I believe that teaching
democracy in the classroom can greatly benefit all of your students and is an
essential skill to learn. You don’t even need a textbook or time for a lecture.
Democracy can be used in your classroom every day. Based on the article we just
read, just by modeling democracy and politics in the classroom your students
will learn the concept and be better prepared for read world situations. It can
start as early as kindergarten and as you move up in the grades the situations
can become more complex.
A good teacher should come up
with stimulating topics for the students to talk about so that they can become
familiar with sharing ideas and accepting the ideas of others. Student input can be very
effective. Like the article said, you can have students fill out anonymous
questionnaires reflecting their opinion about what is going on in your class.
This can also tell you a little bit about yourself as a teacher andalso how
much they are really learning. There are many ways to use social studies and
politics in the classroom, the hard part is making it interesting for students
and making it real for your
students. Do you
agree? Can you think
of ways in which to incorporate democratic principles in your classroom? Can you think of some teachers
that you may have had or teachers that you have observed who truly “ran a
democratic classroom?”
What strategies did they use? Or……..do you feel that a classroom runs best
when the teacher makes all of the decisions?
I agree with Monica. I feel that teaching students to be democratic is very important because school should be more than just textbook facts, it should prepare students to be functioning members of the community. I have only observed Pre-Kindergarten through 1st grade so all the strategies I have seen are very simple but what I believe to be good examples. Letting the children have a voice is most important. If there is a decision to be made allow them to give their input and vote. For example in a Kindergarten class it can be as simple as, "Which book would you rather read?" Allow the students to say which book, and why and then have them vote. Its a simple task and it allows them to voice their opinion. I believe this also brings more of a "family" aspect to the classroom. It makes the students feel that they are important too. They aren't just being told what to do all the time without their own chance to express themselves. Because I have only seen this done in early grades I would love to hear examples of how it's done in the higher grades.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree that a democratic classroom is the best type of classroom. Allowing students to have opinions about the class, class topics, the way the class is run, and how effective the teacher is makes the students more involved with the whole education process. This involvement in turn will benefit their learning, attentiveness, and overall grade. Having a classroom which is run strictly by the teacher, allows no room for student input and decision making, consequently having a negative effect on the students. Everyone wants choices and to voice their opinions and ideas, thats why we live in a democratic society, so why not demonstrate that democratic society within your classroom? In my opinion, whenever a teacher shows a student they personally care, it always has a positive effect on that student.
ReplyDeleteI agree that a democratic classroom would be beneficial for students. It gives them a chance to empower themselves and learn how to speak their minds in an appropriate and effective manner. It can also teach them to be open-minded and respect others opinions. One thing I would like to have in my classroom is the opportunity for students to give their feedback to me anonymously. They could write about ways they want me to teach, problems in the classroom, etc. Also, I would love to give my students the chance to vote for things. For example, books to read, how to spend free time, what type of project to do, etc. Giving students the chance to voice their opinion makes them feel included and will allow them to better enjoy their school experience.
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