A Democratic Classroom
- ISBN-10
- 0325000581
- ISBN-13
- 9780325000589
- Category
- Political Science / Political Ideologies / Democracy
- Pages
- 214
- Language
- English
- Published
- 1998
- Publisher
- Pearson Education Canada
- Author
- Steven Wolk
Description
- This is a powerful study in creating a democratic classroom, seen through the eyes of a sensitive, reflective teacher.
- Knowledge Quest
A Democratic Classroom is Steven Wolk's vision of a classroom that nurtures meaningful literacy and democracy. Like John Dewey, Wolk believes that democracy is a way of life that embraces the ideals of community, empathy, the common good, responsibility, freedom, equality, thoughtfulness, and critical consciousness. This is his story of how he helps his students learn democracy by living democracy - how he encourages meaningful learning across the content areas and empowers children to think for themselves.
Wolk examines the idea of a classroom as a community: what community means; what community demands of its space, inhabitants, and curriculums; and the richness of learning in a social setting with much discussion. The author offers no panaceas because creating a classroom that is a purposeful community has been a struggle for Wolk himself. He confronts the issues of freedom, control, and "discipline" in the classroom, knowing well the difficulties and complexities that democratic schooling can create.
One of the greatest strengths of the book is how Wolk shows what it means to be a critically reflective teacher who views himself as much a learner, researcher, and educational activist as he does a facilitator and curriculum creator. In his call to reinvent teaching, Wolk argues for teachers who ask questions, challenge assumptions, respect children, and understand the enormous role they play in shaping minds and society. A Democratic Classroom combines theory with practice, offering multiple examples of integrative projects and classroom experiences.
Get the book
Similar books
-
The Democratic Classroom: Theory to Inform Practice
By Arthur Pearl, Tony KnightThis text argues that difficult problems can not be solved without a democratic process. Essential to the resolution of such problems is a reconstructed school that prepares students to become...
-
The Political Classroom: Evidence and Ethics in Democratic Education
By Diana E. Hess, Paula McAvoy" Based on the findings from a large, mixed-method study about discussions of political issues within high school classrooms, The Political Classroom presents in-depth and engaging cases of teacher practice.
-
Teaching Democracy by Being Democratic
By Richard A. Couto, Ted BeckerIt punctures the irony of teaching democracy by lectures and superior teachers. In its place, this book provides a variety of illustrations for the teaching of democracy in an experiential and egalitarian fashion.
-
The Charged Classroom: Predicaments and Possibilities for Democratic Teaching
By Judith L. PaceA passionate and persuasive call for education reform, the book offers crucial insights about the realities of teaching and key recommendations for advancing democratic education in a multicultural society.
-
Worldwise Learning: A Teacher′s Guide to Shaping a Just, Sustainable Future
By Carla Marschall, Elizabeth O. CrawfordA case study approach has many benefits, such as allowing us to connect to local and global people and places; provide mirrors, windows, and sliding glass doors into ... Becoming a Worldwise Learner means being a critical thinker who.
-
Democratic Education
By Yaacov HechtRecounts the founding years of the Democratic School of Hadera and explores the place of democratic education in one man's life.
-
Discussion as a Way of Teaching: Tools and Techniques for University Teachers
By Stephen Brookfield, Stephen PreskillThis book is written for all university and college teachers interested in experimenting with discussion methods in their classrooms.
-
Controversy in the Classroom: The Democratic Power of Discussion
By Diana E. HessDiana Hess interrupts this dangerous trend by providing readers a spirited and detailed argument for why curricula and teaching based on controversial issues are truly crucial at this time.
-
Democratic Education for Social Studies: An Issues-Centered Decision Making Curriculum
By Anna S. Ochoa-BeckerIn the first edition of this book published in 1988, Shirley Engle and I offered a broader and more democratic curriculum as an alternative to the persistent back-to-the-basics rhetoric of the ‘70s and ‘80s.
-
Practicing Judicious Discipline: An Educator's Guide to a Democratic Classroom
By Barbara McEwanPracticing Judicious Discipline: An Educator's Guide to a Democratic Classroom