Educators' role in fostering democratic citizenship in American classrooms

Education

Creating Democratic Citizens

In American society, individuals are taught that their thoughts and opinions are valued. From this idea, democracy is born. Each individual has the right to have an opinion of any subject and to present his or her idea in a public arena. To determine the best-suited idea for a group, a vote is conducted to determine the most agreed upon conclusion. Since the majority of participants choose the conclusion, it is the one that will take precedence and is considered the fairest conclusion for the group.

The United States of America is built upon democracy.

As a citizen of the nation, it is mandatory for each individual to understand his or her role within such a society. Each person has a variety of responsibilities to adhere to as a member of our democratic society. These responsibilities include respecting others, understanding the democratic system, questioning others' viewpoints in order to gain more knowledge, participating in public ballots, and teaching others the ways of democracy.

As a future educator of American society, it is necessary to promote a democratic environment in which children can, and feel comfortable, challenging others. Children who grow up in a democratically stimulated environment are more likely to become adults who favor such a system, challenge that which is not understood, stimulate others to be the best people that they can be, and possess the ability to critically analyze their environment.

How to Bring Democratic Citizenship into the Classroom

The third grade was a lesson. One of the teachers, Mrs. Smith, was the poster child for how not to stimulate democratic citizenship. She was constantly in a bad mood and never listened to the children's questions or comments. Rather, she chose to become upset with those who were brave enough to question anything. Children who are in such an environment lose their courage to speak up for themselves for fear of punishment or retaliation, which could follow them into adulthood. Mrs. Smith would have been more effective of an educator had she given the students respect and considered their thoughts and opinions as essential by creating a forum within the classroom where open discussions were welcomed and fervently debated.

One of the responsibilities of American citizens is to give back to the community in some way. However, as a child of this democracy, this concept is not widely taught. This responsibility is not clearly defined to individuals when young. As a result, the community becomes less and less of a concern.

Teachers should promote community action and volunteer work. They could create a volunteer group that works regularly with the community or even just schedule volunteer days. The focus is to get the students involved so they may see and feel that they are making a difference. In addition, an educator may, to combat this trend, set aside 30 minutes a week to present an issue of concern in the related subject matter. For example, a social studies teacher may choose to follow and create a project based on a local election with the class, or a French teacher may introduce the students to non-European French speaking countries and their particular issues.

Conflicts

Nothing comes easy in life or work. Molding future democratic citizens requires dedication and personal conviction. The abilities to ensure that all opinions are heard and respect the majority opinion must also be portrayed. However, there are complications to conducting such a classroom.

Some issues carry such personal viewpoints that heated arguments can ensue. The teacher needs to be prepared to soothe any tensions within the classroom and be objective to each person. Certain comments are, however, prohibited. Teachers need to allow an open forum while ensuring that all members of the forum are considerate of each other.

The students themselves need to be ready for a democratic classroom. A classroom where there is name-calling, fighting, and lack of cooperation is not prepared for democracy. The children need to first be taught to be respectful citizens and to control themselves before this concept may be born. This only proves the point that children need to be taught these principles from an early age.

Conclusion

As a future educator of America, it is necessary to possess the skills and dispositions needed to create democratic citizens. These skills and dispositions need to be enforced upon the young to create the qualities within them. The future of society is in the next generation's hands. Shouldn't we ensure that they will make the world a better place?