Teach democracy by practicing it

In response to the recent student protest at Totem Middle School in Marysville, our staff is looking at ways to improve communication and provide more effective avenues for student voice. I am struck by how clearly this highlights our need to actively embrace what I believe to be one of the primary purposes of our public schools — namely, to teach democracy. We do this best not by talking about democracy, but by the creation of democratic cultures marked by policies, structures and practices that naturally transmit democratic values by their very existence.

In describing her work as principal of Central Academy, a progressive public school in Ohio, Dianne Suiter writes:

“As educator George Wood has often pointed out, in traditional schools we teach reading by having children read. We teach math by having them do math. But we teach about democracy by having them read about it. We at Central Academy view the task of teaching democracy differently. We ask how we would structure our day to reflect the living of democracy, thereby giving our students a chance to experience and learn it from within, as a part of the way we work together. This kind of intrinsic, gut-level understanding of how to be a member of a community then becomes a habit ­— in both mind and heart.”

What would our schools and classrooms (and district) look like if teaching democracy became one of our highest priorities and measures of our success as public educators? I believe rallying around this question is key to addressing the issues of student voice, discipline, achievement, and the overall quality of experience that our students have in Marysville schools!

Jim Strickland