Teaching for Democracy

As we move into the school year, educators may be concerned with how to address contemporary or controversial issues in the current political climate. The social studies classroom is the perfect place to engage students in what our country stands for and their role in shaping the world they want to live in.

What holds us together is not country of origin, race or religion. Rather, it our beliefs in the values spelled out in the Preamble to the U.S. Constitution, and what we agree to via the social compact. We come together as a nation to establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty for ourselves and our offspring. 

As a nation, it is incumbent on citizens to act in ways that support the social compact. And, because we come from different places, have different upbringings, and different life experiences, it is important to understand one another’s perspective when it comes to addressing public issues. The social studies classroom is where students should learn how to consider diverse perspectives.

That being said, it is the responsible citizen that stands up for others in the face of injustice. We know that silence is what did the harm in the Holocaust and so many other atrocities. Our government has been explicit about this when it comes to fighting terrorism – if you see something, say something. We should expect no less when it comes to members of our community who violate the social compact.

It is also our civic duty to hold our government accountable to the social compact. This is why four of the five rights enshrined in the First Amendment prohibit the government from making laws “abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

The C3 Framework encourages the use of deliberative democratic practices in the social studies classroom. These practices help students understand multiple perspectives when addressing public issues. Not only should students consider community perspectives in their investigations, but they should also apply a variety of perspectives from the social studies disciplines:

• What are the economic implications of addressing the problem? What are the tradeoffs in employing different options? What are the economic benefits and costs to our community? Our community members?
• How can we build support for this change? How can work through our political institutions to support the change we seek? Or, is this outside the power of government, meaning that we need to work though civil society and the non-profit world?
• What have people done in the past? How is our context different now? Similar? What can we learn from the experiences of others?
• How does where we are affect our options? What impact will the geography have on our proposal? How might understanding the economic, social, political, or geographic regions help us think about potential assets and pitfalls?

Teachers will be on safe ground to refer to the Preamble to the Constitution, the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the principles articulated in the Declaration of Independence as they explore contemporary issues. They will be doing the nation's work ("its a republic if you can keep it") if they do so to develop deep disciplinary knowledge and democratic skills in our students. After all, “We are the ones we have been waiting for.”