Democracy In Education

What is democracy? In order to determine the proper role for public schools in order to promote and improve our democracy, we need to first define it. I don’t believe democracy can be defined by one term, or one way; it’s a term that people can look at in many different ways. It changes for each person. For example, I view democracy as a type of community where every individual is educated and participates in society, mostly by their intellectual ideas. I believe that school should help prepare individuals to participate in society, but that is also dependent of their families views and religious beliefs. John Dewey, as stated in the first chapter of his book, Sociocultural Studies in Education, also believes that democracies are most …show more content…
In Miamifield, 13% of students qualify for some type of service, yet only 30% of these students attend general class with other students for part of their school day. I propose that we drastically increase the amount of time these students spend with others. I believe that keeping them separate from other students will only hurt them in the long run. Especially considering only 45% of our districts special education graduates from high school, I believe putting these students in a normal type of classroom will help increase this percentage and provide a better life for these students. These students, especially the ones with severe disabilities, need to learn how to interact and learn with others in a classroom setting. Interacting is key to these kids. Most of the time, these kids are taken out of the classroom in order to be taught how to interact, what proper manners are, and such, but they will never actually learn and grasp the idea until they experience and use those tools in real life. This also goes along with the educational philosophy I’d like to put into place. Putting special education students in an inclusive classroom promote the idea of the inquiry, hands-on, learning experience that progressivism is all about. Of course, when putting these students in the classroom, you can’t just put them in there by themselves. An educational specialist will be required to be in the classroom with them at all times, to help assist them in understanding what the teacher says, and to help with certain assignments. The teacher and special education teacher will also have to work closely together in order to adapt a lesson plan, assignment, and activity that is suitable for the special needs student. Hiring more special education teachers/aids will be one thing that needs to be done, but allowing these kids time in a normal classroom will help them make the most out of their