EDU: 3440 Teaching Toward Democracy Course Reflection

EDU: 3440 Teaching Toward Democracy

What are the aims of teaching for a democratic society?

 

 In our society we strive for democracy. It is important that democracy is instilled in our school system so that are children can grow up and be democratic members of their community. But first, in order for children to understand democracy they must first look at the two key aspects of it; colleagueship and advocacy. The definition of colleagueship in the Webster’s dictionary is defined as “an associate in a profession.” The definition of advocacy in the Webster’s dictionary is defined as “the act or process of advocating or supporting a cause or proposal.” However, both terms are so much more than there literal meaning.  Colleagueship means to work together as a team to reach a common goal. Advocacy means to be a voice to someone who doesn’t have the power to speak up. Through colleagueship and advocacy you can teach toward a democratic society.

As a future educator it is important for me to understand the meaning of colleagueship so that I can successfully advocate for my students. My experience in the classroom with my blog colleagues and my service learning project helped me to gain a better understanding of what it means to be colleagues. In working with my teammates on our blog, I was able to understand the importance of communication and team work as we communicated who was going to do what on the blog so that the duties were equally distributed between all team members. We all communicated well and did our share of the work. We used each other as a resource and information center, as we all had great ideas an information to bring to the team. As a teacher this type of colleagueship will need to be exercised with the other teachers and staff of the school. To check out our blog go to http://weareonejsc.blogspot.com/. In order to reach a common goal, you must work together to reach it. I found this to be true in doing my service learning project. I teamed with the supervisor of the Newport Head Start to implement a literacy program. We communicated and divvied up work so that we could both reach the same goal. Team work and communication are the key aspects to colleagueship and they must be exercised as a teacher.

Teachers have the power to advocate for their students. As George S. Counts states in the article Dare the School Build a New Social Order, “teachers become a social force of magnitude; through powerful organizations they might at least reach the public conscience and come to exercise a larger measure of control over the schools.” (Counts) This statement brings about the essence of the important of advocacy among educators. It is our duties as a teacher to advocate for our students. We have the power to do so, so why not?  By being a voice for those who do not have the power to speak and making parents and their children aware of the resources outside of school you can advocate for your students. It isn’t enough to just do it in school, but outside as well. A majority of a child’s education is done outside of school, and to ensure that they are exercising what they are learning in school, it is good to practice it at home and in the community as well. Why not further their success by giving them the tools to do it at home. By being aware of the resources in your community and communicating them to your colleagues, you can help advocate for parents and their families.

(Principle 14) “The Candidate grows professionally, through a variety of approaches, to improve professional practice and student learning.”

Principle 14 states that future educators learn from their experiences and practice. I feel that I am working on principle 14, because my experience in my learning service project really helped me to understand the importance of teaching toward a democracy. By applying my knowledge of advocacy and colleagueship that I learned in the classroom to my project I was able to actively advocate for children and their families by providing them with a resource to further their literacy education. I learned more by actively participating in it, rather than just learning about it in a classroom.

Although, advocacy and communication are important aspects of teaching toward a democracy, I feel that student choice and participation are key to instilling democracy in our youth. By allowing students to have a voice, you are allowing them to be democratic member of their community, and they themselves will learn how to teach toward a democratic society. The article Choices for Children: Why and How to Let Students Decide by Alfie Kohn states, “students should be able to participate, individually, and collectively, in making decisions.” (Kohn) It is important to allow students to be involved in their education. By allowing them to make decision they will be more apt to want to learn and engage in their education. Kohn stated that “elementary students had higher self-esteem and a greater feeling of academic competence when their teachers bolstered their sense of self-determination in the classroom.” (Kohn) Isn’t that what democracy is all about? Giving the people the right to speak up and make choices? Then why not instill that in our children so that they can learn what it means firsthand to be a democratic society.

The children of today will be the adults of tomorrow. They are our future. In order to ensure that we continue to strive for a democratic society, we must give them the tools and resources they need to bring about change, to work towards a democracy. We must be positive role models and advocate for our children, so that they can take what we taught them and apply it to their own lives one day. The quote "the principal goal of education is to create (people) who are capable of doing new things, not simply of repeating what other generations have done" by Jean Piaget, instills the idea that society makes mistakes, teach those to our youth so that when they are the ones to make decisions they will not make the same mistake. It is because they are our future it is so important to educate them and let them have a voice in society. Only then will you be successfully teaching toward a democracy.

 

References

1.      Beane, James A. "A Common Core of a Different Sort: Putting Democracy at the Center of the Curriculum." Middle School Journal (January 2013): 6. Web.

2.      Counts. S George. Dare the School Build A New Social Order? University Press. 1978. Print.

3.      Kohn, Alfie. “Choices for Children: Why and How to Let Students Decide.” PHI DELTAN KAPPAN. September 1993.