“Democracy is worth dying for, because it’s the most deeply honorable form of government ever devised by man.” – Ronald Reagan
If, as Ronald Reagan said, Democracy is the most honorable way for people to govern themselves, then it makes sense that Democracy in the classroom would offer the best way for educating future generations to become responsible citizens. It also follows that promoting democratic ideals in the classroom would constitute best practice among teachers. My definition of best practice is the focus on procedures known to produce optimum results. Therefore, based on Reagan’s quote and my definition of best practice, we could conclude that a teacher’s best practice would focus on teaching procedures that embrace democratic ideals and yield the optimum result of producing an enlightened citizenry.
Four Principles
What do I mean by democratic ideals? According to the 1945 Encyclopaedia Britannica classroom film entitled What is a democracy? retrieved online at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eT7p1Tqs9lc, a democracy is characterized by four principle elements listed as follows, 1. Shared Respect, 2. Shared Power, 3. Balance of Resources, and 4. Enlightenment.
Shared Respect
A democracy requires shared respect among its constituents. This means understanding and tolerance of different cultures, skin colors, practices, beliefs, and corresponding opinions. This fits with today’s emphasis on cultural diversity in the classroom as depicted in Module 3’s assigned video Valuing Diversity in Learners where foreign language teachers explained how they mixed classroom participants to include both novice and experienced language speakers.
Whether or not students agree with one another, mutual respect must be the norm for every classroom if open discussion is to be promoted.
Shared Power
Shared power in a democracy means that decision making is supported by the community and is enforced by the community. This can be carried out in classrooms where teachers allow student input regarding particular themes to be studied within a given curriculum. Class participation to establish the rules of engagement as well as rewards and penalties to be imposed on infractions, communicates to the students that they are the community and the teacher is there as a facilitator of collaborative learning more than as a disseminator of knowledge to be regurgitated on assessments. Shared power means the right of individuals to voluntarily vote. Volunteering to vote implies personal motivation which is a vital ingredient to the learning equation: Students must be motivated to learn. In a classroom where students take ownership, personal motivation to learn is enhanced.
Balance of Resources
In the 1945 film, this particular point focuses on the balance of economic resources by ensuring a strong, healthy, and dominant middle class. I applied this to the classroom by interpreting it to mean a balance of intellectual resources and access to resources among students. This notion of balanced resources goes back to Aristotle over two millennia ago and was reiterated at the founding of our nation by James Madison who explained that imbalance of resources causes conflict between groups of have’s and have nots. I have seen this in the classroom when lesson plans serve mainly to isolate groups of students based on resources they naturally possess. Rather than encouraging discussion, debate ensues and learning is stifled as minds close up to defend strongholds rather than critically evaluate other viewpoints and options.
Enlightenment
This point has to do with free speech as a right as well as a responsibility. Free speech not only enlightens students, it also fuels their mind to judge which grants them responsibility. Therefore, a class of free speech requires students to participate. It places the responsibility on the students to bring knowledge to light. It does not mean they are free to be silent when a question is asked but rather they bear the burden to ensure all points of view are presented so the entire class can achieve the optimum results. However, mere access to information alone is not sufficient. Democracy in the classroom means presentations should be balanced in presenting both sides of an issue. Sources should be disclosed or credibility should be questioned. And competence should be assured by adequate disclosure.
Reference
(posted 6/18/09)
