To begin the discussion around if schools are democratic places for students and teachers we must first start with what democracy means. Different people and different groups ascribe their own meaning to the term. To me, democracy in schools mean policies and practices that challenge learners, that deal with community issues, while celebrating learning through inquiry and discussion, and cultivating personal and social responsibility. Not a small task.
There are areas of schooling that definitely do not fit with my definition of democracy. Students are being taught one way. A way that says there is one right answer and the rest are wrong. Multiple choice testing is one example of this. There is no room for inquiry or discussion. The right answer is the one that is taught to you. While some teachers are better than others in allowing open discussion and dissension than others, the subject matter itself is not up for discussion.
School is not much more democratic for teachers, although they do have more creative freedom. Teachers are given a guide to follow and are allowed to come up with what they will do for each lesson. There are strategies and frameworks in place, but it is up to the teacher how, when, or if they will employ such strategies. However, this freedom of creativity does not mean democracy. Teachers have a curriculum developed to create well rounded citizens, but school still push a focus on two subjects: English and Math. Subjects like Physical Education, Arts Education, and Social Studies get time cut for the “more important” subjects.
Alan Sears’ article In Search of Good Citizens discusses teaching citizenship (or attempting to) and what that means. According to the article, 75% of teachers think that the goal of education is to prepare children for life and citizenship. As the lengthy article goes on to describe, the problem is what do we mean by citizenship, what are the best ways to educate students about it, and is it even working. As it turns out, the rhetoric is there, but below the surface there is a huge deficit. The talk and the curriculum around building a social being sound good, but it is just not happening. Teaching citizenship does not necessarily lend itself to a democratic school.
In the end, while I think we have made leaps and bounds towards becoming more democratic in school – with a larger focus on social activism, discussion, and inquiry – we are not there yet.
– Jen
Mrs. Chyz's Classroom 