Democratic Ideals In American Schools

In American classrooms, many democratic ideals are present. Each classroom may use them in different ways, but they are all around the school system. In each classroom visited during TE-100, democracy was alive. Each school proudly displayed a true democratic atmosphere from the large, diverse hallways of Grand Island Senior High, the colorful, friendly rooms of Holdrege Middle School, or the fun, interactive feel of Kenwood Elementary. In each school, students of all types were all given amazing democratic environments to learn and grow in, and are all in the process of becoming democratic citizens.

Freedom and Justice

In the article, “Teaching Against Idiocy” by Walter Parker, he urges teachers to combat student’s who have a self-centered

They all dealt with them in productive and diverse ways. Grand Island Senior High is a majority-minority school. They have a population of 53% Hispanic, 42% Caucasian, and 3% African American. With these diverse statistics, Grand Island makes it their priority to reach out to all their students. They have signs throughout the school that are in English and Spanish to appeal to a wide array of students and their families. They also have translators that will go over each and every announcement to make sure the ELA students have a comprehensive understanding of what is going on around them. One of the teachers, I observed, Mrs. Kurz had students listen to podcasts, so they could comprehend them at their own speeds. Grand Island offers many options to cater to their students with special needs. They have a school store that the special need students can work in and learn skills such as counting money and customer service skills Moreover Kenwood Elementary School, here in Kearney, has a population of 3-5% African American population. While they may have smaller racial diversity they still reach out to their students with their Title 1 money which they use to fund tutors in math and reading. They like Grand Island Senior High offer many options for special need students. They have a TLC room for Autistic students where they can get one on one help. They can get exposed to the sensory room which can help stimulate

Wells sixth grade reading class. She involved all her students and kept them engaged through the entire class period. When reading their class novel she randomly called on students to read, so they all had to stay “on their toes” throughout class. There was also times where she would sporadically ask the class what vocabulary words meant as they had an upcoming vocabulary quiz. Students worked with their neighbours to draw scenes from their novel. Mrs. Wells made sure that all her students were involved and talking. This is an effective use of the middle level concept, which is according to the article “The Middle Level Concept.” The article discusses,”An effective middle school program is designed around the unique developmental needs of early adolescents (11-14 year olds). Because the intellectual, social, physical, and emotional needs of this age group are different from either elementary or high school students, a customized educational program is necessary.” Middle Level teachers have an important job of engaging their students and having less teacher talk time. Mrs. Wells had a good mix of her lecturing her students and allowing them to interact and learn together. Near the end of the class she assigned a student to show a powerpoint she made on figurative language to a student who had missed class the prior day. Her class was a model democratic society and all her students were eager to participate. I believe that this