Democratic education is fundamentally intertwined with public education; it is critically important for a diverse society such as the USA, as it cultivates a shared understanding among its varied populations. Public education serves the entire populace; when it is effective, it aims to educate and empower all individuals to actively engage in democratic processes. Consequently, public education and democratic education are considered indistinguishable; they are essential for the effective involvement of all members of society and for the attainment of lasting progress. Democratic education is realized when a substantial proportion of the populace exhibits concern for and supports the education of all children, rather than solely their own. This suggests that a society cannot be genuinely democratic if it permits children to mature into adults devoid of an understanding of democratic principles.
A democratic society needs democratic education. When diverse groups or individuals in society must participate in a democracy, democratic education is necessary for their knowledge development, engagement, and progress; it is essential for fostering understanding of shared experiences among diverse members of society. A society is not deemed democratic solely based on the ability of its citizens to vote; it is only truly democratic when individuals can learn about, recognize enduring progress, or deliberately strive to achieve it. Without democratic education, individuals do not learn about or understand lasting progress, nor do they discern the most effective means of attaining such knowledge. Consequently, they may resort to undemocratic actions, become increasingly oblivious to the distinctions between democratic and undemocratic practices.
Sources of Democratic Challenges
A democratic society takes on the risk of failing when teachers do not engage children in learning how lessons or learning activities relate to experiences and children do not learn about and from one another. Therefore, as adults, they may struggle to identify right leaders or make informed electoral choices for the society they want for themselves and/or their children. The point here is that, democratic education transcends content teaching; it is also about how a society must engage and develop its members for meaningful engagement and enduring progress. Democratic education is abscent where teachers do not consider or reflect children’s interests in their lessons and/or engage students in learning how classroom lessons relate to their experiences and enduring progress. Without democratic education, children will most likely become adults making undemocratic decisions, rendering both the society and education undemocratic and false.
Content and Strategy Centered Teaching and Learning (CSCTL)
In a true democracy, children from diverse backgrounds start learning about democracy from their K-12 grade levels. They engage in learning how to engage with one another; they participate in shared learning activities and in developing capacities for shared experiences. They learn about and from one another, fostering collaboration that grows into how they will relate to one another in adulthood (Dewey, 1934). Students’ learning achievements and/or excellence depend mostly on well-trained and compensated teachers who are skilled in educating children for democracy. CSCTL teachers are skilled in understanding students’ learning needs, and they produce lessons that reflect students’ interests and engage children in learning about how lessons relate to their experiences.
New York Institute of Teachers Education
Hempstead NY 11550
