Democracy and Education

701 Words3 Pages
In his book, Democracy and Education, John Dewey; the father of experimental education, describes how high school education requires a curriculum acknowledging social responsibilities, like participating in a democracy. Dewey’s vision is one in which education ultimately produces socially responsible citizens that are actively capable of functioning in society. Currently, in the 21st century, American high schools are actively attempting to prepare students to be active, responsible, and productive members of a democratic society. Today, American high schools do several different things to show a student what it means to fulfill their social obligation of participating in a democracy. When one thinks of democracy, one thing pops into their head almost immediately – voting. Voting is something that has become extremely common in a typical American high school. One way that democracy is promoted throughout high schools is giving students the opportunity to run for student council representatives and become president, vice president, historian, and even secretary. They’re put on a ballot against their fellow classmates and are then elected into position by their peers. Another way that high schools promote democracy is through the practice of Homecoming Week. Throughout this week a small group of individuals are selected by their classmates to be in the running for the homecoming court, which consists of a boy and a girl from each grade level. At the end of the week the winners are announced for Homecoming King and Homecoming Queen; these results are typically announced at the annual Homecoming Football Game. In his essay, “The Liberal Arts in an Age of Info-Glut”, Todd Gitlin discusses the medias heavy influence on the intellectuality of Americans. Basically saying that the media is disabling American’s ability to apply their own knowledge critically in the real
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