FOCUS ON
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
WHY WE ENGAGE
Community Engagement enhances student experience At the core of an IB education is the development of the Learner Profile. IB learners should strive to cultivate the attributes of the Learner Profile as they participate in IB programmes – programmes that “aim to develop internationally minded people who, recognising their common humanity and shared guardianship of the planet, help to create a better and more peaceful world.” In addition to the development of the individual, an explicit part of developing the Learner Profile attributes is related to the betterment of the community. Like many other IB world schools, Discovery College aims to have our students committed to being actively involved in efforts that support and advance the community. A community is essentially a group of people who are bought together either by geographic location, shared interests, or by shared identities. For example, DC students are a part of the DC community. They would also be members of the Discovery Bay community, the Lantau community, the Hong Kong community, all the way up to being a part of the global community. Students are therefore encouraged to be actively involved in activities that benefit these different communities. Often activities that serve the local community also benefit communities on a larger scale. The adage “think globally, act locally” applies here.
A vital aspect of all Community Engagement activities is that they offer the students involved an opportunity for learning. It is also essential that students develop an understanding of the issues they are involved in addressing. Involvement in community engagement also aims to extend the student, and as students progress through the IB programmes they should include activities that see them working beyond the school community. Whichever community a student is supporting, a relationship of respect should be established and promoted between the two groups. The best results for community development take place when a working relationship is created, where all parties are involved in the planning, implementation and evaluation of service activities. Collaborating with, as opposed to working for, members of a community provides the most positive service experiences for the students involved.
By default, the word ‘engagement’ implies that students are active in their participation. It also implies that students interact, communicate and connect with the community. • There are many elements of community engagement, and many ways that students can work to support others. Students do not always need to involve themselves directly with a community. Often barriers of time and location make this difficult. Other opportunities for engagement are indirect – supporting a community without direct contact with them – where the online world offers many opportunities to support communities around the globe. Volunteerism, awareness campaigns and advocacy actions are also examples of community engagement. Students may undertake activities on their own initiative, or join existing groups either in or outside of school. There are strong links between the written curriculum and community engagement. Often it is what students explore in the curriculum that inspires and motivates them to take action to address an issue of public concern. There are also units of work at DC that could be considered service learning, where students investigate, plan and act on service related activities while meeting specific curriculum goals.
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WHY WE ENGAGE
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Examples of recent community engagement activities at DC include: • A group of Year 9 students organising activities at DC related to World Food Day; • A group of students involved in delivering an English literacy programme in Yat Tung estate; • Primary students involved in supporting the Box of Hope event • Some No Boundaries groups preparing to deliver various programmes to support the community that they will visit; Students planning and delivering CCAs to their peers or younger students; Students visiting elderly people in Sheung Ling Pei and Ha Ling Pei Village to assist in delivering wellbeing programmes; The DC Labour Rights group striving to improve working conditions in targeted areas; and DC UNICEF club designing a number of activities relating to the goals of UNICEF.
When done well, community engagement neatly reflects our school philosophy: it challenges students to Grow, building self-esteem, selfconfidence, autonomy and self-reliance; it requires them to Discover things about themselves, others, and communities on a local and global scale; and it encourages them to Dream to be an agent of change. Peter Muir CAS and C&S Coordinator