Education for Democracy: It is Not an Issue of Dare; It is an Issue of can (Essay‪)‬

This article operates under the assumption that social studies teachers must teach for democracy, as democracy is not something that occurs or maintains without citizens who have the capacities and demeanors for democratic renewal and growth. In an effort to argue for a democratic ethos towards schooling in general, and for social studies teachers in particular, this paper problematizes No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and other forms of neoconservative and/or neoliberal reform efforts that prevent social studies teachers, and the schools housing them, from teaching towards democracy in the first place. I close with suggestions for changing the educational landscape so that social studies teachers have the freedom and support to educate for democracy. I employ a definition of democracy influenced greatly by John Dewey (1927, 1944) and two of his biographers: Jay Martin (2003) and Paul Westbrook (1993). Democracy understood through these individuals is a form of associated living that fosters the growth of the individual through his or her participation in social affairs. Free, reflective, critical inquiry and the welfare of others undergird interaction, communion, and community building. Unlike authoritarian states, democracy requires its members to participate in the political, social, cultural, and economic institutions affecting their development, as democracies believe in the capacity of ordinary individuals to direct the affairs of their society. Active participation in various institutions--the reshaping and reinvention of norms, laws, and communities--prevents homogenizing authoritarianism, allowing for individual and community re-creation and growth.