Synthesis Paper: Teaching Democracy in the Classroom
Context:My synthesis paper is a research paper that I wrote during the first quarter of the University of Washington Teacher Education Program for a course called ''Dilemmas of Teaching and Learning.'' In this paper, we were to explore one of the course themes - building an intellectually engaging classroom community. Within this theme, we were asked to critically synthesize ideas from three different sources and explain how our own ideas about education were rooted in the sources we selected. I chose to explore the idea of teaching democracy in the classroom by creating democratic classroom communities.
UW TEP Goals and Targets:
Goal 1: Effective Teaching, Assessment and Evaluation
Learning Target 1C: Planning or Pedagogical Thinking Process
The TEP student will incorporate knowledge of subject matter, students, community, and curriculum goals into his or her planning and teaching.
Researching and critically thinking about what is important to me as teacher is an essential step in the process of planning for a classroom. In deciding what my own ''ideas about education'' were, I found that the core of my beliefs were strongly rooted in supporting children as they learn how to be part of a community. This belief has been a central part of my planning and thinking processes as I determine what activities and environments are most beneficial to young learners.
Goal 2: Meeting the Needs of Diverse Learners
Learning Target 2C: Respect for Learners
The TEP students will demonstrate respect for learners as thinkers and as individuals and create a learning community in which individual differences are respected.
Creating a learning community in which individual differences are respected and children learn to work together to build upon those differences is what democratic communities are all about. Researching what this looks like at a primary elementary level, I found that teaching how to respect others and be socially responsible can be broken down into values, skills, attitudes and beliefs that can be taught at an early age. Modeling these ideals is an especially important part of fostering them in a classroom. Respect for learners as thinkers and as individuals has always been, and will continue to be, a primary goal of mine as I develop my own classroom.
Reflection:
In many ways, my synthesis paper is an early version of my core philosophical beliefs of teaching and learning. With teaching democracy as a key point, I discussed building a cooperative and inclusive classroom community where all students feel safe, respected and valued. I suggested that teaching democratic values within a community would lead to a feeling of belonging and that it is easier to grow and learn when one feels that sense of safety and belonging. All of this will hopefully result in an intellectually engaging classroom community where learning is fun. A significant emphasis in my synthesis paper was on the role of teachers, or the responsibility that teachers have to future generations, to shape these democratic values in the minds of children. This is an important, yet delicate, undertaking that should be given careful thought. Each teacher needs to decide for him or herself how best to guide their students so that they not only develop their own understanding of democratic values, but also recognize their roles in promoting them.
Teaching democracy goes beyond what some might think of as ''learning how to become a useful citizen.'' Rather, teaching democracy is teaching the values, skills, attitudes and beliefs behind democracy, and shaping our classrooms to value community. This means teaching social values such as justice, tolerance, and a concern for others. Developing a respect for others and teaching social justice and interpersonal skills will help students understand that they can be active participants, not only in their own education and classroom community, but also in communities outside the classroom and in the world. Teachers have the opportunities to help students see that they are a part of a bigger place and to help them make connections for themselves with the world. Through this, we can teach children to have the courage to make a difference and give them a sense that what they do matters. Teachers can stress the importance of working together to achieve common goals, such as social problem solving and conflict resolution, and can help students acquire the skills to take on those problems. Once these big ideas have been learned they have a powerful applicability. Teaching democratic values at a young age will further the development and deepen the personal commitment to those values.
For teachers, understanding these democratic values is particularly significant. To want to teach the values, we must believe that they are important to know, so that we can share this passion with our students. We must also be aware of the world around us and of the issues that surround our students in order to teach our students to be informed, concerned, and willing to make a difference. To model the values, we must have a firm grounding in what they mean and how to express them. For example, in helping children to respect others, we must demonstrate respect for each individual child in our classroom, making an effort to know each child, to encourage their strengths, and to be proud of their accomplishments. Lastly, teachers must be a part of their own communities, holding the same standards for ourselves as we do for our students. This includes making the school community a warm and welcoming place for teachers and parents and developing a solid and reliable support system within that community. These are big undertakings that will make a difference not only in the lives of our students, but also in our lives as teachers, as we work to give students that solid base from which to move out into the world.
 Synthesis Paper |