So What Does It Take to Build A School for Democracy?
Deborah Meier
Deborah Meier
According to Meier (2003), issues of accountability, standards and a common agenda have shadowed discussions and dialogues in answering the following question: What do we want our schools to accomplish that is of sufficient public value to justify the above issues? The tradition public function of schools, according to Meier, is to pass on the skills, aptitudes, and habits needed for a democratic way of life. Such skills, aptitudes and habits are hard to come by; the ideal of civic virtue is counterintuitive. She offers the following five propositions to guide schools in preparing students to participate equally in a democratic way of life:
1. Schools need focus.
For Meier, this focus should not be on raising test scores, because this will not close or narrow the gaps between rich and poor and black and white. Instead of teaching a little about a lot of topics and focusing on right answers, we need to teach a limited number of essential ideas in greater depth. “Getting to the wrong place faster is not a virtue.”
2. One size does not fit all.
Every region or school should have a different definition of success because every region and school is comprised of a different set of individuals. A formulaic way to put the “public” back in public schooling thus makes little sense.
3. A democratic school culture would have lots of human interaction.
All agents within a school’s culture need to work together and build value from each other’s ideas, to be open to new views, and to be comfortable defending their own. This includes students, teachers, parents, administrators. Students in particular need to take on bigger roles and challenges within a system in order to later function as adults in a mature democracy.
4. Forms of governance would differ, too.
In order to teach democracy in schools, a number of differences are bound to arise (i.e. the subject matter and content of the curriculum), which will be resolved by experience, not debate; in any case, as in society, these disputes are not reasons to despair of democracy.
5. Reform consistent with democracy takes time.
1. Schools need focus.
For Meier, this focus should not be on raising test scores, because this will not close or narrow the gaps between rich and poor and black and white. Instead of teaching a little about a lot of topics and focusing on right answers, we need to teach a limited number of essential ideas in greater depth. “Getting to the wrong place faster is not a virtue.”
2. One size does not fit all.
Every region or school should have a different definition of success because every region and school is comprised of a different set of individuals. A formulaic way to put the “public” back in public schooling thus makes little sense.
3. A democratic school culture would have lots of human interaction.
All agents within a school’s culture need to work together and build value from each other’s ideas, to be open to new views, and to be comfortable defending their own. This includes students, teachers, parents, administrators. Students in particular need to take on bigger roles and challenges within a system in order to later function as adults in a mature democracy.
4. Forms of governance would differ, too.
In order to teach democracy in schools, a number of differences are bound to arise (i.e. the subject matter and content of the curriculum), which will be resolved by experience, not debate; in any case, as in society, these disputes are not reasons to despair of democracy.
5. Reform consistent with democracy takes time.
Habits of democracy do not develop naturally. We need to experiment in teaching directly, or by example. Society at large has very little experience with how democracy might work, so students need time to internalize these habits. As the York University motto goes, “tentanda via” – the way must be tried.
Re-Thinking Assessment
There are more serious issues than raising our standardized test scores, such as remedying the gap betweens how many rich as opposed to poor youth or black as opposed to white youths are in jail and for how long. A system devoted to democracy should be committed to equity, which is the crux of the latter gaps.
The Great “Second Silence”
This refers to our pretense that the gaps in the quality of life outside of school are matter of inconvenience or matters of poor parenting skills. Schools must be prepared to accept that students’ home lives differ, but rather than merely accepting this, schools should work with these differences as assets, not as deficits to overcome.
Meier offers five corollary conclusions to her above five propositions:
1. Be clear about the purpose. This includes the visions, missions and methods of assessment. We must agree upon—and clearly explain—how and when students are ready to graduate, while meeting the needs of students in varied ways (according to their differences).
2. Choice is powerful. No school should be generic. Schools can better serve democratic ends if they serve as intentional communities for teachers, parents and students. Choice is an inevitable aspect of acknowledging that there is more than one legitimate way to think about democracy and its implications.
3. Size matters. Smaller school populations and smaller class sizes makes some things possible, but if there is not consistent focus among the agents within a school, it is easy to run a small school as mindlessly as a big one. Smallness is necessary, but only sufficient if the relationships within the school are the basis of the public-building process.
4. Be clear about who’s in charge. Schools need to work out power structures. How much power should be put in the hands of the principal? How much in the teacher? What about the student? Public schools are often bound by contractual agreements and arrangements. How can these be altered to foster democracy?
5. Openness makes us stronger. In all of its work, a school must be open and transparent, the evidence of its strengths and weaknesses accessible to both its immediate community and the larger public.
Re-Thinking Assessment
There are more serious issues than raising our standardized test scores, such as remedying the gap betweens how many rich as opposed to poor youth or black as opposed to white youths are in jail and for how long. A system devoted to democracy should be committed to equity, which is the crux of the latter gaps.
The Great “Second Silence”
This refers to our pretense that the gaps in the quality of life outside of school are matter of inconvenience or matters of poor parenting skills. Schools must be prepared to accept that students’ home lives differ, but rather than merely accepting this, schools should work with these differences as assets, not as deficits to overcome.
Meier offers five corollary conclusions to her above five propositions:
1. Be clear about the purpose. This includes the visions, missions and methods of assessment. We must agree upon—and clearly explain—how and when students are ready to graduate, while meeting the needs of students in varied ways (according to their differences).
2. Choice is powerful. No school should be generic. Schools can better serve democratic ends if they serve as intentional communities for teachers, parents and students. Choice is an inevitable aspect of acknowledging that there is more than one legitimate way to think about democracy and its implications.
3. Size matters. Smaller school populations and smaller class sizes makes some things possible, but if there is not consistent focus among the agents within a school, it is easy to run a small school as mindlessly as a big one. Smallness is necessary, but only sufficient if the relationships within the school are the basis of the public-building process.
4. Be clear about who’s in charge. Schools need to work out power structures. How much power should be put in the hands of the principal? How much in the teacher? What about the student? Public schools are often bound by contractual agreements and arrangements. How can these be altered to foster democracy?
5. Openness makes us stronger. In all of its work, a school must be open and transparent, the evidence of its strengths and weaknesses accessible to both its immediate community and the larger public.
For the most part, I agree with Meier and the guiding principles she offers for building more democratic schools. In most all of the schools I have worked in I have seen these principles in practice. I think the greatest challenge is that schools look at the "second silence" as a roadblock to learning, rather than embracing the challenge and using these difficulties in constructive ways.
ReplyDeleteAmong Meier’s (2003) five propositions to guide democratic education, I particularly liked principle number 2 - There is no one size fits all approach to realizing the “democratic way of life”. As James and Shenin described, “Every region or school should have a different definition of success because every region and school is comprised of a different set of individuals”. This point reminds me of an article by Joel Westheimer (2005) titled: Democratic dogma: There is no one-size-fits all approach to schooling for democracy found in Our Schools Our Selves. Westheimer (2005) also suggests that when it comes to pedagogical approaches to democratic schooling and citizenship, there are “no magical connections” (p. 32) or “no-one-size-fits-all formula” (p. 33) to realizing democratic participation in our students.
ReplyDeleteI loved this article. The way she framed the ideas of silences really spoke to me. In staff meetings I have felt like we discuss issues, yet, at times, leaving the most important things unsaid, so as not to 'rock the boat' or offend, so to speak.
ReplyDeleteIt was a great presentation and great experience to have the discussion at the parliament after a nice walk ...
ReplyDeleteI like this article. the way Meier organized the article was clear. I like the five that she mentioned to guide schools in preparing students to participate equally in a democratic way of life and that she offered five corollary conclusions to her above five propositions. "Size matters" reminds me of my school when i was a student. we used to be more than 45 students in one section therefore it was so hard for us ,as students, to concentrate and for teachers to teacher. Moreover, now a days, the new private schools don't allow more than 30 students per section. this transaction made a big different in teaching process for students and teachers.
I found Meier's point regarding Second Silence the gaps between voting patterns between the rich and poor or racial groups for example to be eye opening. The idea that the school experience for these kids might shape their perspectives on civic engagement such as voting is interesting and troubling at the same time - are they being taught (indirectly) that the space of civic engagement is not for them?
ReplyDelete