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An Education in Democracy


I believe that the democratic process of our country- as vulnerable and flawed as it is-is our best hope for creating a society in which power and resources are equally and equitably distributed amongst The People. I also believe that schools have a formative role to play in the development of socially engaged, democratic citizens. I find it deeply troubling that while our nation professes to be a democratic society, the institutions to which we have entrusted our children, are failing to prepare them for democratic citizenship. I believe this to be the underlying reason why the American population as a whole has become so thoroughly disengaged with the political system.

To give evidence of the failure to educate our nation on the workings of our supposedly democratic government, I refer to a study by the National Constitution Center, which found that a mere 38% of respondents were able to name all three branches of the US government. Considering this study, it is easy to see how oligarchs have been

able to wrangle and construe our democracy into a self-serving plutocracy. The very structures of our government that were originally put in place to ensure that power did not become concentrated and corrupted are both unbeknownst and underutilized by the majority of American citizens.

More than a century has passed since Theodore Roosevelt openly acknowledged, “Behind the ostensible government sits enthroned an invisible government owing no allegiance and acknowledging no responsibility to the people.” If Roosevelt’s analysis of the US government is accurate, and I believe that it is, then there exist some conflicts between what we as a nation have declared to be a representative democracy, and the system of government we find ourselves subject to. I have heard George Carlin say it best:

"Politicians are put there to give you the illusion of freedom of choice. The real owners of this country are...the big wealthy business interests that control things and make all the important decisions...they own and control the corporations, they’ve long since bought and paid for the senate, the congress, the state houses, and city halls...they don’t want a population of...well informed, well educated people capable of critical thinking."

Carlin asserts, that it is by design that our educational system has abandoned curriculum aimed at teaching the democratic principles and processes of our society. It is my resonance with this assertion that leads me to the position I take on what the current role of public education in modern society needs to be. In the article Teaching Democracy: What Schools Need to Do, Joseph Kahne and Joel Westheimer states my

position precisely. During a time in which corporate lobbyists are spending hundreds of millions of dollars, many ordinary citizens are passive and apathetic when it comes to major issues that affect their lives. If policies regarding the environment, taxes, military spending, and health care are to reflect public sentiments rather than the interest of well-financed lobbyists, they require the attention of ordinary citizens...making

democracy work requires that schools take this goal seriously: to educate and nurture engaged and informed citizens. This reflects the sentiment widely shared by Bill Moyers who has said, “The fatecand character of our country are up for grabs...democracy only works when we claim it as our own.” For more than two centuries, the fundamental principal that drove public education was the notion that schools should inform students about the issues of their time, and prepare them for life within a participatory democracy. It seems to me that this fundamental principle has been displaced and supplanted by a principle motivated primarily by academic achievement. While I find no inherent faults with this objective, the existing disparities in power and wealth means that this objective has a tendency to perpetuate societal issues such as poverty. This narrow objective results in a select few who actually benefit from higher academic objectives. The select few being those that already possess a higher amount of human and cultural capitol due to their inherited socio- economic status. In the article, No Rich Child Left Behind, Sean Reardon explains "I found that the rich-poor gap in test scores is about 40 percent larger now than it was 30 years ago...The academic gap is widening because rich students are increasingly entering kindergarten much better prepared to succeed in school...this

difference in preparation persists through elementary and high school... early childhood experiences are central to winning a lifelong educational and economic competition."

These findings conclude that all the reforms aimed at standardization and academic achievement do nothing to close the achievement gap or address the overall health of our society. Quite the opposite, the reforms have actually widened the educational and economic divide between the rich and the poor. As I mentioned, the national dialogue on education, including all educational reform efforts, have galvanized around the achievement of higher, more globally competitive mathematic and literacy scores. While I do not intend to devalue these crucially important aspects of education, I again agree with Kahne and Westheimer’s assertion that “...from the standpoint of supporting a democratic society, academic subject matter, when disconnected from its social relevance, is insufficient.” In his work, Moral Principles in Education, Dewey examines the consequences of separating knowledge from social action, “What the study of number suffers from...is the radical mistake of treating number as if it were an end in itself, instead of the means of accomplishing some end.”

For instance, what is the purpose of understanding mathematical equations if these equations cannot be used to redistribute the sum total of our world wealth in a more equitable fashion?

I believe that participatory democracy is the only available venue through which The People can improve the legislative policies that dictate societal norms, subsequently improving the condition of their lives. I also believe that it is the obligation of modern day public education to serve as a social tool through which people can develop the agency and skills needed to exert decision making power over the policies that shape their lives; like wealth disparity stemming from the lack of equitable education. Some examples of that power would be the ability to identify their political frontline, organize and collaborate across the political spectrum, file grievances with the leaders who purport to serve The People, or engage in direct action to demand change. To do this, Kahne and Westheimer suggest that students need to have: Opportunities to connect academic knowledge to analysis of social issues...have knowledge of democratic processes, of particular issues...know how to attain and

analyze information...are able to examine the structural causes of social problems and seek solutions...be informed by their knowledge of social movements and various strategies for change. While I recognize that there is a wide spectrum of ideas and beliefs surrounding the of purpose of public education, I believe that this unique time in our political history necessitates that we prioritize the reclamation of our democracy, and reestablish a government of The People, by The People, for The People.

Works Cited

• Kane, Joseph, and Joel Westheimer. "Teaching Democracy: What Schools Need

to Do." Phi Delta Kappan 85.1 (2003): 34-67. Print.

• Reardon, Sean F. "No Rich Child Left Behind." Opinionator No Rich Child Left

Behind Comments. The New York Times, 27 Apr. 2013. Web. 1 June 2014.

<http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/04/27/no-rich-child-left-behind/?

_php=true&_type=blogs&ref=opinion&_r=0>.

• Dewey, John. Moral Principles in Education. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1909. 41.

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