Social Action, Democratic Classrooms for

The concept of developing democratic classrooms for social action has been largely influenced by the scholarship of John Dewey. Dewey defined democracy as a way of defining a culture, a way of living together, and a way of communicating. In a democratic society, he thought, education must embrace the personal interest of those involved while at the same time encourage social change. Highlighting qualities of participation, freedom, interest, and social relationships, democratic principles must be a consistent theme within the public schools so that a democratic way of living may become a future reality, Dewey believed. Public schools, then, ought to be places that teach thinking processes rather than focus on memorization and acquisition of compartmentalized skills or facts. They should become miniature communities, helping students to be active members of society, people who understand the importance of both active citizenship and democratic participation.

Because schooling always occurs within a social context, the classroom becomes a place that instills in children ways of becoming part of the social order. Because of this reality, it is important to understand what is being taught both implicitly and explicitly in schools. It is essential to encourage students within schools and classrooms to understand and practice democratic interaction. Democratic schools and classrooms do not happen on a whim, but rather require deliberate and calculated efforts on the part of both administrators and teachers to create opportunities for the democratic ways of acting and engaging for students. To create democratic learning environments that foster social action, it is necessary to promote the [Page 719]structures and the processes that allow for this ideal to emerge from within the school itself. In these spaces, it is imperative that children become part of the curriculum designing, decision making, and planning in every facet of the classroom learning and school-related governance.

By encouraging engagement in a democratic experience, public schooling can avoid becoming a dehumanizing institution that depends on authoritarian structures. Schools that transcend the typical norms and promote the democratic classroom understand that student involvement at all levels of decision making is paramount. Decisions cannot be made solely at an administrative level or even by a teacher working alone in a classroom without the direct participation and inclusion of the students. Every member of the school community should have the opportunity to participate actively in the governing processes inherent to the teaching and learning structure. Furthermore, the searching for the common good must be seen in classrooms where teachers and students alike work together to plan, design, and seek out a curriculum that is relevant, meaningful, and worthwhile.

Public schools ought to be places that allow students the liberation for discovery. Students and teachers need to experience planning together and have opportunities for discussion innate to democratic spaces. Through this shared experience, schools can avoid making decisions that are only democratic in name but not truly in the democratic spirit and instead strive for an enabling climate for all stakeholders to make determinations about what will affect them. When all members of the school community cooperate and collaborate emphasizing structural equity, classrooms may go beyond being humanistic and child-centered, and foster a sort of apprenticeship in a democracy where schools are the incubators for ongoing and future participatory endeavors.

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