I suppose one of the reasons I never made this connection is because most classrooms are not democracies. The teacher chooses the content, assignments and assessments in his or her course. The teacher, usually in conjunction with the school administration, sets the rules and guidelines for what is considered appropriate behavior in the classroom. Often, students are given choices. For example, they can choose the topic of a research assignment, or they might have the option to do a creative project rather than a formal essay. However, this is hardly enough to suggest a classroom democracy.
Perhaps there are good reasons for this. After all, the teacher is supposed to be the "expert," not just of his or her content area, but also of learning in the broader sense. It can be argued that a teacher has had more life experience, therefore, he or she knows "what's best" for his or her students. Families typically operate according to this model as well. Parents make the rules and children are expected to follow them. There are good intentions behind this type of thinking--it is done out of care for a child's safety and well-being, not because parents and teachers are sadistic and hungry for power (I hope).
What happens if we do try a more democratic model? Can students be the judge of what's best? I'm not sure if they are capable of deciding what content material will benefit them most, simply because they lack the knowledge to make that decision. For example, I wouldn't have known that a "wiki" could be a useful tool for teaching because until a couple weeks ago, I had no idea that "wikis" even existed. Similarly, a student wouldn't understand why it's important to know how to write an expository essay if they haven't ever written one. However, I do believe that students know what's best for them in a more general sense.
Students ultimately know what they want and expect from their education, even if they don't always know how to express it. They hope to be in a safe learning environment that will prepare them for future success. If we train them to simply be passive receivers of information, we should expect them to be passive members of society. On the other hand, if we give them a voice in our classroom, they will learn how to better advocate for themselves in the future. Isn't this what democracy is all about? It seems to me that if students are able to have some sense of ownership of their learning experiences, they are much more likely to be successful, not just in school but in our democratic society.
I, too, find it fascinating that we study philosophies and theories and are being taught about concepts like democracy in the classroom, but our thoughts about how to enact them are quite hazy. It makes me wonder, as we wrestle with what we want to incorporate into our own classrooms, did all of our teachers and professors go through this same process? It seems that in rationally analyzing all of these things, we could probably come up with a few that we might agree on. Why, then, did so many of our classes take on the same structure? Maybe it's what they decided on at the time as being the best ideas put into practice.
ReplyDeleteI guess what I'm trying to get at is maybe when you approach how you want your class structured and you decide to incorporate this idea of democracy and student ownership, you'll just have to try it out (probably multiple times over years) to see if you can make it work or adjust it so it does.
Sorry, I think this was pretty stream of consciousness; hope you can garner some meaning from it. :)
Your point about the mismatching method of our teaching being more of a dictatorship and our goal of teaching leading to citizens of a democratic society is very crucial. I think that the democratic process divorces itself from education by the traditional philosophy of education, and progressivism tries to inject it in once more.
ReplyDeleteAs a democratic citizen, I felt very lost around election time for the first few years, and I fear that others who have gone through our education system have similar feelings. Comfort with democracy and understanding of its workings should begin earlier in education and not be limited to a Junior year civics class. Ways in which to incorporate it in my own classroom will be difficult, but I feel that voting on the choice of novels within a certain genre would be one way to go.
I totally agree, "democracy" is not a word that leaps to mind when I think about our education system. But I don't think that democracy in the classroom necessarily means giving students an equal say in what they learn - I think it's more about how they learn. Education can prepare students to be part of a democratic society by training them to be independent thinkers.
ReplyDeleteOf course, this is easier said than done, but I do think that as teachers we can design lessons that require and encourage critical thinking.
I think you did what a lot of people (or maybe just me?) are afraid to do - you challenged an idea that has been getting more-or-less beaten into our heads lately. Democracy is good, democracy is essential... but is it? And why is it? And assuming that it is, how do we implement it in a way that achieves balance between what the teacher knows and what the students think they know? So I'm with you... I think democracy in the classroom will tech students to be active, participating members of society, but what's the best balance?
ReplyDeleteWhen reading about your last paragraph, I really began to think about my own understandings of being a teacher in a classroom and having a certain classroom relationship with my class. Up until this program, I too believed that it was seemingly impossible to include democracy in the classroom. Even when students were given some freedom to choose their own activities and work, the teacher had the control of the classroom and the final say of what was right and wrong. However, you are completely right in focusing in on what the student needs. The student definitely knows what he or she needs from school, and the only way to achieve this, is to have democracy in the classrooms. I applaud you for addressing this subject in such a clear way, that really makes one think about how this is possible and in what ways this could work.
ReplyDeleteGreat to see that your post elicited so many thoughtful responses from your colleagues. Nice work!
ReplyDeleteJen, I think that the place where you end this post is *precisely* where you want to be as you thinking about enacting the admittedly abstract idea of democracy in the classroom. I happen to think that you also capture the essence of what Dewey was advocating for...
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