Public Schools in the Promotion of Democracy - Essay Example

What Is The Proper Role For Public Schools In The Promotion Of Democracy? What is the proper role for public schools in the promotion of democracy? The proper role is that which ensures that the society eventually achieves democracy. The proper role of public schools is by engaging in activities that lead to the development of a democratic society. One of the ways through which education can promote democracy is by considering the individuals civil responsibilities. For an individual to know of his or her civil responsibilities, he has to be given knowledge of what they are, and the public has to ensure that the person knows how to achieve such responsibilities. Michelli (n.d.) indicates that in a democratic society, the individuals within have to know what it means to be a civil participant. Apart from this, there are characteristics of a democratic society which public schools have to assist the public in developing and maintaining. Such are the ability to accommodate and resolve disagreements, accommodation of people with different beliefs and views, and respect for others with differing opinions. Because of these characteristics, a society only maintains such a state if the citizens are able to deal with disagreements and resolve them, respect people with differing views and understand a society composed of different people, with different perceptions about various things in life. Education promotes all these characteristics through provision of knowledge and wisdom: To deal with the disagreements and resolve the; to understand how to treat people with different beliefs and views; to understand the consequences of empathy and flexibility in dealing with other perspectives, and to respect for others with differing positions. The proper role of public schools is through provision of knowledge and wisdom. With these two, the individuals will be able to understand the meaning of civil rights and liberties in the society. The civil rights and liberties define a democratic society. Democracy: From our group discussion, there are common characteristics to what members thought about democracy; freedom, equality, and protection of people’s rights. Democracy is a state in a society where everyone has a right to his or her social and political views, has equal rights to the management of the society. It is a state, in which everyone can present a voice, and everyone is allowed to participate in political, social and economic activities of the society (Discussion Group Dialogue). Is the primary good of public education private or public? All the group members agreed that the primary good of public education is public. The reasons given for this argument is that public education provides an equal opportunity for everyone to have the same type of knowledge that the public finds necessary for its democratic development. In the public sphere, everyone will be treated equally irrespective of their socioeconomic status, to receive education. Private forms of education will only focus on their profits, and not equality as seen in the public education system (Discussion Group Dialogue). Public education means education everyone. The primary good of public education is public because the public determines the nature of the society. An ignorant society develops into a non-democratic society. An ignorant society will not have the knowledge about the importance of a democratic society. It will not know how to achieve democracy, and it will not know how to tolerate different views that constitute a democratic society. In order to achieve a democratic society, the primary good of public education has to be public. Everyone should have the right to education, so that everyone is well informed, and a democratic society is developed. There is no democracy with the lack of information. Take the example of knowledge of an individual’s rights. This can be achieved through other means, but the general public education, which forms a background through which people can be informed of their rights has to be developed. Privatization of public education will not also ensure democracy since there will be no focus on equality; an attribute to democracy. Should public schooling be aimed primarily at producing democratic citizens or producing workers for a stronger economy? Everyone in the group agreed that public schooling should be aimed primarily at producing democratic citizens. The main argument was that; it is through democracy that a society becomes stronger, so it is only appropriate to focus on producing democratic citizens. When schools produce students that are democratically sound, the social atmosphere and the economic status of the country is developed. A democratic citizen would understand the building blocks of a stronger economy and make use of such building blocks. Producing workers in a non-democratic land sometimes leads to chaos and civil wars because of the consequences of dictatorships (Discussion Group Dialogue). Why care about democracy as a future educator? Because democracy is part of what an educator should be teaching the students, and it plays a major role in the stability of the society. Democracy is all around us, and is something unavoidable, future educators just like the educators of today, have to be concerned about democracy because it is the source of stability in the society. Micheli also indicates that “future teachers must understand that democracy is evolving” (Michelli, n.d., pp. 5-6). This will help them provide up to date knowledge about democracy in the society and continue to contribute to the stability of the society through their teachings. Is it important to teach children to be democratic citizens? Why or why not? It is important to teach students to be democratic citizens because it will give them the confidence to participate in the society’s political and social activities. Teaching children to be democratic promotes equality because the child will be given an equal worth; that which does not consider one’s race, income, personal lives, gender, and profession, to achieve. Teaching them to be democratic is one way of ensuring a smooth change and improvement in the society. This also supports this reason that America was founded on democratic grounds, and it is only fair to continue such a tradition (Discussion Group Dialogue). What does it mean to be a democratic citizen? What are ways that teachers, students and the larger community can practice democracy? A democratic citizen is one who engages in the activities of the society for the good of the nation. The teachers, students and the community must be informed, empowered, and assertive about the events and issues in the society. Democracy is practiced through voting, working together, and fighting for equality and people’s rights when necessary. Teachers and students can also practice democracy through promoting fairness and equality in the classrooms and the community (Discussion Group Dialogue). Discuss the different ideological (political ideology) and philosophical (educational philosophy and general philosophy) positions that have been discussed throughout the course and determine which are most suitable to support your claim about the role of public schools in the promotion of democracy. Political principles covered are; Neoliberal, Neoconservative, Social Conservative, Social Democrat, and Progressive Democrats. Neoliberals believe that schools should be in the form of business. The students are the consumers of the education services; therefore, schools are better privatized. In this ideology, individuals are allowed to act on their own interests in a free market (Discussion Group Dialogue). Neoconservatives advocate for assimilation into a similar culture. Because of this, they believe that education should be standardized as much as possible. Social Conservatives believe that schools are only meant to teach the basics and nothing controversial to their faith. They believe that the public should only accept what they believe is morally acceptable. Progressive Democrats serve the public interest over the private interest. They consider the school as a place where everyone has a say and do not advocate for schools to be private. They also wish to promote open-minded values. Social Democrats believe that everyone should participate in decision making. They believe in equal education, do not advocate for private schools, and support schools being managed by the government. The political ideology that supports the proper role of public schools in the promotion of democracy is progressive democrat ideology. This ideology supports equal education, serve the public interest, and promote open minded values; all which support democracy. It also allows the government to manage schools which are very important since it is easy for the government to provide guidance on what is necessary for the nation, hence the necessary knowledge and wisdom required to achieve a democratic society. Philosophical ideologies discussed are; Essentialism, Perennialism, Progressivism, Ethics of Care, and Social Reconstruction (Discussion Group Dialogue). Among these ideologies, a preferred ideology that supports my claim about the role of public schools in the promotion of democracy is Ethics and care. This principle indicates that education should be about promotion of care and building of relationships. That education should be concerned about the impact of people’s relations on the environment and the world community. This presents a better way of promoting democracy since it is through relationships that understanding is achieved. The role of public schools is to ensure people have the knowledge and wisdom to understand each other and different cultures, so that there is stability. This ideology’s focus on the impact of people’s relations on the environment and the world community explains how it supports the provision of knowledge and wisdom in schools for stability of the society. Essentialism may be applicable because it argues that education must be something applicable, but it values capitalism over democracy. Perennialism ideology is based on the argument that education needs to be equal, but uses knowledge of the past to emphasize a philosophy. It also provides a coaching-like style of teaching. Social Reconstructionism considers education as something that should be questioned, and Progressivism is an ideology that believes in education as something that needs to be learned from experience. Discuss how race, class, gender and sexuality create special challenges when trying to educate students democratically. Race, class, gender, and sexuality create barriers to understanding each other because of different ideologies and perceptions that these different groups have. A white teacher may be assigned to teach a school full of black American students. The difference between the races will present barriers to understanding each other, hence a barrier to democracy. These two races have different cultures and different perceptions on issues. The main problem is in the perceptions that these groups present. When dealing with students from a different race; the students or the teacher may not understand each other’s side of argument (Michie, 2007). Discuss how issues of power around race, class, gender, and sexuality impact democratic life/ interaction. How can we ensure all students are treated equally and equitably in the space of the classroom? The power around race, class, gender, and sexuality affects democratic life because the group with the power assumes superiority and undermines the values of those groups with no power. An example is the case presented by Michie (2007) where a Latino-American’s views were always undermined irrespective of her experience and level of knowledge about the subject. She felt that she could help in developing a curriculum and programming for Latino students. Her ideas were, however, ignored since she was a Latino, while the ideas of white people who were not even experienced in that area, were taken seriously. Equal treatment and equitability can only be ensured if the powerful races, gender, classes, and sexualities recognize the privileges that come with their power and give room for equality an equitability to prevail. References Michie, G. (2007). Seeing, Hearing, and Talking Race: Lessons for White Teachers from Four Teachers of Color. Multicultural Perspectives, 9(1): 3–9. Michelli, N. M. (n.d). Education for Democracy: What Can It Be? Group Discussion Dialogue Read More