Where we explore a full, comprehensive definition of democracy.
How to teach democracy to young students at school in an ethical way?
Here is a conundrum:
school education is all about shaping the minds of the children of the nation.
It may not be brainwashing, but it certainly is a form of "brain shaping".
And yet, one of the most fundamental values of the first level of democracy is
freedom of conscience: we ought to respect each other's opinions and values.
Certainly, any form of education can only be performed with the full ascent of the parents,
the ultimate guardians of school age children.
Unfortunately, discussing democracy involves discussing topics and value systems
that can be perceived as highly political and highly divisive.
Some parents might react negatively to some aspects of civics education.
Another thing to consider is that the political climate and media landscape varies from country to country.
Apparently simple topics like freedom of speech or disinformation might be fully acceptable teaching material
in some countries' schools, but highly controversial in other countries.
This page is a call to teachers, educators, policy makers, school curriculum developers
to help brainstorm and develop ethical, appropriate curriculum and teaching material
to teach the features and values of democracy, social justice in various countries.
Such teaching material could be integrated into civics classes, history classes, geography, maths, literature, English classes, etc. etc.
"The secret to freedom is in educating the people, whereas the secret to tyranny is keeping them ignorant."
~Robespierre~
The Center for Legislative Archives—part of the US National Archives—maintains some of the most historically valuable documents
created by the federal government: the records of the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate.
Educators can use these historical documents to teach about representative democracy, how Congress works,
and the important role Congress has played throughout American history.