Democratic Classrooms Are Beneficial To Learning It is time for education to turn from conventional-authoritarian to modern-democratic approach inside classrooms. As authors John Holt and Kristan A. Morrison argue, traditional classrooms are restrictive, authoritarian, coercive, and manipulative and leave no opportunity for students to express and involve in their own education and learning experience. On the other hand, democratic classrooms arguments stand for students having the freedom of choice in what, when, how and where to study. Classrooms need to become more democratic, open and inclusive to participation because students’ engagement in class leads them to learn in a more meaningful, active and beneficial way. Conventional …show more content…
Compared to traditional classrooms, Morrison argues that democratic classrooms “have no infantilizing effect; instead, they place great trust in students” by giving them the freedom to choose, to express and to participate in the classroom (80). Democratic classrooms promote important qualities in students that traditional classrooms do not. Morrison argues that students become more “mature, self-disciplined, and intrinsically motivated, seeing the value of learning above and beyond its usefulness to getting a ‘good job’ done.“ (as cited in Bhave, 1996;Labaree 1997). Therefore, democratic education does not only foster maturity, self-confidence and independence but also “promises much more meaningful learning”(Morrison 80) and “better quality of work” (as cited in Watson, 1970) by letting students have the choice and freedom to study what is interesting for them hence becoming active participants in the learning …show more content…
Schools should become our motor of driving our society to democracy and it starts in the teaching methods inside our classrooms. As Morrison writes in one of her first sentences in her essay: “Schools and societies are reflections of one another” (79), if we wish to see a change in our society it should all start by how people are educated. By students engaging in their process of learning, our schools would be creating autonomous, independent, self-confident students and future adults and leaders with a strong sense of direction, critical thinking and respect for the opinions of others, and that openness and inclusiveness is what our society is needing in this day and
How Democratic is the American Constitution? by Robert A. Dahl is an interesting novel questioning the reliability of the American Constitution. Dahl brings up many interesting points and queries in the novel that really strike a chord with anyone who has had similar thoughts before, including me. His main first argument stating that the Constitution is essentially outdated is what caught my attention the most, with his argument that the Constitution needs to be more democratic coming as a close second. These are the two main arguments I’ll be focusing on as they’re ones that I’ve thought about prior to reading this book in previous government related classes.
Public schooling itself is not the goal, he said, and public schools don't necessarily do better than private schools in educating children to meet the state's interests, which he defined as preparing children for both workforce and democratic participation. Those who joined in the discussion pushed Reich to specify the content of an education for democratic participation. "Some would say reading and writing is enough," he responded. "Personally, I would go a few steps further to say that students should learn to come into dialogue with others on a public stage." Voluntary national standards for civic education suggest "a combination of making sure students know the history and shape of the structure of government, and how to influence public deliberation and policy," he said. Others suggest experience-oriented programs, often called service learning. "My model has been the Socratic dialogue, where the teacher is a leader and p...
To help students to feel capable, connected and contributing (or the three C’s) Linda Albert asks us to make five fundamental changes to our classrooms, or what she calls “Paradigm Shifts in Cooperative Discipline” (see figure 2). Firstly, we need to move away from a “hands-on” or “hands-clenched” approach to discipline, which is an authoritarian style of classroom discipline, to a “hands-joined” or democratic style of classroom management. Secondly, we need to recognize that student behavior is a choice, and not caused by some outside force, though these forces may influence student behavior it is ultimately the student’s decision on how they will act in your classroom. Thirdly, she asks us to abandon our long list of classroom rules and replace it with a concise code of conduct; shifting the classroom atmosph...
In the 21st century, teachers experience many behavioral issues with students in the classroom and face challenges that are very difficult to resolve. School districts have different expectations about how students must behave during school and teachers have their own expectations about how students must behave in their classroom. Every educator has different classroom expectations and students must follow specific standards; therefore, the responsibility of the teacher is to discuss the standards with all students and make sure those expectations are clear. According to Jones and Jones (2016), teachers whose students made greater achievement gains were observed establishing rules and procedures, and carefully monitoring student’s work. In
In the contemporary world, characterized by democracy, educators have the role of not only passing necessary skills for employment purposes, but also teaching values that will enhance citizenship. In other words, educating the whole child entails passing instructions that enhances patriotism and good citizenship, leading to poverty eradication through development, instilling morals and values, while enhancing co-existence among people in the society. As illustrated by Noddings (2005), in the democratic society schools have the obligation of going beyond teaching fundamental skills if the endeavor of educating the whole child is to be met. Importantly, it is apparent that learning institutions are secondary agents of socialization where children learn important virtues and values that are essential in the society as they spend the most part of their childhood in school. In this regard, educating the whole child means transmitting values through extra-curriculum activities where both genders are integrated and also via clubs and societies where children are taught to be responsible. As well, the education curriculum should educate the whole child through transmitting of vital cultural values that enable them to avoid stereotypes when they grow into their adulthood (Lumpkin, 2008). This is because education for the whole child enhances the development of cognitive skills, which enable the child to have an understanding of causal relationships and demonstrating tolerance towards other individuals (Preston & Andy,
The ideas of democracy and social reform are repeatedly discussed in the long 26 chapters of Democracy and Education. In the opening chapters, Dewey introduced the concepts that he would employ throughout the enquiry that the importance of schools not only as a place to gain content knowledge, but also as a home to learn how to
This book, Dare The School Build a New Social Order by George Counts, is an examination of teachers, the Progressive Education Movement, democracy and his idea on how to reform the American economy. The book is divided into 5 different sections. The first section is all about the Progressive Education Movement. Through this, George Counts points out many downsides and weaknesses of this ideal. He also talks about how he wants teachers to lead society instead of following it. In the second section, he examines 10 widespread fallacies. These fallacies were that man is born free, that children are born free, they live in a separate world of their own, education remains unchanged, education should have no bias, the object of education is to produce professors, school is an all-powerful educational agency, ignorance rather than knowledge is the way of wisdom, and education is made to prepare an individual for social change.
Direct democracy means forms of direct participation of citizens in democratic decision making in contrast to indirect or representative democracy, based on the sovereignty of the people. This can happen in the form of an assembly democracy or by initiative and referendum with ballot voting, with direct voting on issues instead of for candidates or parties. Sometimes the term is also used for electing representatives in a direct vote as opposed to indirect elections (by voting for an electing body, electoral college, etc.), as well as for recalling elected officeholders. Direct democracy may be understood as a full-scale system of political institutions, but in modern times, it means most often specific decision-making institutions in the broader
Liberalism and democracy are closely tied together in international politics. They have a central bond which brings out the notion of democratic peace. Today much of Latin America and the European Union practices democracy. The chances of these nations getting into an armed conflict are very scarce in today’s standards. Liberalism promotes the idea of human security and equality and democracy reinforces that idea into the political framework of governing bodies and their higher authorities. Liberalism leads to democracy which promotes democratic peace preventing conflict between nations. This article will look at how liberalism leads to democratic peace through the process of creating democracy.
We ignore the plain fact that students learn at different rates and in different ways” (3). Furthermore, teachers are the main source of knowledge in the classroom. When teaching, teachers determine almost everything that happens within their classroom. Including what information they have students learn, and how they pass on that information. However, over the years, it has been neglected that every student learns differently. Additionally, it needs to be remembered that it is the students who are learning. A school system is needed that can retain all students’ curiosity, individuality, and creativity. For instance, whether it is the amount of homework given, the type of test, the pace of teaching, or the style of notes required, students should not be confined to only one way of
Democracy is important and valuable to the people of the United States. It is the form of government that rules us all. Democracy is one type of government with different variations. The idea of democracy has two meanings. The ideal and the real. The ideal is that democracy that listens to everyone and gives freedom as well as equality. For example, there is direct democracy, in which every person votes to come to an agreement. This is a type of democracy that cannot be accomplished in the United States due to the population size. Instead we have what is called a representative democracy or the real type of democracy. In this type of democracy, we the people get to choose someone to represent our values an opinions and that person reports this to the government. We have this type of democracy because perfect democracy does not exist. It would be extremely hard to accomplish or even come close to it. The reality is that the United States is one of the closest best forms of democracy, yet it’s far from perfect. The U.S. and what makes it a working democracy contains more than just representation. The government is made up of the Constitution, the rule of the majority, public opinion, elections, mass media, interest
The learning environment connects the classroom to the community through a democratic approach. This community based learning brings the world into the classroom so students can implement social change and challenge social inequalities. The curriculum focuses on student experience and taking social action on real problems such as hunger, violence, and discrimination. It is important to instruct students to explore in group settings so they can work together to analyze and develop theories that can help each other and make a real different in the world. As a future educator, it is important to not only to teach my students the issues in our world, but how we can work together to find
The democratic teaching position offers students different perspectives on an issue while encouraging them to seek different points of views and to think divergently (Grant & Gillette, 2006). This is important when discussing current events and social issues in a classroom because varying opinions will be present, even at a young age. As a facilitator of discussions, teachers need to teach their students a multitude of viewpoints on varying issues so they are able to create their own beliefs on issues. The teacher needs to be sure not to persuade any of their students to hold one opinion or the other which can be done if teachers provide the beliefs of all the parties involved. Students need to begin learning how to form opinions on their own and having discussions on topics where all viewpoints are included. This is helpful in social reconstructionism because the curriculum of this philosophy will focus on social injustices were many different opinions will be fostered but all students will be required to be respectful of others’ viewpoints. This skill can begin at a young age as it is one all people will need throughout
During the first day of school, a variety of different students enter the classroom. These students are excited and nervous, they have their parents by their sides who are observing the classroom walls and arrangement. From the minute the students enter the classroom, students are observing the classroom environment and notice the everything. Everything in the classroom needs to have a purpose, but provide a pleasant environment. When preparing and organizing the classrooms, teachers need to consider the different variables that impact the classroom. Classrooms can be disorganized if the walls are cluttered and have no meaning The organizations of the desks, the wall decorations, and the seating arrangements significantly impact the physical environments. Students are like sponges, they soak up everything that surrounds them. In the article A comparison of actual and preferred classroom environments as perceived by middle school students in the Journal of School Health stated “studies have shown that classroom environments are closely related to a number of aspects of student
Nelson Mandela once said,“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world”. Education is the process of gaining information about the world. Education gives us knowledge of the world around us and changes it into something even better. Access to education is the foundation of a democratic society, because it provides an opportunity for all to achieve the American Dream, ensures equality and justice, and allows for our country to compete globally for a prosperous future.