Document Type
Special Section 1
Theme
A LOOK INSIDE THE CLASSROOMS OF THE LEAGUE OF DEMOCRATIC SCHOOLS
Abstract
School has been in session for a month; the ten- and eleven-year-old students are in the middle of a class meeting. The issue is whether or not to have a class pet, a decision that these students invariably choose to take on each new school year. Some students are already imagining a gerbil inhabiting a cage in the corner. However, as the class votes on a proposal to have a pet, one student casts a dissenting vote, not a vote of slight disapproval, but a vote of “zero,” indicating his vehement opposition to the proposal. A collective groan of disbelief and disappointment fills the room as visions of a gerbil fade. Some class members begin to angrily interrogate the outlier, for he, while holding only one vote, given the consensus model used in this room, has the power to stand in the way of the group's decision.
Genre/Form
articles
Recommended Citation
Hartley, Vale
(2008)
"The Elementary Classroom: A Key Dimension of a Child's Democratic World,"
Journal of Educational Controversy: Vol. 3:
No.
1, Article 19.
Available at:
https://cedar.wwu.edu/jec/vol3/iss1/19
Subjects - Topical (LCSH)
Student government; Multicultural education; Citizenship--Study and teaching (Elementary); Social justice--Study and teaching (Elementary)--United States; Democracy--Study and teaching--United States
Geographic Coverage
United States
Language
English
Format
application/pdf
Type
Text