Starting with the Classroom: Fostering A Democratic Society
Most people, regardless of where they fall on the political spectrum, would agree that democracy is in crisis. If we are to save what is left of our democratic ideals, it will be through the active participation of a committed citizenry.
Current failures in our democracy exist, in part, because we are not adequately educating students for democratic citizenship. In many ways, our schools, from kindergarten through college, do not mirror a democracy but embrace a hierarchical, authoritarian structure in which students are trained to take tests rather than think critically and engage in their learning and communities. We cannot expect to have a just, inclusive and sustainable society if we are not teaching students, society’s future decision-makers, how to actively participate in public life.
To empower students to take action in public life, we need to set up our classrooms and educational institutions in ways that encourage curiosity, interaction and critical thinking, and collaborative problem-solving.
As humane educator Zoe Weil says, “The world becomes what you teach,” and if we want our society to become more democratic, we must educate for it. While civics courses and student body elections are important learning activities, we shouldn’t stop there — just as our civic participation as adults should not stop at the voting booth, and should involve becoming informed about political issues, grasping the rights and responsibilities of citizenship and taking action around issues that one cares about. Going beyond textbook concepts of what democracy is and how government functions is imperative. To empower students to take action in public life, we need to set up our classrooms and educational institutions in ways that encourage curiosity, interaction and critical thinking, and collaborative problem-solving.
I teach college-level peace courses, and I know how challenging it can be to create a participatory classroom, particularly when working within institutions that do not invite input from faculty, staff or students. Ideally, the institutions themselves would also become more democratic, and mirror the values of freedom and democracy that they espouse. Since this is not often the case, educators can face significant constraints when trying to implement democratic principles in their classrooms.
A healthy democracy requires of us self-awareness and respect for difference.
I’ve found that students are often caught off-guard when I try to introduce democratic principles into the classroom because they have rarely experienced them, if at all, in their formal education. By the time they walk into a college classroom, they have already been “institutionalized” by the K-12 system and are used to being told what to do. They are more accustomed to relationships in which an authority (a parent, a teacher) tells them what they need to know and how they should learn it. A healthy democracy requires of us self-awareness and respect for difference, and I see my classroom as a training ground for young adults to find their voices and develop their abilities to affect change.
I am required to create a syllabus for the first day of class — this is part of my contract and an institutional requirement, but since I am able to change the syllabus, I will ask students for input on it. Every semester, during the first week of class, I ask them for feedback on the syllabus, and I again ask them for their thoughts about it after they have had some time to review it. So far, not one student has offered a suggestion or comment. I don’t attribute the silence to a lack of interest or creativity. Rather, I think it has to do with them never having been asked to co-create their education, which is about discovering what they want to learn and how they want to learn it.
I see my classroom as a training ground for young adults to find their voices and develop their abilities to affect change.
The more we encourage democratic participation in our schools, the more students will be able to take their potential into society and the healthier our democracy will be. Below are some ideas (by no means exhaustive) for fostering a democratic classroom (and while these ideas primarily came from work at the college level, I believe they can be adapted and integrated at all levels).
Give students the space to guide their own learning.
Solicit student input on what they want to learn, either through a syllabus/curriculum review or by asking questions like “What do you hope to learn this year?” and “What are your learning objectives?” While there is something to be said for teachers knowing what students need to know — if they don’t know it, they might not know they need to know it — making room for suggestions gives students a sense of agency and empowerment around their learning.
Create opportunities for student leadership in the classroom.
You could invite students to lead discussions for part of the class or have students teach each other about topics that they are interested in and passionate about.
Ask for student feedback on the learning process.
Check in regularly to assess the learning situation — not through tests, but through discussion, with questions such as: What have you learned? What have you not learned yet that you want to learn? What is going well? What isn’t? What might you want to change? Ask for the feedback but work together as a learning community to make any changes happen.
Teach your students to question.
Tomorrow’s leaders should be well-equipped with critical thinking skills. Students who learn how to ask good, meaningful questions will better understand how they arrive at informed opinions and how to uncover the root causes of issues.
Find ways to take the learning past classroom walls, or bring the community inside the classroom.
Students who realize the power to speak up are more likely to affect change. Try to integrate ways that students can be engaged in school life as well as the local community, from hearing guest speakers to volunteering for service learning projects and earning extra credit for taking part in community events.
Teach nonviolence!
Understanding nonviolence will teach students about the interconnectedness of life, personal empowerment, and the many ways beyond voting that they can work towards social change.
As educators, mentors, parents, and community leaders, it is our responsibility to help students learn to actively participate in the classroom and within society. It will take all of us to reclaim democracy, but together we can make it happen.