Parker's discussion of Greek philosophy and contemporary civic achievement gaps in schools

.....citizenship is essential to a democracy. Good citizenship entails active engagement in political issues, which creates an educated and informed voter empowered to make decisions based on fact and reason rather than on emotion and opinion. Good citizenship also entails active participation in the political process, including voting, political activism, and ongoing political education. The opposite of good citizenship is idiocy: self-centeredness and short sightedness that can damage and destroy a democracy. When citizens are idiots, they hijack the democracy by voting according to narrow and selfish concerns rather than by making concerns for the good of the polis. Idiots "place personal concerns (their own and their families' needs and wants) far out in front of community concerns and, in this lethal act of imbalance, threatened the freedoms and rights they were so eager to enjoy," (Parker, n.d., p. 71). Idiots do not understand or appreciate the privileges or responsibilities of living in a democracy.

Fortunately, idiocy can be resolved through education. Education is not just about imparting facts and information to children who can regurgitate that information on standardized exams. In fact, education is not just about preparing for a career path. Education is about empowering the individual to become a good citizen (Levinson, 2009). The achievement gap in public schools between whites and non-whites, or more realistically between the wealthy and the poor is meted out at the ballot box. Those students from underprivileged backgrounds with underclass status feel civically disempowered; they are therefore less likely to be active participants in the democracy. Just as their scholastic performance lags behind that of their peers, these students' civic performance and political education also lags behind. Instead of allowing these students to perpetuate the cycle of disempowerment, educators need to create a student body filled with good citizens. When teachers shirk their own responsibility to educate and empower their students in the democratic process, they unwittingly allow their students to become idiots.

The current crisis in the United States is due to rampant idiocy. Donald Trump's campaign capitalized on the state of "idiocracy" that has festered for decades in the United States, as citizens have become increasingly disillusioned and disempowered. A celebration of ignorance, and a tolerance of ignorance on the part of the polis, has enabled the emergence of a substantial number of idiots who "legally and officially were citizens...but then shunned the responsibilities of that role" in terms of considering the common good (Parker, n.d., p. 71).

B. Parker (n.d.) presents six dimensions of democratic citizenship: deliberation, voting, service learning and community action, knowledge, values, and dispositions. All of these are relevant and important in my school setting, but as educators we spend the bulk of our time considering knowledge dissemination. Civics and social studies classrooms impart knowledge related to the basic structures and functions of the democracy, political theories and different forms of government, the history of government, and related issues. Hopefully, students are better equipped to think critically about their government and their role within it after acquiring this knowledge. More importantly, the students will ideally internalize the knowledge to become responsible citizens instead of simply memorizing the material for the examination. Given the current election scenario, our classrooms have been particularly lively as students are reflecting on their parents' political views. It is rare that a young student forms political opinions that are distinct from those of his or her parents, and it is our hope as educators that we provide the tools for critical thought and not just the facts. The students have been learning about the political process through mock elections, learning how to understand issues like the Electoral College through classroom exercises.

References

Levinson, M. (2009). Taking action: what we can do to address the civic achievement gap.

Parker, W.C. (n.d.). Democratic citizenship education.