Academic Communities?

Though Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's book, Living History, a somewhat controversial recount of her 8 years as first Lady was met with criticism, her earlier publication It Takes a Village and Other Lessons Children Teach Us received a Grammy for its recording and great praise, becoming an instant best seller. In it, HRC talks about the concept “It Takes a Village.” While of course she first referred to raising children and how our “villages” or “communities” are integral to the development of our children and the future roles in our society, Secretary Clinton discussed how in reality it takes a village for us to solve the global problems we are now facing. I think in reflecting on these opinions, it's an easy step to apply to higher education and provides a method for problem-solving within high schools, tutoring, and advising along the path to this ultimate goal of accessing colleges and universities, and essentially arming students with important knowledge.

If you agree with this premise, then a big question has to be what an advising community is and who are the members of an advising community- an academic "village". First, how do you define a community? To me a community is a group of individuals who by location, interests, or needs bond together for support, for work, or for a common purpose. Thus, my use of “advising community” can refer to a community of parents, educators, tutors, advisors, and counselors. We are not all members of one advising community, but members of a variety of advising communities focused on specific issues, topics, or students.

The advising communities can be and should be comprised of a variety of people from diverse backgrounds, roles, and responsibilities. Because systems and procedures can always be made more efficient, it is then crucial for educators and advisors to take the lead to form these communities as we are the link between all of the varied members of the community and can provide the common language for the community’s work with students. By the strong collaboration and networking we build through our advising communities, we can be certain that students do not fall through a crack or seam in the community as they enter, move through, and graduate to higher learning institutions.

So what do you think? Does it take an Advising Community to advise a student and affect his/her academic success? If so, what are the advising communities you are a part of? How would you form a community of find your place in one? What do you think are the most crucial aspects to a child and learning? What do you think your role is as a parent? What do think the role of The Learning Studios is or should be?