in books, online, or face-to-face, the more we support each other the more we support our schools. To that end, I make every effort to engage my colleagues in academic discussions about the art of teaching. I find it productive to begin these discussions by learning about issues my colleagues are facing. I keep these issues in mind as I proceed with my own learning. When I find a related article or acquire a relevant gleaning, I share the information. This is not an altruistic practice. My colleagues’ concerns are directly related to my own. Also, it is very rewarding to help. It is even more rewarding when my colleagues help me in return. By finding a common ground, this practices builds mutually beneficial relationships.

Recently, I have been inspired to expand the reach of my professional community by creating a Facebook page for Adult Educators. I chose this medium because its non-coercive platform creates potential for finding common ground. Although not everyone is on Facebook, it is my hope that the page will broaden the scope of ideas and connections for those who do participate. It would be wonderful to be exposed to the perspective of an adult educator in another school, city, or even country.

We are all connected. This point is missed when we pathologize others for our own dashed expectations. If we sow a seed of understanding in common ground, we can grow fertile communities.

References
Corson, D. (1998). Community-based education for indigenous cultures. Language,
Culture and Curriculum. 11:3, 238-249
Crozier, G. and Davies, J. (2007). Hard to reach parents or hard to reach schools? A

discussion of home-school relations, with particular reference to Bangladeshi and

Pakistani parents. British Educational Research Journal, Vol. 33, No. 3. pp. 295-313.

Farrell, J.P. (2008). Community education in developing countries: The quiet revolution in
schooling. In M. Connelly (Ed.), The Sage handbook of Curriculum and Instruction (pp. 369-389), Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.