The purpose of using the total community as an educational resource is to bring the school, the student, and real life into communication with one another. The results increase the support of the community for the schools and help to keep the curriculum and learning experiences in the school a relevant part of the community.Community resources, in educational theory, are any materials, places, agencies, activities, or persons in a community that may be utilized by a school program to provide learning experiences.The most common uses of such resources to the junior middle schools are as follows:1. To conduct field and sight─seeing trips.2. To go camping.3. To pay visits to the community and do the citizens some services.4. To invite the local artists, technologists, and specialists to the school to provide useful experiences in the teaching─learning process.5. To invite the local government officials, council persons, performers, outstanding individuals and college professors in support of learning in the schools through talks, illustrated lectures, demonstrations, and interviews regarding their respective fields.6. To pay much attention to the close cooperation with other schools in the educational resources.7. To utilize the educational resources about the businesses and industries in a local community.8. To edit the books of local culture in support of the teaching─learning process.9. To inherit and promote the distinctive physical exercise from the primary schools in the local community.10. To utilize the public buildings in the community to promote the activities of the local culture.11. To ask the community─citizens being enthusiastic in education to provide coordination, suggestions and financial assistance for school developments.Community resources used in education are becoming increasingly important in the future. Trends are based upon the needs, goals, and practices of the entire community, from our homes, schools, businesses, professions, arts, trades, and communication media. |