Summary
Title: Developing Democratic Character in the Young
Author: edited by Roger Soder, John I. Goodlad and Timothy J. McMannon
Publisher: Jossey-Bass
ISBN: 0787956856
Pro:
• Variety of essays from a variety of perspectives
• Education examined as key institution in a democratic society
• Nature of education and democracy studied
Con:
• None
Description:
• Anthropological, historical, and political perspectives examined
• Public needs vs. needs of business and industry examined
• Role of education in developing democratic values examined
Book Review
Unfortunately, our modern educational system can fail students in many ways — and therefore it also fails our democratic system. Most books which examine the problems in our schools tend to focus on narrow issues, like the standards of discipline or how well math is being taught. Goodlad, however, brings together scholars from fields like psychology, history, education and more to look at something more fundamental in his book Developing Democratic Character in the Young.
What is it that has gone wrong? Among the many possible problems, Goodlad identified as a primary culprit the current obsession with business interests which is occurring in public schools. Today, too many people regard schooling as nothing more than vocational training, preparing children for business and work, and therefore the prerequisites for future democracy are ignored.
What is happening here is an error in definition. Although many people see public schools as simply educational institutions open to the entire public, they are more than that. What they are, in fact, are educational institutions for creating a public, for creating a democratic citizenry. Democracy is not something that can be acquired “automatically” through some sort of social osmosis, but must instead be deliberately developed and encouraged:
- “We presume to have a democratic society, one assumes its values and ways through a process akin to osmosis. But in osmosis there is a source for what becomes pervasive. An examination of what is pervasive in our American society today draws us to a source that is anything but purposely democratic — a massive business enterprise driven almost entirely by economic purpose... There is not in the educative surround a ubiquitous narrative for democracy that is more than a whimper when compared with the power and pervasiveness of the narrative of economic utility.”
But this touches on a very thorny issue: what does it mean to be an American? This is a crucial question, and not one which our schools can ignore because American public schools are the means by which our children become Americans and learn to be part of the greater society. For most in the world, national identity can be founded upon things like religion, race, ethnicity and common history. But in the United States, national identity is founded upon political and philosophical ideals.
