Dewey’s Democratic Society

A democratic society is one in which its members have their own informed opinions and have the freedom to define their role in society. John Dewey argues that a democratic society can only function if students receive an education that fosters critical thinking and analysis. However, modern-day high schools are inadequately preparing students to become exemplary citizens because schools withhold students in unfavorable settings while emphasizing irrelevant curricula and failing to expose students to the liberal arts.

First of all, high schools do not achieve Dewey’s vision because schools simply follow the “three R’s” – reading, ‘riting, and ‘rithmetic— without presenting them in real-life context. Schools place more emphasize on rote memorization and standardization than on teaching students how to solve problems that they will face as adults. Not only is this detrimental to a democratic society which needs educated citizens to solve current issues, but it is also the reason why American students are ranked 28th in the world for their mathematic skills, according to the article, Fuzzy on Math. American students are mediocre in mathematics because schools teach math by forcing students to memorize theorems instead of teaching them to apply these concepts to real-life scenarios. High school math courses believe they are solving this issue by incorporating word problems into lessons, but these word problems are often completely ridiculous, featuring someone who wants to purchase fifty watermelons from multiple vendors. These word problems frustrate many students because they are often impractical and do not prepare them to deal with actual, potential issues. By failing to teach students how to apply what they have learned in scho...

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...dents in each class allow many students to go unnoticed. Many students therefore feel that their opinions do not matter, as they are just another face, just another body, taking up space. Soon enough, they begin to no longer have their own opinions, and instead choose to assimilate and follow majority rule. Yet, democratic societies thrive on varied opinions. Because high schools are incondusive conditions for preparing students for their role in a democratic society, they do not follow Dewey’s vision.

For the most part, current high schools are not adequately preparing students to fulfill Dewey’s envisioned society because they follow irrelevant curricula, ignore the liberal arts, and place students in unfavorable settings. Dewey calls for an educational system which highlights problem solving and analysis, but high schools today simply fall short of that.