Social studies overview and educational approaches

¶ … Public Education Is Essential in a Democratic Society

It's essential for public education to be a high priority from both a budgetary and ethical perspective for any democratic society to assiduously pursue. For any nation to stay democratic and free, it must have a strong educational system that encourages the growth of its children into discerning, intelligent, and independent-thinking citizens. The ethics of providing the best possible education to children in a democratic society has more to do with the growth of diversity of thought and varying perspectives on both local and global events. Only with these varying perspectives in adults can democracy in any given nation hope to remain strong.

There are many excellent reasons why a democratic society needs to have a strong public education system. The first and most critical one is the development of fundamental skills for its children to grow academically, intellectually and from the standpoint of being able to compete globally. The fact that public education is egalitarian is critical for the continued growth of a strong democracy as well; as the growth of intellectual elitism is the first step to a very class-centric society. To preserve the growth of a democracy, elitism over education must be eradicated through the availability of the best public education programs possible. Democracy of subsequent generations of a democracy to remain free begins with the delivery of equal opportunity for education to all children, regardless of their economic, social, or ethnic background.

A second major reason for democratic societies to pursue public education is in ensuring each child has the opportunity to learn how to think critically and interpret events, including analyzing the cause-and-effect of events and their relevance to their lives. The ability to deliver this level of discernment is critical for democratic societies to continually evolve, as is the ability to teach students how to think analytically and organize thoughts into abstractions and frameworks. This is also critical for a democracy to survive as the concept of representation is an abstract one; providing students with the ability to understand democracies begins with the accomplishment of these goals. Finally, educating students on the tasks involved in creating their own frameworks for comparing concepts and appreciating the role of democracy in their lives also points to the need for showing how ethnocentrism and stereotypes detract from the ideal of democracy. The ability to educate students in how to have an analytical approach to understanding democracy further distances them from the ignorance that perpetuates stereotypes and fosters ethnocentrism.

A third and extremely important aspect of providing public education in a democracy is the ethical responsibility of providing every student with the opportunity to discover both through education and trial-and-error, what their true strengths are. The ability for every student to find their unique talents and what they are passionate about equips every student with the opportunity to fulfill their full potential in a democratic country. The role of democracy in fostering self-improvement is a critical to the growth of independent thought and opinion, which is critical for a democracy to survive.