From Small Moments to Fundamental Principles of Democratic Education

In democratic education, schools are places where democracy holds center stage, where students explore the aims and assumptions that underpin democracy, and where students develop a shared understanding of core values. Despite the democratic promise of schooling, however, schools often fail to prepare people to interrupt racism, classism, gender and sexuality inequity, ability injustices, and the pathologizing of difference in general. We describe three practices we think move us toward democratic education that are aimed at empowering our students to view teaching and learning as a humanistic endeavor guided by democratic principles rather than a transactional exchange between teacher and student. These practices center on attending to students' needs not merely as individuals but as individuals in community, helping students learn to be accepting of themselves and inclusive of one another, and trusting students to recognize the humanity in one another and in so doing to value difference rather than fear it.