The democracy It is the political system to which the greatest value is given in the West, and which appears to be the preferable one both for our generation and for future ones. Throughout the 20th century, most of the world’s countries were subjected to monarchical, totalitarian, or dictatorial governments, and some nations continue to be subjected to them.
It is because of this permanent exposure in the world to democratic interruptions that governments that are democratic seek spread a democratic culture, so as to be sure of its continuity over time. In these cases, it is very common for the State to seek to spread democracy as a national value, so that from the earliest years all people are educated in such a framework.
school democracy
The school It seems to be an area where the early exercise of democracy is very important. In fact, school democracy should be the ability of the children themselves to choose certain things, thus feeling part of their teaching and learning process. At the moment in which they are aware of their right to choose, they are supposed to acquire their share of responsibility for the decision that the majority has made.
It is very frequent, however, that the exercise of democracy at school is really difficult. It happens that most educational establishments handle the presumption of young people’s reluctance to study, so they see authority, severity and rectitude as the only mechanism to encourage them to have a good school performance.
So, it is common for the teachers most identified with these positions to believe that all instances of school democracy are useless, since they transfer power to children that should not be given to them as long as they are not prepared to exercise it.
They believe that the only children’s role in school is to incorporate, badly or well, the knowledge that is taught to them, perhaps underestimating citizenship training, which should also be important. It is also frequent that teachers, even without falling into these ideological positions on teaching, do not provide instances of democracy in the school because they have never been familiar with them and with their importance.
When talking about democracy at school, the definition of democracy is not being restricted to the possibility of choosing between different options by those who will be affected by the decision. In fact, any aspect of democracy can be seen from the school, which includes all kinds of instance in which the back is turned to the single thought and everyone is allowed to express their point of view, whether or not they will be heard.
Examples of democracy at school
Based on the above, the following list will include examples of instances where democracy is demonstrated in schools:
- One of the first issues that teachers inculcate is the fact of not interrupting another when they are speaking. Although it fulfills an organizational function within the classroom, it is an excellent democratic pattern linked to respect for the opinion of others.
- When the course must elect a delegate, a situation in which the mechanisms of direct democracy are applied.
- Sometimes the teacher lets the students choose the color that the classroom wall will be painted.
- In kindergarten, it usually happens that the class has an element (a book, a toy or a pet) that goes to the house of one of the students every week. Equality in the right to belong is a democratic value, linked to the indispensable care of public goods.
- It is common that when teachers discover a prank, they seek to identify the person responsible. A student body that has been educated democratically, it is expected, will not have so many inconveniences for the person in charge to take charge of her acts.
- When teachers correct exams, the mere possibility of giving explanations for their corrections is a democratic element since it goes against the total thought of a leader or referent.
- In secondary school, students usually take a ‘civics’ or ‘citizenship’ course where the more formal components of democratic education are seen.
- Teachers who manage classes in which the intervention of young people is frequent are implicitly providing democratic values of participation.
- Teachers who are guided by a single book or manual to teach the class, whether they like it or not, are leaving a message of unique thought. Offering different sources of information is a democratic exercise.
- Some schools experiment with governing bodies that include all the parties that pass through the school: students, teachers, authorities and even assistants. This could be the maximum expression of democracy in the school.