Editm's Note

By Byron F: Radebaugh

I read with great interest and cuncern in ~ u h n Goodlad, et a[., (1990) . .

-:

The dismaying part of our learning during our visits to cvUege and- university campuses was the general failure of the institutions t c ~ capture and build

Social Injustice: The Vital Ingredient for a "Democratic" Cum'w~um

Introduction

Ry Shirley J. Williams

Shirlqy Williams is nn Assista?zt Professor o j Education u t thp Colledye of St. Francis, joiiet, Illinois.

Definition tjce focus~s on the reality outside of the textbooks and the class-

J t~stice is the quality of render- room. It draws from the real expe- in^ what is due or merited. I t i ~ n - riences of the cr:,mrnu~~itv, clevel-

w hen I hegan my inter- est in democratic cur- riculr~nl it was nut the result uf much of the current writing that has been done by such individuals as Girtlux, Aroncwitz, Engle, McClarm, arjd McNeil or the lustorical works nf Dewey, 111stead it is the result o f research I started several years ag{i about McKinley High Schoul in Honolulu, Hawaii. It was then thdt t began tc-r appreciate how a truly dentocratic curriculum ccluld evtilvel~nd as I read cur- rent theuries, I wuuld find myself saying, "McKi111ey students did that." However, one element seems to stand out as more essen- tial than the rest . . . and that was the concttp t of social injustices C ~ I I I I ~ O I I ~ I I t wlucl~ not only affects students but one of which stu- dents are extremely aware and to w tuch they nre se~lsitive. More im- pclrta~~tl y, it is a part c ~ f curriculu111 wtuch interests them-which springs from their experiences. So I needed tu ask 111 yself, so exact1 y what is sccial justice and how is it implemented?

plies conf~~rmnity to and admini- stration of the law through the strict rendering of statutes which aim tri achieve-equal treatment to members of a group. The study of justice has a positive f c ~ u s and tends to emphasize citizenslup education, with its study uf docu- rnents, legal structures, institu- tiuns, and the rights uf individtlals tu participate in the denlocratic prcxless, especially the right to vote. Often caught up in altruistic patriotism with emphasis (311 he- roes and events, justice serves the came of cultural transmissi~)~~, nil- tionalism, and social control. The xood citizen is the obedient indi- vidual who demonstrates knr>wi- edge o f the dominant culture and can imitatevalues endvrsed by the fc~rmal civriculu~n. Textbooks re- inf

writes, "We do not see den~ocracy as a way of life that can be bans- mitted unthinkingly to students. Demtrracy is learned instead as it is questioned,thc~ught about, criti- cized, and practiced, and as im- provements in its working3 are achieved" (p. 127). In a society, whose citizens strive trt have voice and ci~ntrol of the ccl~~di tions un- der which thev live, the admini- strati~m of jt~&ce hy those who govern has received a dominant rnle. It is resistance to the status quo that hwds the cries of injus- tice from the voices for whom de- mocracy has failed. The demo- cratic citizen's concern for change and rightec~usness serves the call of justice when it broadens indi- viduals' experiences to eqzkaliz~ the uneven distribution uf power in its social institutions.

United States Senator Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts stated: "The f u n d a m e ~ ~ t a l test of society is how it treats the least powerful among us" (Kennedy, 1992). Since the writing uf the Declaration of Independence, the United States has praised the impvrtance uf equality as the foundatic~~~ of American srrjety . Christopher Jencks, l iowev~r, has observed:

Almist nobody really wants to make America an egalitarian bclciety. Ours is a competitive society, in which some people do ex- tremely well and others do equally badly, and ~nctst pec~ple are willing tc~ keep it that way. For as long as anyone can re- member, for example, the richest fifth uf the puptda- tion has earned ten times as much as the pcwrest fifth. The ability to influ- ence political and per- sonal events is probably even less equally distrib- uted (Rich, 1992, p. 373).

It is the respect for a n individual's digtutv ancl protection by the state, Ius/her right dissent from the group, to participate in deci- sions within society as a whole, to have dependable knowledge, and the opportunity to use that knowl- edge for change and imp rovemen t which form the foundation of a demcxlratic srjciety, and the heart of democratic curriculum. Injus- tice must be viewed as a vital in- gredent in demc~ratic curricu- lum (Engle & Ochm, 19HH).

Educators often uncnn- sciously maintain the status qrlri fmtering an illusion of reform, i v M e aclrniniswati~711 often shapes the sch~)i>I's orgaruzation (McNeil, 19Kb). Linda McNeil (1986) found schrxds ti) becharacterized by flat- tened content, ritualistic teaching, and disengaged students. Power- Iessness residts in "defensive" teachng strategies that include:

Fragn~entatian of curriculum in which hits of Ccllc>wledge are utvelated to one atlother; Mystification which maintains the authority of teacher's rnle over content matter; Omission of contrc~versial and complex topics; and Defensive simplification r )r oversimplification of work to reduce expectations and effort of students.

Such sbatebGes only serve to ~ n i - tize cc~ntroversy and disengage students from meaningful, real life work.

It is no surprise to educators that schuol culture nlav conflict with the sh~clent's home culture. Current educational research shows that the fadure to engage students i n lenrrung which is re- lated to their l~ves can create schcwl l~ves much different, if 11ot a t pohr clppcaites, to their home livm. If ~ c h c ~ u l b fad to address is- sues of poverty, homelessness, ganp, clrugs, police brutality, and language cliscrimination, students will see xhcwl as unrelated and

sometimes ignorant of the pmb- lenls uf their world.

Language is a reflection c d one's community. Students whose home language is different than the official language of the schc~ll usually function frrlm different culhud harries. School perpetu- ates a culhrre of domination and resistance where cultural m i s - match between home and sch~ull cornbind with broader societal fact~brs, result in Linguistic cnnhl- sio 11, poor selfconcep t, and aca- denuc fdtue UI scl~clols. nsavow- ing shtdents' knowledge and lim- iting their learning power through limiting their first language ib an injustice in itself. However, just as irnpnrtant as supportin): native language while encr>uraging thr learning of their acade~rjic lan- guage in an active, relevant, i l l i d realistic way is engaging stucieilts in the discussion of the sc r i a l , rci b- i~clmic and political structure> which serve to marginalize their schmling and their lives in the community. Contempclrary re- search found that teachers in ef- fective classrrlcjms of Latino shr- dents encourage students to use personal experiences to make sense of their sch(ut1 experiences. Tnpics that may be considered contruversial bwaube they re- volve around c( ~mmunity issues are cnrnmt~nplace in these clnss- roonls and used to expand the stu- detlts' Literacy (Moll, 198H).

Such is not the case i11 must sch(w11s. In fact, most s c h c ~ ~ l s are guilty uf what Michelle Fine (1987) refers to as silencing-a prcKess of institutional policies and prcwedurrs which nbscure the very strial, ecnnc~mic, and experi- ential condjtinns uf stndents' lives. Silencing expels written r)r verbal expression regarding these conditions, and cclnstjtutes the prcxless by which cr bntradic tcirv evidence, ideolclgies, and experi- ences find themselves buried, camouflaged, and discredited.

Thresholds in Education

Accurding to Fine, the process di- verts critique away frl~rn the w ~ t - ~lornic, social, and eiluca tit 3 1 1 d in- stituticl~~s which organize class, race, and g e ~ ~ d e r herarr hips.

The reason for silt.~lci~ig is that the fear of narr~ing--or giving critical conversation to inequities, especially regarciin~ imbalance of power+all activate curiosity or rebellion. Firle's study describes hc~w Clr711~~rc1its ttipics =we ex- pellei1 frtun thc c i ~ r r i c ~ ~ l ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ + e s - p~cia l lv ti~pir% rrxarcling the con- ditit c-c ujh-ibi~ ting tcbsc~ial class, racial, ethrGc, and gender ciivi- sioris. "Ti) ~ i o t Ilallle, i b tr system- atic-,qlly aliel~atr, cu t o f f from ho~ne, from heritage, and from lived exper i~nrr , and 111tirn;ltel~ to sever from their rdl~cdti~jr~,j l p r t ~ e s s " (Fine, 1087, p. 157). Whrn M ic he1 I t . Fine askrd a teacher why racis~ti was nut discussed ir i schcwd, she was informed that "it wru~ld demoralize students, the.: ~ieed ti.) feel positive and optirnis- tic-like they have a chance. Ra- cisrn is just an excuse they use not t ~ i try harder" (Fine, 1987, p. 157).

Schools clften raciically wver the curr iculu~n from the realities of stl~cjrnt>' l ivy>, arlcl teachus we cr:,nrlrin~j students tc, institu- tiorially un po~ed silerlc~. Lnstead, their voic~s 5hc)uld be wcwen into the curricular fabric. S c ~ i n l iujus- tice cannot t~ ludden behincl pro- gress reports and test scores. hi.;- ing consc i~)~~snrss or clarifying a ~ l d / o r c t l n l l ~ ~ l g values is not the way to solve the major problems faci n~ society. Social injustice can- nc~t be peripheral to the edtica- tii.jrl;ll process-it must he central. T l ~ r o i ~ ~ h curriculun-t the world car) he c.o~~fronted-;uld tho% in- eclui ties in the sys te~n can be utif- ized to criticize the problems and s t r ~ ~ c t u r e of one's own society. 011r n l ~ ~ s t move from swing one's r)wn cl>ncerns as the center ~ 7 f the wtlrld and strive to see another point ( i f view. The ability tc I starld back and criticize vrle's irlsti t k i -

t i c )ns and values i11 order to make roonl for sclmetwe else's is essen- tial to clernctcracy.

Change in s ih~a t io~ l s of pov- erty, ~ippressiun, and moral de- struction are dependent up4 111 critical consiioust~rss, biit tnc irt. importantly a c h , ~ r l ~ e i r ~ the social structure. S(uinl stri~ctures drt. rarely discussecl in schtu~ls wtlcI3e main concern i s preservati i)~~ clt the status quo. Tr) t.xpr)se injustice and contradctio~ls lrlnkes ptu)ple feel uncomfortable. It is difficult to expclse undemc~rat jc realities in a s c ~ i e t y that boasts about its demo- cratic ideals. Pet-~ple often tend to treat sbi~cturr? as part o f the na- turr c.)f things, the cclIlsequences of bureaucrar!., and often as give11 or ~ incha~~xcab le . I f education is to detnnnstmte a commitment tcr j t~s- tice, i t n ~ i ~ s t get a better under- standing c j t l ~ n w systems function in society. It must develop skills, sba tegies, and ncticl~ls for social change.

Democraf ic citizenship

became the most valuable

achievement of school l i fe .

Si )cia1 analysis is n key slull i11 stltdyii~g the prciblem of justice. ~ c c c i r d i n ~ trl Hclllnud and Hen- reat ( I YKO), scIlcrll5 111 ~ 1 s t move from describing AIILI identifying problems of injustice in our s r ~ i - ety to understanding the decision- making prt lcebs. Such questions must be addressed as: Who makes decisions, what are the conse- quences of them, who pays the price, what key facturs irlfluenced the decisions, and is the decision o u t of character with the institu-

tivn? Scrid analysis also asks: What is the 1Gst1)ry of these ddeci- sinns, what is the cumulative ef- fect, how did the person Or institti- tion acquire the power to make the decisions, what is the relationship between the concentration of pc.Jwrr in the various secti lrs such as econo~nic, political, t.d uca- tiot~al, etc.? Whd t patterns e~nerge? What alliances havr tormed? What lunits exist? How are norms and va111es reflected i l l the organization, pc.)licies, and de- cisic~ns (Hol la~~d & Herric b t , I WO)?

Scmletirnr~ denic )(:racy stlertls ill-defin~d ur opaclur. I f as Ferliltor Kennedy said, "thr t t l i l l ~ s that bind us as nr prtlple are 3trt )nger than what djvicles us," ttlerl as demt~ra tic citizens stri v r t c ~ celr- brate diversity, they n1115t alscl wi:)rk to identify th~ )st. rlt.mt.nts which destl-ry o l ~ r harmony. Just as society is c~)nctlrned with distri- butiun of power, status and wealth, so must education focus t.111 ttwse issues. It is the cultural diversity of our i rn~nedate and global w c i e t y wtuch creates prob- Icnls clt imbalance aInorlg those g r o ~ ~ p ~ t r i v i r ~ g fo r ~OLticdl and s t ~ i ~ t empowerment. The connec- tion between rights and respousi- bilitieb is unmistakdhle. Students m ~ s t explnre the issues of social justice and develop an awarrne3s of i~~justice. As Viktctr Frdnkl wrote: "I recn~mnend that the Statrreof Liberty or1 thy East Ci last. be supplenlented by a Statue clt Responsibility on the W ~ s t Coastrr (Frankl, 1YH4, p. 156). Teachers must encourage and wrlctvnt* the discussii)n. Social justice cannot be implemented without first identifying the u~justices which permeate society. A student re- cently wrote in her class pIu1ost1- phy journal:

Un ti1 (low, I 11i1ln't realize the politiciil aspect o f teaching. I always thclught that a teacl~er l~nd mrbre of

Thresholds in Education

a n influence on what you know than on what you do. But, if a teacher can challenge you to think in new ways, and tc:, have confidence in yc~ur own ideals, then that teacher has give11 yiiu the courage to act to change your world.

Finally, this leads me tcj think abiiut my o w ~ l gell- eration. We have b e ~ n called thr apathetic F;">- cratjiln, because we ha- ven't really wnrked or even noticed a need for change iu crur wcjrld. So, what drws this say about w h t has been taught in the sch(rils during our lifetime? (Clu~lski, 1992)

Sht. has hit C I I ~ a very key issue. At the same time that wecriticize stu- dents for failure to be coin mi ttrd, or cc i~~cerned, we fai I tc 1 discuss the very issues which can affect them. Disengaged btudents Inay find it difficult to engage in a political prrcess for wluch they lack knowledge and feel pciwerlebs. In order for citizens tcr protect and maintain the chnlleriges c ~ f democ- ~-rlcv, they inust understand the cti,;nt.ction between the actic-rns of gawernment and the actions of its citizens.

The School as an Democratic

Honolulu, Hawaii School is an ideal enkiron-

lnent for t a c k l i n ~ stme of thy very real and important issues of jus- tice. Student5 b e ~ i n n i n ~ in the middle ~;raJes are very ctinscic~us o f "fairness." Hr lwever, they be- cume more cibncernecl about what is unfair. For this rt?a>c)n sc~cial in-

justice as it appears in their lives cjr those of their classmates ca 11 he a vital hotbed of ideas a114 discus- sion. This sense cif justice needs to havr d11 opporh~nity ti) be chan- neled appropriately or "the result can he anKer, resentment, aliena- tion hum schooling, or simply chipping out physically or psy- ~ h c ~ t c ~ i c a l l y " (Nieto, 1992, p. 216). Whrthrr debating an issue, devel- cipinx a crimmunity newspaper, initiating collaborative prc%rarns between the s c h ~ ~ > l and the com- muruty, ur starting a petition, stu- dents can realize their individual and cc-rllective pr-rwer fur change. Although m a n y of these ideas nrr receiving increased attention In current curr ic~~lar trends, sr )me schix~ls have develijped a his tory c ~ f succesb in utilizing social re- fclrm as a compcrnent of their cur- r iculun~.

School is an ideal environment for tackling some of the ve y real and important issues

of justice.

McKinley High Schocil in Hnnnlulu, Hawaii h a s k e n a mul- tic~dhmal ~ ~ r b a n I l i ~ l 1 school fur most id its 127-year tustory . After the annrxatitin of the Hawaiian islands ns ;I territtiry in 189H, McKiniey High School continu- ously grew to serve the needs of the students whcise p a r e ~ ~ t s were part of the everchangin~ Oriental populations working the planta- tions. Instead of an antiseptic cur- riculum designed solely trb de- velr~p patriotisn~ and under- standing of the "great American hertws," McKinley High S U I I I H ~ instituted a comm unity-based

Thresholds in Educa f ion

core curriculum. The daily pro- P a m of English, S c ~ i a l Studies, and a study hall were synthesized intu a unit grounded i11 actual stu- dent and ci~mmuni ty problems. With a curriculum devekjped through the assistance of parents, neighbors, teachers, and students, i d e ~ ~ t i f y i n ~ critical problem> r lo- cal, natinml, and intrrnatiqinal si~nificance, yollnK people b e ~ a n tc j ccl~j~ject their schocil experi- ences with the cc>l>wrns o f vital problems actually faced in their communities ancl their r~lat iou- ship to peciple thrc~ugl~out t11e wc~rld. They focused (111 issues of stxlial injustice, especially a5 it sur- faced among ethnic groups through(lut the Hawaiian territo- ries.

Whether a concern regar i l i~~g the importal~ce of the appropriatr use cof language in a linquisticallv diverse society, or the usr ~ ) f n common language to cliscrinlina te against public school a t t e n d a ~ ~ c e in English Star~dard Sc hc M )I.;, pr ib le~ns of s c ~ i a l i ~ ~ e q u i ty or in- justice were a d d r r ~ s e d as an ungo- ing p a t of thr s rh (a~ l curriculn~n. Problmmb changed as the rleeds of the studenk and the cr )rnmu~utv c h a n ~ e d . Uerrl(~cratic citizt.llship became the rllost valuable achicvemerlt of school life.

Only two years after the im- plementn tiun of the Core Studies, McKinley High Schcujl was receiv- ing national attention. "Without a doubt there is as corn ylete demcbc- racy in the student group o f McKirJey High Schr br )I therr i s in any high school in the wc~rlil. . . " {Boltrm & Cary, 1931, p. 43). I f McKinley had bect m e a 10h1 ~ m - tory school fur citiz~nship, i t ib be- cause it was a m ~ d e l f u r clrnlo- cratic prcwess. The itleans by which Mckn lev > t i~der~ t s cievel- oped democratic rebpr ir~sihility was t h n ) u ~ l ~ ii citizenslup lahora- tory ~n;lrlifestt.d tt~rrbuxt~ its scl~crll governm~nt, an organizatic~n based on dstr ibuted and shared

responsibility. The s t ~ ~ d e n t s car- ried out a l a r ~ e p x t of the activi- ties o f the st-hcwd, wcrking u i ~ t prublems, c o n s u l t i ~ l ~ with iiclvi- sors, and making plelr~s ~ L I i~np l r - r11e11t ~ o a l s ttwy t~aci 5et t l ~ r o ~ i g h 111a1iy ( I I I ~ L ) ~ I I R projects.

Students participated in stud- ies of such community prc~blems as rat contrcll, traffic, fire preven- tion, and cc~mmiinity chest. As a result the sclw)ol received a steady flr~w of requests from local organi- zations and agencies for student assistance in all sc.)rts of enter- prisrs. In addition, there was a conti~lucws stream o f l t ~ a l per- stms ctlrning to the schclol, to pre- sent a vdriety ( . ~ f matters to study grrlrlps and to participate in h s - cussior~s. Dur i l l~ legislative ses- sio~ls and activities of the lc~cal board o f superviwtrs, classes fol- lowed d~ l ibe ra tions arid d~velc~p- tnents with great interrst. There was a continuclus study of local a l~c i territorial prtjblems (Cary, 1939).

5tudent at tendance a t the Na- t i )lid1 Associa tion of Student CI )u~icils c.c lnlere~lct, prepared McKi~de.: ?tudrnts to bwr-me a part I~IY I q t l m c l ~ , ~ ~ n e n t s un- derway on the mainland. Such ex- periencer; helped to brrak C ~ I > M ' I ~ the separatjrln betiwen I-f~ivoii and the mainland a n d helped ilemonstra te th;) t the vc lung pec.1- ple in Hnwnij were 100 percent loyal A~nericnn CI tizerls (February 21,1941, I k R d y FLU . . , p. 4).

0nrc.lf thc' Ley [tiearls c l f devel- o p i ~ ~ x the 11ece55,3ry >kill5 for ~lerlic~~t.atic tl~iuhclrlg , ~ t McKinley H i ~ h Schikd was cc~rr~rn~~riica tir.)u thnii~gh the student titr~lnl and thy s i t ~ t u 11 r~ew.;paper, Tht7 Duily Pit~iorl. The stu~leul ior~utl was ;ln open d i s c ~ ~ s s i c ~ ~ ~ ot problert~s of the school, cclnunt~ nity, and terri- tory; The Daily Pinion was the vibiie of McKinley High Schc~tI govern- ment. Both were meant to help students build awareness of real life issues and clarify their own

thoughts rrgarding them. More unportarltly, McKirdey High Scl~tic did r i c l t attrrnpt to avuid srnsi tive issues.

One of the key means of

developing the necessary s kil ls for democratic

thin king a t McKinley High

School was communication

through the student forum and

the school newspaper, The

Daily Pinion.

In October, 1 9.17, stu~ients rep- r e s e n t i ~ ~ g the clwr shldirs classes presented a forurr~ clrl the si~hject of "Hawaji and Statehcwd" for a visiting cungressional comniis- sion s t u d y i ~ ~ g the same problem. The subject was particularly diffi- ci~l t to handle a t a t ime when pu- litical relations among countries bordering on the Pacific Ocean were crtrrlplicated by the fact that a majnrity nf McKinley High Schoul students were of Japanese ancestry, and the question of Ioy- nlty seemed tu luorn large in the thinking of mainlanders con- cerned about war in the Pacific. Nevertheless, students handled this and related matters with in- s i ~ h t and fearlessness. The speeches of the young peuple so impressed the visiting C u ~ ~ g r e s s - men that they were inclt~ded in the report o f the commission (Cary, 1939).

After war broke out in Europe and Asia, an issue of special con- cern in Hawaii was thequestic311 o f Japanese loyalty, a situation fur- ther cumplicat~d by the ct,mplex prtwss of expatriatiu~i. Expatria- tion refers to a process by which Atnerican citize~ls of Japanese an- cestry who had dual citizenship, wurlld petition the Japanese gov- ernment to dentlu~lce their Japa- nese citizenship. The complexity of the prcress resulted i n the dual c i t ize~~ship status which durirlg war time increased cluestions re- ~ a r d i n g Ioynlty.

Tht. expatriation iswt. re- sulted in ;l p ~ t i t i o ~ i 517clnairrd hy tht. Haw;lii;ln Civic Plssociatior~, suppurtt'd by both japarws~ a ~ l d J - n McKinley High S~hlx,l stl~llruts. The territory- wide chive for a simpler rnethr:d of ~xpatriat ic~n wab the ( . ) i ~ t ~ r o w t I ~ i)f a n r f k ~ r t $tarled by McKinley High School wtuch effected mr~ch of the territorial pclpiilntion. The e ~ p a t r i a t i t ~ t ~ petitiorl recluired sig- rlat~1re5 ot nln~ost every citizen of Japarlrsr ancestry i r l Hawaii. Since uldy citizerls ofjnpanesp an- crsbv were eligible to s i ~ n the pe- ti tic.^^;, McKinley High Schcxjl cir- culated a second, 5upporting peti- tion for citizens ot cither ances- tries. The following letter to sup- port a simpler expatriation proc- ess in McKinley's daily newspa- per was indicative c ~ f rfforts to build community understand in^:

McKi~llry shtdrnts rind their parents are no dr ubt aware o f the ~nrlve~nent, spousored by the Japanese Civic Association to sill\- plify the expatriatit $0 prtwss. A petition is br- ing sent to our Secretary r )f State, the H o ~ ~ o r a b l e Uor- drl t H1111, r ~ q i ~ r s t i n ~ that Ile takr this matter up with theJapanese Government. You are familiar with this pet i t io~~.

I t swms to me that all of us should encourage this rnoverne~~t. We all b e l o n ~ to a ct)nmmnn community. Just now, certain c ~ f our neighbrbrs nre ~mbar- raswd because of this "dual-dtizenship" situ- atirm. Their embarrilss- rment and insecurity hurts all of 11s. Therefrrr, 1 am u r ~ i n g AII i >f rlur students of Japanese aricrstry tt1 5ign ths petitiorl (Nclveni- b t . ~ IH, 1440, The rl& hiu, p. 1).

A deepening ir~terr~?tional crisis threatened Hawnii and the Uruted States, whde feeling3 cif irlsec~ui ty caused people to become suspi- cious uf all Japanese. Students at McKinley High School continued to increase sulidari ty against de- veloping opposition, as their writ- ing frtcusecl on how intergroup ri- valry and class ccmflicts affected the current stahis of Japanese. The schtxd was urged to dwelcip a ci~nmnittee which might deal with such matters as discrimination against Japanese at Pearl Harbc br, stories propusing to reveal the &s- loyalty of all Japanese, cost of Ijv- iny, and unfair "price" raising, lluusing, the fond situation, juve- nile delinquency, detection c)f to- tali taria11 propaganda, and the l i h ~ , And this committee sh\uld take the leadershp lc~ally, in i n a h n g i t clear that we Ameri- iilns-(u~cl ucling patriotic Japa- nese) are nut oppusing the Japa- nese people, as such, but rather a pi~wer-mad group of ~nilitarists that are (but to conquer the world for themsrlves. The important thing is tci take positive steps now toward building a spirit of unity amung all of vur people (March 3, 1941, T h e y P l i u . . , p. 1).

After the attack on Pearl Har- bibt., the United States was respon- sible for one of the most unmoral and unnecebsary events of the

war-the internment o f the America11 Japanese on the main- land. In spite of the high popuia- tinn o f Japanese in Hawaii and the bombing of Pearl Harhtlr, there was no mass evacuation of people of Japanese descent in the Hawai- ian is1auds. Citizens of the Hawai- inn territory fought to protect tllr rights of the Japanese in the is- lands, and almust 10,000 volun- teered for the armed forces. In spite of the heavy Japanese popu- lation only 1,000 were interned in "relucation" canips fru~n Hawaii compared to 120,000 cin the west coast. What became a social injus- tice on the mainland became a conflict to be resolvd in Hawaii.

McKinley stude~lt bcdy invested approximately $3,000 in this pro- ject. Ln additic~n to the orignal film, fifteen copies were made in order that i t could be shown to schtn 11s and comm 11ni ty groups t l~r t iu~hout the United States. McKinley High Sch(w1 students saw Hawaiian citizens as politi- cally conscious and alert; nearly eighty per cent of registered vot- ers vott3~1 in the general elections. Their film was one more effort to encourage A 1110re active study c ~ f cumniunity, n,jtic~nal, and world prclblenls anlong adr~lts. Deiual of statehcsid to a territory that wds such an intrgral part o f the Aiiit.ri- can economy, and politic:. IxnF ,3\ grave an injustice ns many H ~ N ,*i- ians could imagine.

A democracy cannot afford to

have citizens ignore the

yroblvms of which they are aulnre.

After the war, the National Ed t~catic~n Association came few- ward with a plea for statehocd (Giver~s, 1W) . It appeared, how- ever, that the peatest obstacle stnndit~g it1 the way of s t a t eh r~d for Hawaii tvas the fact that its popdaticin wa5 predomi~lantl y 11r)n-Cat~casia n (Ca ry, 1948). The injustice o f racism again had raised its ugly head. Tn deal with this problem, McKinley High Schcx11 students ~ n a d e ;1 motion picture [complete with color and sound) of their activities to bt. shown to schords and r)ther groups in the states entitlrd McKinley isz Action. The stud~nts themselves decided wl~ich scetw about the school wijuld be signiii- cant. They prepared the sets and wrote the commentary. The

A Lesson for Modern Cumculum

McKinltrv Wgh ScI~l~ol teat.11- er5 serve as an example to rnc.lderu educators. Aka time wtlerl derlltc- racy is t)re;lki~lg the iv~)rItI i ~ l t ( l a jigsaw puzzle in w1uct1 the pieces have yet t c~ fall in place, the t4clle of em puwwed citizens becrjmes i r l l - cial. Empuwerment sounds risky to the status quo, hut it is vitnl to any educational system that rn- dorses a plulosophy c~f ptlrsc ma1 grc1wt11 and the develnp~ne~lt of critical learllers. The world picture has changed froin a cartogra- pher's still map to a tntition pic- ture in which the citizens c ~ f thr world have bttccln~e the direct( )rs. Borders often 11o longer exist ex- cept on paper, and the responsi bil- ity for glubal citizer~slup becomes greater. In s t~ch a world, educd- tion gains greater significa~~cr.

As public education in thr Ilnited States has focused cm the challe~~ge of s t ~ i ~ l issues, such phrases a> celelvation of c t~l t i~re and affirming cirversity have he- fallt.11

ticulhlral edura tion. McKinley High Schc~jl did 11r)t servr as a "cc.w:,lir~g tank" for ar.11 btrscerl ts in Hawaii. Instead it was a catdyst for dernocratic gr~twtti. I t lids ;I unique place in r c l uca tional his- tcvy. For many years it served as the I , v p s t public high school in tlir Hawaiian territory. Not oidy did its population closely resem- ble the multicul t t~ral mixture of the islands as a whule, but s c h c ~ d ciirr iculum historically evolved frt 1111 the voices o f its students. Fcir decades a uruilue core c urricul u m, wit11 its s t u d e ~ ~ t gover~wlent sys- tern, a daily newspaper, sch(iol fo- ruitls, and scht~ol community partnerships formed the partici- patory process from which stu- dent d ~ ~ n o c r a c y evtilved into ac- tive civic participation. The cul- ture of the schc.~d had a unique- [less which becan~e a n i m p o r t a ~ ~ t aspect of the adult cummunity- the bridge from secondary school- ing to adulthuud was a natural

References

(1941, Frhrunry 21). Thp Ddy l'lll- jltLLp. 1.

Chinski, J. (1992). Personal Cc~m- tnunicaticin in Jmmd, (October 1992).

cltle. Life dter high bchool was a rnrre ~clrltir~tratic. 1r1 of the habits of tl~r hrart and rrlind which had in- cuhate~l earlier.

Conclusion %)cia1 i r~j ustice and inequity

are receiving more a ttrn tiun from curriculu~n planners. Some schcx)ls are changing curricula to require direct work with thy ur- ban poor. An academic coursta in s c ~ i a l justice ]nay require ct ~ i c ur- rent strid actio11 to serve as a rr- flec tion component. Real life ell- counters with people in need make the thetries of poverty seem abstract and meaningless. Actic in alust h e c t ~ ~ n r the no st un portant outci~me of exploraticms intcb cr )n- troversial issues, while s t ~ ~ d e n t s must learn to du s u m e t h i n ~ abr)ut what they value. A dt.mi)crac y caruw~t afford to have citizens ig- nore the problems of which they

Englr, S. H., B Ochoa, A. S. (1 988).

Teachers College Press.

Frankl, V. (19H4). Man's searchfix meaning. New Ynrk: Wash- irlgton Square.

Givens, W. E. (194K).Statrhood fm w. 32, I&?.

Hillland, J., & Herriot, F. (1980). . . . . .. ~ E ; s ~ Center of Concern.

Kennedy, S. T. (1992). I n Demo- rc>nv&.

New York.

are aware. According to Simon and Harlnin (19h5) "Merely to learn about cr~nboversial issues is to play on the fringes of reality. The step into reality-and toward wisdom--comes when we en- cc~~rage students tc~ involve them- selves in the resolutit~n r i f issues" (Sunon & Hannin, 19h5, p. 35). Will such advances serve hasic hu- man needs and bridge the worlds

the "haves" and the "have nots?" Or will choices be guided b' scientific, eco~wi~nic, or pnli tical ~ a i n s ? Schcuds, however, must s e rv r tc i eliminate i~~equalities. The subj~ct mattyr o f schrulling in a demcr r a ry must be st~cjet y-nt~t a> clilr ionsti tu tion> PI-ovide it5 hamework for ycitt.nti,zl, hut wi tll muscle, blocd, and \kin-xpc.~s- ing i)ur lidndiiaps ,111J uur scars. Our ~ ' . ) a l must be that all pt.c iple in a d e ~ n c ~ r a tic sc.)ciety are "equal i11 life as in law" (Ken~~edy, 1992).

h.lc.Neil, L. M. (19Hh). of ruutrlhl: . - v-

ledge & Kegan Paul.

Nieto, S. (1992). divrr- . . s o c t o p w c u n t e x t

of n i d h m h i 1 i d u a i u . White Plains: Longman.

Eirch, j. M. (1992). h m & j m u ~ V P S 011

11 educatioII. New York: Merrill.

Sunun,S. B., & Harmin, M. (19h5). To study controversial iss11t.s is not enough. 5,35.

Thresholds in Edtrcrrtion

Demomatic Ethics, Politics, and Education: Aristotle Revisited

w Jmt nrr uf dern politics for 0~1r the mea1u11~s ocratic ethics, and vducation lives i11 s c ~ i - ety? Why is it impnrtant fi)r us to qciestir )n, exa~nine, and consider thew concepts and prartices? In Iookinl: f i ,r answer5 to these clues- tions, we need to clevelr jp a critical cunsciou~~wss c ~ f oiir life in sc~iety in terms nf what we are striving for. These concerns are closely re- lated tc~ sucial rlorms, ideology and morality.

In our mr>dernized, cIianlSjng, and dissatisfied sr~ciety because of the quantifird and ~~nlirruted su- c id norms s l ~ c f i as 3uccess, fame, and power, (Heller, 1485) values and idpol( )xies cr ~ncerning ethcal, moral, and political issues have t ~ n d e d tcb s p l i t into two extremes. 011 the m e hand, nihilistic post- modernism ib pervasive. Tlus per- spective is represented in the statements, "valurs art. mntters of persvnal opiniuns Ijkp personal tastes." (Solc~~ni In, 1984) What pus tnltdernists c l a ~ ~ n 15 that there is nr 1 right or wrong, gclcd ut bad. O I ~ V diffrrences need to be nn- tic&, but there is noconsideratir )n ~ j f how those different views of culture and life impact the v i r w s of r bther persons.

Ry Kyung Hi Kim

Kyung Hi Kiln is un Instrur-tor in the Divr t rn~n f of Lwdmship and Er i l r i -a t io~al Policy S t u d i ~ s , Co l l e~r of Eiiucutinn, Northern Iiiinois Ilrrir~rrsit v, D p h l b , illinois.

On the c Ither I E I I I ~ , totalitari- anism and fundamentalism a1 st.) have strckng influences. By insist- ing that "our group is right arid everyone else is wrong," (Solo- mon, 19M) persons lia\;ing these views endanger m t i lti ple value orientatir~r~s and pliiral political voices and pxticipn tions. I n fact, plurdistjc ways of life are de- stroved. These two extreme per- spectives are dogmatically pnj- hibi ti ve to the developnlent of demclcratic ways of life that re- quire praxis of ratiunal discc~urse and agreel~ien t based on nlu tual respect and rect~gnition uf mu1 ti- plicity o f our vnlues.

Now, let's go hack to our origi- nal questiclrls. The significance of demc~ratic ethics, politics and d u c a tion can be found in our as- pirations to achieve uruty of the goals ti1 be a gcxd persr In. t o lead a good life, and to ctmtribr~te h)- ward developing a good sctciety. However, it is hard tcb reach agree- 111ent on univwsal sta~ldards of what c~~l~st j tutes this gcr~dness. The lack chf a ~ r e e m r n t (.)I\ stand- ards brings abc jut moral confusir?n and crisis ill ciur tnodern, or post- mudern society. This cc)~~fusii 111 is clearly represented by the two ex- treme perspectives. But can we a f - ford to ~ v e up our hurnarl rleeds

Thresholds in Education

and a b a ~ ~ d o n ollr e~~cleavor tc l - ward reachinx a11 ,~~rr r rn t .n t? I dcln't believe we car1 do st)! Tiwn, what can we and s h i > ~ ~ l d we ilo with our life, otlittr perr Ins, a ~ l d our societies i11 order t c ~ tt;lrlx-t.nd and transfi jrm these nihilistic and destructive y~rspect ives and idr- c llogies?

1 prupobe that we shotild de- velclp ethical arid moral autot~- omy as inherently related to t l~c actualization rd ~~niclut' I I I I ~ ~ ~ , ~ I I character. W e are rr~pi)nsiblt. for determini~~g charit(-t~r as hu- man beings thrr ,ugh realizing oilr potentialities tc be historical, nic 11-nl, socjnl, and political beings as we s~lectively and critically ap- propria tt! social nortns and rules in tbur partic~~lar life. Here, we c,3n assess the varied functions ( ) f edu- cation ill o u r society. Wecanrlt ~t 1t.t education follow a11d r t c l ~ t w - ~ j te technical rationality t - r~ca~~s r tech- nical raticl~lalj t y dries riot help 11s to advance our m(.~ral autonomy. That very ~nc~ral aiitclnomy is ttw reiluisite fur the ~1evelr:lpment of demirratic ways of life a11d the ~ ~ r u t y of the y,cx~d person, the gord life, a11d the xc,od stwiety. In our srnrrl~ frlr a way of tmnsiending the ~ X ~ ~ P I I \ P id~oli~gieb, I t l l i lk, Aristotle's viyws on ethics, poli-

Fe brua y f M a y , 1993

tics, and education arv very much worth re-examining.

Let me start by quoting Edel's (19K2) overview un Aristotle's practical philosuphy:

Aristotle begins with the gc~c~d as the object of all human striving. The gocd is identified with happi- ness, al-td the quvstiot~ therl becomvs What is happiness? Tcl answer this Aristotle turns to the in)- ti or^ c ~ f the f ~ r r ~ c t i i . ~ ~ ~ or ac- tivity ( i f rllarl. Tlus is taken t o express the nature of the psvctie, wtijch is rq l~~~t rcd w it11 the activity c)f the psy i l~e in accrbrd- ance with its appropriate vir tk~r clr ~xcellet'tce. Vir- ~ I I Y in turn i 5 analyzed as ,I stntr ell cl~aracter cc11)- r ~ r n e d with choice of the mean in dc,rnains of ac t i l )~~ and feeling. The I ~ ~ I I is detrr~nined by a rational pri~~ciple, and that is ex- plicattd as the principle that n man c ~ f practical wisdom would use. . . . At sutne points the nian of practical wisdom is even identified as the one wl-ro chouses what is really g~tcjd as d i s t i~~c t frclnl what clrlly appears to be gr.)l.td- (252)

What we can see thrnugh the nhove siltnlnary is that Aristotle ir~troduced and deveiupeif eth- caUy relevant concepts tied to hu- man existence, its tasks and its prclblems. And we can also see he ur~derstotd that these ethical and ~t~clral cc~ncep ts operated to deal with the tasks and problems. For the turt her clarification and elabo- ratit )11 i b t these ideas, the f(il1owii1g c c mcrp tb wi l l be n~~alyzed: hap pi- less-intellec hral and moral vir- tues or excellences; practical wis- d o n ) - w (ihllice, delih - eration, prudence); magi-

value ratjunality; technr-- p 1 , grwl ratirlnali ty; actualiza- tinn pt.ru)n as a whole, self-su ffi- cient being; ideal s t a t ~ o m n m n n gucd, justice, friendship, unity in diversity; the role and purpose of education.

Aristotle believed that our purpose cif living is to achralize hnppiness which can be achieved through living well. This gc~)d hu- rrlnn life is nclt just ~ i v e n to us. It ~ ~ e e d s to be developed and exer- cised through our active ratiotlal direction in accordance with the highest virtues or excellences o f w i n cbur life. Two conditions need to he rect tgnized tit actualize the xuuci life or 1 ~ p p i n t . s ~ . The first is cc lncerned with our under- standing, intuiting, judging the right a11d gc~)cl virtties or princi- ples. The other is that we should develop the character or virtues trl act arid practice what we know and understand to be best for our life. In other words, a unity he- tween knowing and acting is re- quired fnr a happy life. Therefi )re, two excellences should be devel- oped together: the rxc~llence c ~ f intellect and the excell~nce nf character or moral virhrr. Accc~rd - in^ to Aristrjtle, mural virtue i:: neither ernotir~ns nor sonw nat rlra I faculty, but a rliscipli~led and ha- bi tua ted moral character which is fc-rrmed through repetitive ac titm in terms of what is right arlcl got~cl. In fact, this moral virhie h n - scends the a~umal soul or spirit part uf h~rinan life. It actualizt..; human functions in the sense of putting nun-rational ernotions un- der reason.

The development r:,f intellec- tual and mciral virtues is njn- cer114 with gcxd judgement and the will to chcwse the golden rrlean ~ I I our everyday d(irnair~s c l t actiun arld feel in^. The rnean is a proper, jt~st, a ~ i d right medium between excess and defect. Ttus rrlean is determined by the ra ticjnd princi- ple that a rnan c ~ f practical wisdc>m

Thresholds In Educntion

would use. Recvgnizing, ch[u>s- ing, and following the g o l d e ~ ~ mean in our everyday Life situ- ations is related to the devel(~p- ment of practical T P ~ S C ~ I ~ dr~d wib- durn. Heller (1 9H5) defined prar ti - cal reason as "the ability to ciis- criminate between gouil and ekil, b u e and false, useful and hannfi~l, successful and u n s u c c ~ s s h ~ l , beautiful arlcl ugly, and the 1Ae according to their I~erarchlrnl pel- sition." (231) She adds that this ability of hscernment is the pre- conditicm for our social life. T h r o u g h applying this 1enrnt.d discrimjna tiun tc~ our particular I ife si ttiatio~ls i~~dividually, selec- tively, and criticdly, we are devel- c lpin~ our moral and ethical autono~ny. (232) I11 elaborati~~:: practical wisdunl, Aristotle started by pointing out the mark (d a man of practical wisilorr~:

he is the persttrl w11i1 is able to d~liheratr well abvut what is gcud ~ r ~ d expedient for himbelt, uc)t in 56 Irne particular respec t, p.g. about what s t ~ r t ~ of things cundi~ce to healtt~ i br to strvngth, hut ahc~ut what s i ~ r t s O F thinh.5 ion- d~ice tcj the gtv)cl liir i n general. . . . Now rlcl clnr cl~liberates abtiut ttungs that are invariable, rlcw ahrwt t h n g s that it is irn- possible for him tl, do. Since it is impr)ssihle to deliberate about thit~gs that are r ~ f necessity, prac- tical wisdr)m rannut he scientific knowledge 11c1r art; I I O ~ sc ie~~ce becausr that which can be drme i s capable of being other- wise, not art because ac- tion and ~ ~ j a k i n g are dif- ferent hnds of things. The remaining a1 terl-tative, then, is that it is a true and reasoned state uf capacity to act with regard to the

The Ethics of a Demomatically-Based Classroom

By Gale A. Harrison

Gale A. Harrison is Associate Professor, Drpartrnmt of Political Science, Georgh Southern Univmity, Staf~sboro, G e o r p .

E thics in education in a changing demc~ratic wxi- ety should be based on a belief in democracy as a

principle and a way of life. De- mocracy postulates a respect for each human being's natural right to ntake hs/her own choices for his uwn life and for policies fur his sc~ieky. This right presupposes that each perso; has the intellec- tual capacity, the moral values, and the persnnal co~nmibnent tcn take responsibility for making de- cisions in his own and thesociety's hest interest.

Unfortunately for many teachers in higher education in the United States, i~~stitutional norms do not illustrate acceptance of denic~ratic values in education. In many institutio~~s a herarclicd, bureaucratic, authoritarian model of educational organization is what exists in reality. In fact, insti- tutional values and behaviors are often in keeping with an elitist 111ode1 of education. For those in less prestigious institutions, the desire i s uften to be more like the "elite" wl~ools which encourages the eIite mcdel's use with a venie- ance.

This elite model postulates that cmly a select few in a society have the intellectual capacity, the moral values, and the personal conunihnent to make "god" de- cisions for the society. They, as

authority figures, know what is best for each individual, while the masses of people are unintelli- gent, lazy, and immoral, caring only about thenweives and 110 one else. Only the benevolence of the enlightened, and therefore advan- taged, can protect the society. The current elite teach (i.e., indoctri- nate) the chosen o f the next gen- eration (those selected for higher schcwling tlwough criteria set by the elite in power) to carry on the good work. Since the eli te have the right answers, there can be nods - sent or even questioning of the elitist point of view by mere stu- dents. Only a few will succeed be- cause this is the natural way of the elite world-a society cannot af- ford to have too many elites or they would nut be cunsidered elites.

This model, it seems to me, is based on Hamiltnnian (AIexan- der) thought and at the extreme, on the ptuinsophy of human na- ture espoused by Thomas Hobbes. In this philosophy of htlman na- ture, people are selfish, short- sighted, irrunrral, lazy, and "brut- ish." Since people are basically stupid and bad, their behavior must be tightly controlled so that their natural bad tendencies are kept in check and camlot damage others.

By contrast, a dernwratically- based classrcu~m, where sttidents

are respectd f c ~ r their intellectual abilities, their personal integrity, their good judgement, and their willingness to work hard to actueve, provides an environment fostering success f~~ l learning. In such an envirorunent even pre- viously average sh ide~~ t s can ex- cel. Flowing from the thinking of John ~ o c k e and Thomas ~efferion, this philosophy postulates that human beings are basically good, ha rd-working, prductive, moral, with thecapacity tolearn and with some strengths and skills that can be encouraged tlwough the educa- t i u d process. In this model each individual has the opportunity to be educated to be a decision- maker. Power then lies in the hands nf the people, the founda- tiun of self-goverrnn~ent. The pc7- li tically democratic classroc~m teaches the ethics of personal re- sponsibility for one's actions and provides a safe environment f o r trying nut those responsibilities.

Political analysis of education is asscrciated with the schrllarship of critical theorists such as Paulo Friere. Richard Paul has said that,

Recognition of the s i ~ i a l , poltical, and moral impli- cations of lower-order learning is growing with the recog~lition that both developed and undercle- velopd nations face com- plex problems that cannot

FebrrcarylMay, 1993 Thresholss in Education 19

be solved except with sig- nificant intellectual growth on the part of large masses of people. . . . When students do not ac- tively tllink their way to ct)ncll~sions, w hen they drl ncit cbscliss their thinkinp with other str~dents or tht. professor, when they do nnt entertain a variety of points of view, analyze concepts, theories, or ex- planatiorls horn their own points ot view, actively qc~estion the meaning and implicatir~ns cif what they learn, compare what they learn with what their ex- periences suggest, tackle non-rou tine problernh, ex- amine assumptions, or gather evidence, they do not achieve higher-order learning. [Paul, 1990)

Rhett Diessner notes that the g(m1 of the liberal arts education is 'I. . . the devvelupment of ethical, criti- cally intelligent, mature citizens" (Diessner, 1992).

While there are some opera- tional rules for a democratic class- room, these are not simply tactics to manipulate student behavior. Rather these rules flow natwally from a respect for the student. Betty Franklin calls them "rules for freedurn." I used these UI an upper-level undergraduate conl- parative p~litics course recet~tlv. Tlus course covered political sys- tems in Europe, the Common- wealth of Lndependent States, and lapall-a total of over thirty coun- tries. In addition to two textbooks aud xeroxed hook chapters and ar- ticles, the students were required tv do extensive research for a fif- teen-tc~twenty page term paper. AU exams were predominantly es- say. This particular class was com- posed of an equal number of males and females, one black woman who was a single parent,

one blind student, one European- born student, also a single parent, and a professor who wasa genera- tion older than the students. Thib was certainly a mid ticulhlral group.

t . [ Irarrr ac; [IlLLCh r i m i d in th&auhf the thphl-

&"If an important part of our mission in higher education is to prepare individuals to use g c ~ d judgement and make decent deci- sions beyond the confines of the campus, the issue is huw to do that most effectively. Students need to become au tonornous, inde- pendent learners, confident of their own abilities to assess the nature of the learning task and take suitable action" (Kahnweiler, 1991).

I set the class agenda by the assigned topics for study and the assigned readings, but I allow the students tcl choose their own re- search topics. It is their research, ]-lot mine. Sometimes I am anxious that they have bitten off more than they can chew, hut sometimes I accept that they know better than 1. In this case one student persist- ed in doing restlarch c in minorities in Japan. 1 thought the topic was tuu esoteric with Limited available infnrmation. Hrrwever, she found qi~i te a bit and wrote a fascinating paper, one from whic 11 I genui~lery learned. Students bring me arti- cles, share current events m a p - zines sitch as - discuss politi- cal events outside of class, and share their delight UI new ~naterial they have unearthed. Ann Chisku says, "The sinl:le most important attribute uf a gcw~d student in any subject [is J involvement, or active- ness" (Chiskn, 1985).

Attendance is totally the stu- dent's responsibility. At the uni- versity where 1 currently teach, an attendance policy is the nonn, and a mandatory attendance pnlicy is currently under consideraticln. However, with nit such policy at- tendance has bwn very g a d in

my classes. The students take care of that themselves. In this class one student, suffering frtm last quarter senior burn-out and pw- sonal problems, stopped coming except for the tests. When he showed up cln the test day, his classmate Diimna rolled her eyes and threw me a knowing glance. I smiled. And Jake, who was not coming very often, was catching it from his friends. "Where have yoti been?" "Probably sleeping. He's a lazy bum." Even when a student had g c ~ d pxticipatic111, t ~ e 111ipht be gently chided fl)r fa t l in~ ~ O W I I on his respi>~lsibilitjes. During the fist test, Carl called mtl r,ytlr tit ask quietly if a page or sl) r m e ~ c h 0 1 the first essays would be enol~gh. 1 said, "Yes." B11t Jcmathan, whc, sat next to him, ~ r ~ 1 1 C i n ' t resist. He chimed in, in his m o ~ t prciper tunes, "Yi >u would have kruiwrt that, of cr jurse, if vciu had bee11 i l l class yesterday." I f i t wa:, "iu" I( I be at the 1 ( ~ d s t~ i c l e~~ t I ~ a ~ ~ g o u t at night, i t was eqclally "ill" to be in class the next morning.

Raymtind Perry and Kclrt Perl- ner have found (711 t that stuclents need a sense of control ~ I I order t i t get the benefit of gocd instruction. For a student who is not an "en)- powered learner. . . the quality c-rt instruction may not be as signifi- cant to their learning as the inter- actions and experiences they have in their classrcx)tns" (Perry and Penner, 1991 ).

Oncewhen I wuuld be busy all day advising, I asked Carl, who was Belgian by birth and who had spent his first sixteen yvars in that country, if he wvuld facilitate A discussion of the politics c ~ f his na- tive land. I set the atrnosphwe by indicating that I was sorry to miss this discussion. But I was c~~r ious . J r~s t how many studentsw~)uICJat- tend? I was in the bui lht~g and had a break between ad visees, sc i 1 decided t r ~ see for myself by dropping in unexpectedly under thr guiw of making an an-

Thresholds in Education

niruncement. I knew there wnuld c )III y h e a handful; wouldn't have been surprised if only about three of the most comprllsive were there. What I found totally startled me. The attendance was equal to any other day; almost everyone was there. I don't believe in the technique uf penalizing for non- attendance, but in ths case there really were no tangible rewards for coming either. Thvy cc~uld by pretty sure this material, *it11 vir- tually no reading assigned, would not be covered on the bnwd essay tests. I would not be taking atten- dance o r even be there to see who had cntne to collect brow~ue points for good behavior. This was one of the busirst time5 o f thr quarter, and I knew they were all pretty "snowed under." So what ct~uld explain t l ~ a t they were all in class?

There were onlv hvtl reasons that seemed logicnl. One, they

' I l l I l l wanted to hear ahout k1~' And two, they did not want to offend Carl; if he was there tn talk about his native country, then i t would have been dwfully rude if they were nr~t interested eniwgh to conle I-rear what he had to sily. They were there because they wanted to learn something and because they wanted toshc)w their respect and consideration for their classmate. In fact they were cmn- ing for the very reasons for which many factdty said they would never cume.

tn the h k & e ~ - U. When I have conflicting com- mitments such as professional conferences. I ask students to mn- derate discussions on topics on which they have some special ex- pertise. Since this is totally unsu- pervised, the students understand that they are being treated as re- sponsible adults. For example, Carl wanted to let me know that the discussion had not lasted all

period. He came by my office im- mediately after they had adjourn- ed and told me what he had cov- ered. He said he felt that any more discussion of the basics of parlia- mentary government would have been redundant of past material. 1 totally agreed and approved of his judgement concerning use of time.

At the first o f this class, I asked w hicll studen k had traveled, studied, or lived in Europe. I was surprised at the number who had some first-hand experience. Their percepticlrls were invaluableas we went along. In addition, I share my expvriences. When we studied the unification of Grrnlany I showed sli Jes fro111 a shldv trip to Berlin in the siutuner of 1990, the y e ~ u of ~rnificatiorl. Several shl - dents had also been to Berlin, nrlcl they enjoyed seeing places they recognized. One woman told the stmy 1 ~f her father, who while sta- tinned in Gwrnany with the U.S. military, witnessed a man shot and killed at the Bcrrlin wall. These stories make the political facts more real for the students. Stu- dents nwd tto perceive that the teacher i s a learner too.

Inviting international stu- dents as guest resuurce persons also has proved a valuable way of personalizing the study of com- parative politics and of affirming that students have much to con- tribute to learning. One woman who was very interested in Swe- den said on her course evaitlation that she had learned an incredible amount from the Swedish shrdent who visited the class. Gregory W e p e r says, "Good teaching de- pends on a sense of intell&hlal community, a common comrnit- ment of scholars to approach learning as an integrative . . . en- terprise" (Wegner, 1990).

th. I .I -

h. I find them responsible, re- sponding with g a d judgement. When returning term papers at the end of the quarter, 1 was ex- plaining that ". . . somewhere there needs to be your own analy- sis. Get away from just parroting back what the sources say ."

Then came a thunderbolt, as Lily, in her usual 011-target man- ner, said, "But what you tell tis to do, al I of c u r other teachers tell us not tci do!" It was not said in re- p rc~ch , but only as a plea to un- derstand what they were actually supposed to do after all.

That night 1 really began to think about that statement. They were caught in a bind. I f other pro- fessors were saying, "Only put what you directly take from yotlr sollrces," and I was saying "criti- cally think," they would get graded down by others for doing what 1 said, and graded down by me for doing what the other teach- ers said.

The last day of class I said that I wanted to discuss Lily's observa- tion with them. 1 would be teach- ing a sophomore intrcductory course for ~najors next year, and i was interested in what they thought they were getting in col- lege and what they needed.

Lily noted that in one of the currently taught introductory courses, the students were ex- pec ted to memorize verbatim over two hundred defini tinns of pnli ti- cal terms. I said I knew, and 1 had found srme of those definitions appearing in their papers, but I was not sure whether they really understcnd what they meant.

Diunna: "You don't really want to know what 1 think about it," she laughed.

"Yes 1 do." "You can't 1e;irn a n y t l ~ i ~ ~ g that

way," she said. Lily: "Yes, you can. 1 did." Diclnna: "But you wo~rld learn

under any conditiuns. Lily. You are a learn^^."

Thresholds in Education

Kurt: "1 tlunk that even if we don't remember the exact words, most of us can recall pretty much the gist of the meaning."

"There is no problem with that,'' 1 said.

Dan: "We had to give each definitipn exactlv as it was writ- ten. Even i f we had the meaning but just in rblu own words, it was wrong. No partial credit i f we missed some of the wcjrds." He I )bvi~>usly d ~ d not apprclve o f this methtd.

$1 the debate went on. Katy: "Oiu English teachers say that we are nc~t authorities so we cannot really have an opinion yet."

Dionna, agitated: "But how are you ever going to be an author- ity if you don't start questioning something?"

By the end of the cliscussion, almost every student in the class had had a chance to express some ideas, and they had taken the op- portunity.

Jonathan: "I think that this de- partment teaches you to think. €5- pecially political theory." I re- membered that it was in the the- ory course that his political fights witha very bright forty-ish female student have become Iqendary . "He hates her," one student had said. "They are always arguing, and she usually makes minced meat out of him." But nr)w he was crediting that experience with be- ing one of the most challenging and intellectually rewarding ones he had had in college.

Lily: "Well, in the 'definitions' class, we also had to think."

jc mathan: "That was certainly true in Rick's class tw." (another xction of the same introductory clas>)

Dio~ula: "Sometimes you have to trade off getting an A for learn- ing something."

Me: "But shouldn't an A go along with learning something?"

Betsy: "Sometimes this teacher that a lot of people don't

like, but I do, gives u s tests just{~n the notes but gives us other rnate- rial just ti) enlighten us."

Me: "But the otdy thing that bothers me abtlut that is shouldn't tests cover things that are scry- posed to enlighten you?"

Kurt: "But that other s tuf f helps you to remember the unpor- tant stuff."

Me: "Yeah, that's right, 1 use that too."

Jonathan: "I think the must important t h n g is that the profes- sor tell us at the beginning which game is being played. If we knnw what the game is, we can play it."

Let me pull myself together. That's Jonathan, our most dog- matically conservative major, supporting the idea that there can be more than one legitimate way to do something. I never thought 1 would Live to see the day that he would be supporting a multiple perspectives approach. But in fact his suggestion was a g d one; students did have a right to know up front what was expected.

1 had start~d to tell the class at the beginlung that we wc~uld not use any teachers' names. In fact no student had said any thing deroga- tnrv about any profesbnrr. Even if they did not agree with that teacher's methods, they viewed ditterent teaching; styles as legiti- mate, and swrned tt) believe that all of their teachers had their best interest at heart. Again, I was glad that I had 110t made the mistake o f i~rderestirnating either their com- rrlorl sense or their integrity .

mv studem,. 1 request and expect them to explain and defend their point of view. Often they get into heated arguments with each other, but 1 have virtually never had students leave angry with anyone else in the class (at least not to my knowledge through either verbal or body language). I have had students leave with a member of the opposite pc)int c ~ f

view, usually saying, "Yes, I see that point, but what about . . . ?" I don't deny my own emotional in- vcdvement in these issues and don't expect then1 to deny theirs. O n the other hand, I don't deni- grate them for unpopular opin- ions CIC opinions with which I don't agree, and I find that tone generally takes hold in the discus- sions.

One day these students saw a film about the differences in the life chances of people in the south versus the north of England, the big gaps in l~pportunity, the ap- palling povertv in ~j\ :er~ool and other old industridized towns compared with the wealth o f the London area.

Me: "Why are thljsv fiftwn- year-old girls in Britain 11,j~:ing- children?"

"Well, 'cause they had an acci- dent ."

"No, why doesn't Illat crun- pu te?"

A wornan in the back: "Be- cause the orle said she was on the pill. She went off i t deliberately. Wanted the baby."

"Right. SO why are all t ~ f these teenage& n~aking this chc~ict.?"

Suddenly i i l y spoke up. "Maybe since they don't have any chance of employment or any other options, they just want to have something in their lives."

"Very good, Lily. Same as for lnany black teenagers in this coun- by."

We discussed the problem of massive unemplc~yment and thousands of British applying for a handful of jobs.

Me: "But in reality why dl) they stop applying? What realistir chance do they have uf really be- ing employed?"

Carl: "But they ought to try." Me: "But they have airnost riel

chance even if they do apply!" Carl: "Well, they sure don't

have any if they don't!"

Thresholds in Educntion

There are legitimate differ- ences in perspectives; 1 try to role mudel respect for that diversity. I am sure students became aware that I am a Liberal Demclcratic feminist, but they were also aware that the student making the top grades in the class was male ar~d a very cc jnservative Republican. Hopefully, such rxprritinces aid them to beco111t. more assw tive, a3 well as more evaluative, elf their own puints of view.

Of course this approach is fraught with its own risks. The day 1 said that the Japanese have n o word f o r "leader," Betsy, who was studying Japanese, immedi- ately reached for her dictionary. I had a panicky rn~tment while I tried trjcalnlly rnakemy point and simu ltaneousl y racked my brain fur where I had gotten that infar- mativn. I remembered, fortu- nately, that it was from a Japanese source, atd she, apparently con- temt with whatever she had found, put the b c ~ k back under her desk. B( ,)I, this demcrratic learning can be a rea I pain!

I t r v m t tn c k n y l k ! . ,. the i- . .

Life is holistic; what is going on in the sh~dents' personal lives has a prt~found effect on their academic perfrwmance because they are conl~ected human heings. If they were ntjt, they wc)uld be psy- chotic.

I didn't know Laura before this class, but she seemed consci- entioub. She had come to discuss whether she should drop the course. As we talked, she told me that her mother had a terminal de- generative disease and had been hospitalized for close to two years. Every weekend she drcwe to her hornetc3wn some hours from the schc~ll t o be with her. The day be- fcwe she had felt l ike she couldn't stay in class. The walls were clns- ing in on her, she was suffocating, cr~uldn't breathe, had tci get out.

But she had managed to hang on a few minutes until the period ended, and then she said, she had made a dash for the door. T d a y she had felt less panicked, but again the feelings had started cclming over her. She didn't want tcl drop the course, but what if this kept LIP? What &d I think.

I was overwhelmed at her bagedv, and as we talked, it be- came hear that this discussion was not about dropping the course. She was not doing that badly, ar~cl she did not seem to mind possibly not performing as well as usual. No, thwe was a larger fear. And finally she said it. "1 don't know. They have run tests. They can't find anvtlGng physical. I am afraid. 1 . . . I'm scared . . . I may be going crazy ."

"Laura, you are not going crazy. You are just under extreme stress for a very long period oi time."

"But I could do it last year." "Of course, you can do it for s)

long. But this has been two years. It builds; you're just burned put and reacting to the stress. You think you can go on and do the work? Keep the dass."

"I want to. It helps me get Iny mind off things. I'd like to try."

She came to class must clays and didn't tadk much, but her smile seemed to be coming easier. I wondered at her stamina to stand such hardship few XI I ~ : I I I ~ , vet she kept coming.

Toward the end of the quarter we covered the recent changes in Eastern Europe. The studen& had watched a film on theaftemlath of Poland's 111ove tnward a free nmr- ket economy. All of the statistics and econonuc indicators nn Hun- gary and Puland could not make the impact of the people's faces in that film, for instance the old cou- ple about tr.) lose everything they had struggled for all of their lives b e c a ~ ~ s e nf the move to capitalism. And then there was the wuman

whose family of six shared a twv- room apartment with another family of five, said, "1 a111 scl nerv- ous al! the time, maybe 1 *am going crazy," I knew there was at least one student there who cullld iden- tify with that feeling.

Generally, I find the students responsible in meeting class re- quirements, and in the advanced undergraduate class I do not pe- nalize for late written work. The reasons are usually legitimate. That quarter twcl students were schedulcld for rnAe-up tests, but on the make-up day I had not heard from them. Since I didn't want t c l have to design a third test, 1 asked Jake if he could take it a few day3 later. He t ~ d no problem with that, savulp; ttmt he could use mcore study tune. But he didn't come c3n the test day. Ahout 9:30 that night I received a call at home.

Helln, ynu don't know me. 1 a m a fraternity brother of Jake's. H e wanted you to know why he didn't take that test tcday. He called me this rnorning about 4:OOa.m. to take him to the emergency rwm. He is very sick. They are run- ning tests still to deter- mine whether he will have to be flown to a larger city for emergency surgery. But he wanted you to know what happened that he just didn't skip out. He said that if t hey let kin1 out tomorrow, he will come see you.

Tell him not to worry about it. Just keep me in- formed, and I hope he doesn't have to have sur- gery. Tell him I appreciate his asking you to call.

Jake showed up abuut utnin the next day, Itxkmg dreadfully pale and weak. But he said he re- ally needed to get the test ciut of

lXreshoids in Education

Mission and Methods of Democratizing the Classroom

R rcrntly in the pchitical sci- ence department a t Geor- gia Southem University the faculty participated in

serie? of discussions on the best t~leans; to assess how much pciliti- cal sc ierice inajc~rs learned during their i~rlderqaduate edr~cation. The discussiuns troubled Irle for a 11un1bt.r + i f reasons. First, the clriv- irlg fr:lrce behind assessment test- ing a t Gt3ctrgia Svuthern Univer- sity and a nunlbrr c.)f crther univer- sities is the G~Ut.gt. ( ~ f Ed~icaticin, wluch has its own ~~~our~t i l i r l of prublen-rs to resolve withcr~it c lver- stleingrvalitatic~n c ~f in~titutir~r~s c j f higher learning. Srcr wd, legisln- tors, who have at byst a sllperfjcjal understanding I I ~ the work r> f a professor, tend to believe that an adequate way tl) judge the quality o f a professc~r'r, teaching is to test shldents as to what they learned with n sta~ldardizecl, objective test at the yrld of a four-year degree. Tlurd, r~r~cl I I I C ~ S ~ importantly, al- nlobt all si~ggestions that 1 have t~eard dibcl~ssed-and ones cur- rrrl tlv utilized i11 some places- art. 110 rr~ort. than quantitative rneasiwes t j f n ~ t e learning often t)htaind irl an authriritarian Inan- ner that allows 1x1 rcw:tm for devia- tion. The as.;iirnptici~~ is there is one correct answer tu clear and i~narnbigrro~rs clu~btior~s.

c'hrista D a y 1 Sluton is Assisfar~t Professor. Drpurlmwi of Political Sr:irnc~, Gt*or,qia Sou t h m Ilniversity, S tatesboro, Caor~ia .

From m y perspective, the trends in the in~plernentnticin ( l i higher ~dl~ca t jon asses~rrlerl t demo~~stmtt. the intrusiiin i r l t c ) academic curricr~la and 1-clrltrrlt by bureaucratic n ~ ~ r i l b e r - c r ~ ~ n c hers who d c ~ not ackni)wledge o l . ay- preciate the v ~ y features c r f i111i- versity ed uca ticm that 1 find the rnost appealing and useful in de- veloping citizenship in a demo- cratic society. As a student and a prt bfessor, 1 have found the uni- versity tc-r be a ~n~arvelous envirun- ment to foster a lively intellectual ciuiosity that encourages stude~~ts ti-, challenge "givens," assump- ticjrls, absolutes, and even au thori- tarinn figures. 111 such a miIieu, shlde11ts are encouraged to think f~ \r t l~emselves, design creative so- lutjcbns to difficult problems, and deve1c.r~ a capacity for qualitative ana lys i s in othvr words, to de- velop capabilities esseutial k l r ef- fective partii-ipaticln in a participa- tory polity .

Although in all rny clnsses, students arp r~quirrd to lexn names, datrs, terms, and other facts, I place f # ~ r Int ire emphasis ou CIIIP'S ability t41 evaluate, critjq~~e, and apply htrr r)r his k n ~ w l e d g ~ . I first began tr2 understand this per- spective as a n undergraduate stu- dent in a constitutional law class. I was shc lckd to learn that a law

student, who had W ~ I I I Vanderbilt Law School's award frir the h i ~ h - est c bverall score in a constitu ticma1 law class, coulcl nc~t recall the narnes o f many cif the important Suprerne Court cases I had SO dh- gently memorized for my class. He pctir~ted out to me that as a lawyer, it was far more importar~t to understand the logic and prin- ciplrs rstablished iu Illy upinions of tlir Court. When he Iiaci a need f o r specific case citatic jn5 tu sup- port his briefs, he would .;urlply assign ;l laiv clerk to the task.

U n f u r t ~ ~ n ~ ~ t d y , too lndrly stu- dents enter my claswtiorr~ condi- tioned to live out their lives as "clerks'' t c j the drrisir mnlakers and p~twrr-h1.11dt.r~. They want me to supply tllem with the "truth" and to give then1 precise answers to questions, which will assist their success in n well-nr- derctd, hierarclucal world. They readily defer to my i11terpretatic)ns and doubt their own abilities to contribute to the learning of oth- ers.

It has becibme i~~creasingl y cle,ar to me over the years that 1 have been teaching that a ~rlajor part of the problem with getting students ti) think f( ~r themselves, t c ~ valuate, and to create is the authoritarian t~acliirlg styles to whicl-r so rnany shrder~ts are e k -

FebruarylMay, 1 993 Thresholds in Education 27

posed most of their lives. As a teacher and researcher, I have con- cluded that process and content are intvrt wined and that bhe ends are affected by the means. There- fore, i f my clverriding goal is t r ) aid in the develvp~nent of origi11;ll thinkers and empowered iitizrns, I must use methods that s t~ppcr t such ends.

Methods of Democratizing the Classroom

T l ~ e Urliv~rsity cd Hnwa~i, where 1 b e ~ a n trilci~i~lg, offered practictun cclt~ rws for advanced underpad~tates. Each professor could chrwse the s u b j ~ t and con- tent cjt practicunls that were dr- signed tc) provide practical experi- euce with intellecti~al inquiry and analysis. Since my own rebearch as a political scientist is on citizen participatiun and d~s ign 4 1 f demu- cratic instih~tiuns, I f( ~i ind the practicum t11 be the ideal setting to cnmbine my own research inter- ~ s t b w1t11 teaclung. Therefure, 1 P\- perunetlted with methcds to em- power students in the classrix~rrl and beyund by co-designing and teaclung hyt ) C l i f f e r ~ ~ ~ t C O L U S ~ S with pi)litical scientist Thetdore Becker.

Ideiutc. The hrst practicum w e cleveluped was a methodology course un survey research. Becker ( 7 SHl ) and I had adapted a po1li11g methid-Televott-des~Rnej by Vincent Campbell, which 3c1ugl1t tc) obtain infor~ned and deliber- ated opinions. Campbell's (1474) Televote systrrrl provided illfor- rr~atiun {in pc~bl~c policy issues (fack, irpticu13, and pro and con cwgunlents f o r alternatives) and gave respondents (anyone over 14 years old, who vnl unteered to par- ticipate) a few clays to think abriut

the issue before delivering their opi~Gi)ns.

Durin~; the summer of 1978 we mudifivd Ca~lphell 's mtlth~ MI tu survey 400 ra~ldoml y-selec ted Hawaii voters on issues being ad - dressed at the ongoing state con- stitutional conventic~n. 'CVe used the class several time> c lver the next seven years t t b address legis- lative issues a5 well. Our prac- t ic i rm class designed, ctinducted, evaluated, and distributed the survey. The class itself was rlrgan- izrd in a quasi-dmucratic fnsh- ion. Whle the prcifessc jrs str ~ic - tured the class and detertilined reading assigninents and evdu- aticin procedures, students chose the issues t~ r be featured ~ I I the pul Is, resrarclwd the issues, de- s i ~ n r d the questic~~inaire, and es- tahlibhed rotating committee as- signments so that evprytmv par- ticipated in every cr lmpt 311ent of the survey. Everyone, including the professors, rnadr phune calls to solicit opinions, 111ailed clues- t ionr~ires , recorded responses, ccded answers, and e~~terecl CC~II I - puter data. When the resr~lts were all in, we ciiscr~ssed as a team how to analyze the data. We sent {.but press releases and Iwld presb ccm- ferences, which often led to televi- sion, radio, and newspaper cover- age of our findings. Students de- signed visual n i c h fur the press con ferenct., delivered results, and responded ti) questicms. And f i - nally,, they hand-delivered thy re- scdts t{i delegates, legislatr )rs, a d other gc werntnent leadrrs.

The prrductivity of the clnss was extrad.~dinarily high. Shr- dents cti~~unjttrrl themselves to three hours of work per week for each l~ci l~r c i f crrd i t they obtai~led for the course. They supervised eaih (.Ither and learned how the entire project suffered w\wn one perm1 failed to fulfdl 111s I:)r her responsibilities. Because there is always doublechecking rd all tasks in conducting survtly~;, stll-

rlents learned h r ~ w others are af- fected and the prcject is slowed by careless, slc~ppy work.

The envirvnnle~~t was vibrant as sttldents nlovrcl effective)): frt 1111 one stage of thr survey t t r the other. There were Illany ciifficult nloments, however, stlch as, wlle11 o n r was rejected wveriil tir~les in a row 1.v pc ~tential respondents. O n rare t )kcasit~~~s, the prrsc.)rl reac t~ed by the student wtluld react very angrily tc~ being bothered at hc unt. or express srrspicion that thr s t ~ r - dent was trying t o sell st1111rthi11g. To alleviate fear ot rtjrctjori and to ease the trnsir ,n of cdlling strang- ers t c j request their tlelp, we con- ducted all o f oilr pt~orie calls in a large rc-r Im with a y11o11e bank and M: hel.t. ~ t l ~ e r activities were ~oi11g ibn. Alsti, the professors sat s~~IP by side with the students il11~1 ex- postlci themselves to t 1 1 ~ sa lw risks. The iictivity bvc'alnr j~ lvial and ~upprlrtive, with everyclrir pitcl-~ing in tcl raise the spirits o f the student or prc.~f~ssor facing the rejecticm3 a n d cheeri11): in th i~sr rnriments whe11 one was h a v i n ~ bernendous siicces5 in sig11i11g up respondents.

Everytime we ~c.wdr~itrti the class, WP participated with thestu- dents it1 performinx all ttw tasks frum the most creative nrlrl intel- lectual t ~ , the I ~ C I S ~ r o t ~ t i ~ ~ t ' and h o r i ~ ~ g . Thr( ,ugh that prtress, wr also learned how ttj improve twr prt r r d i ~ r c s , which we revised continuously o n the basis of new knc~wledge gained. Not 011ly clo we believe wr cred1ted a course that provided sttldpnts with many t~se f l~ l skills, helped them ~ ~ i i d e r - stand the value c ~ i tean~work a ~ i d being responsible, but we also cle- si~nuil: a teaching process that njade us ronstantly rrt.vnlu,3t~ and allr~wed us to learn fn Iln t ~ i r students.

use of the prtjctjcl]~1~ was a mr~iin- tic111 trajninx class that Bt.cker (19H1) and 1 designed that cum-

Thresholds in Education

b i n d tradi tic lnal teac tung nleth- t~dt; wi t t ~ observati( bus of experi- ellced oleiliatc~rs irl ac tic )n and vidrc~ recurding and playback of stcldents i 11 bimulations. W e de- vttlc~pecl tire class ir l c.c.~nj~ir~ctic.~r~ with the Ccltl~munity Mediation Service (CMS) we established in the i~r~iversity, which was oper- ated hy vt llutltwr s tude~~ts, fac- itlty, and rnernbers of the conunu- r ~ i t i . CMS was democratically structured sc~ that who wilrked iu t l ~ t i center was (.In the Board ut Direct(1rs and partici- pdted in cievelr~piny: the pcllicies arid prt~clecl ures of the nledia tion r;err!icr. C h i ring &lard meetings wns dorw or1 a rotating basis st1 that ttvet4y vi~lunteer-from yc~uugr;tt~~Ient tc I retired worker- plavecl a key role iu the orga~liza- tion.

111 ttw media ticw training class, student3 not only read buoks and articles that discussed the the- ury, history, and effective~~ess of 111ediiitio11 rnethrlds as a form of dispute resttl~ltion in contrast to other methcds, but they read a Waining manual we wrote to pro- vide the practical s k d s needed to ct ,nduct succrssf 111 tnedia tiuns. Lear~ung t~ b apply ~nediations sk i l l s becallit. [I challenge for stu- dents in the simulations and role playing feature 11f the course. Stu- dent3 hecanir kee111y aware that the application of one's knowl- edge is mr~cll mclrt. difficult than is llftel) ass~i~necl.

All simt~latjrrns were vide- utaped for s t ~ r d r n t ~ tcl observe and critique during the succeeding class. W r fiwnJ the video play- back t i ) be an vssen tial ct 1111 pc 111ent fl)r the stuclent,c to reaJizr hr)w they ci)~iductrd themselves in the ~ndiatirbl~. [Ale's pe~crptivn t>r rrri~llertion of an event is nften in rjjntrast wit11 the perception or 1llrinl)ry of c~tliers. We found 5t11- dents less defensive and mory willing t t) be self-critical and to alter rbld patterns if they actllally

saw for themselves what they weredoing. Noamclunt c.~f cri tique frt 1111 professors or students was as effective as the student's own rec- c.lgnition of the pruhlern. The cri- tiques were always combined with a positive and consbuctive element. F(x instance, the stu- dents who played the role of dis- putants would suggest other tac- tics Crr questions the mediators ct?uld have used that would have made them more receptive to rnovin~ in the drrecticm c>f conflict resolution. The professors wuuld alsu offer a number of alternatives or ask them to consider the reper- cussions of other tactics.

Another in-tpcjrtant feature of the class that was specifically added to encclurage and nurture demtrratic behavior is that most simulations were dune with a panel of three mecliators. We taught them how to work tugether as a team. Part of that training in- clud ed discussic)ns ctf the varictu s strengths and weaknesses of each and a recognition that the most successful efforts in mediation oc- curred when the multitude o f tal- ents of the team was utilizecl. We also stressed methods that ct~l t i - vated medators whcl listen more than they talk. With the video playback students could clearly see that mediators who ignored their tean~tnates and tried to tell disputants what they should dc, (as npposed to listening to what they wanted) were often the ones that prevented prt-rpess in the resnlutinn o f the dispute.

We again f o u ~ ~ d the class as an opportunity to learn from our stu- dents and about ourselves. As we worked to establish a mcdel of teamwork, we nuticed a drama tic improvement in our own ccn-)per- ative ventures. We discovered how beneficial it could be for stu- dents to be team taught by profes- sors whu have very different styles and personalities as b11g as

we worked with each other and not against each other.

Creative Projech

The department in whjch I now teach d w s not offer prac- ticums for academic credit. There- fore, 1 have been motivated to be more creative in n-ty Inure badi- tionally structured classes. The ex- perience of moving f ro~n a multi- cultural university with a diverse student populatic~n in a large ttr- ban environment to a small South- ern town with a relatively hct- mogenous population has made me realize that teaching is both art and science. I discovered that some practices that were produc- tive in Honolulu were not met with enthusiasm ~ I I rural Genr~ia . I had to adapt to students who had grclwn u p in a traditional setting, which encouraged deference tn authority. To get students in- vulved in classroom participatio~~ projects and dialogue was Inore of a challenge than I had faced pre- viously. After Inany informal dis- cusshns with faculty ancl stu- dents, I began to gather an under- standing of the di fferent qualities and interests of students and ex- perimented with methods that might tap into their own creativity and hence their own interpreta- tions. There were two projects that were particularly successful in a course un A1nerica11 political thought that I tallght tlus year.

~ c - 1 1 ~ claw. Students had quite a heavy readmg assign- ment in the class and were some- times having difficulty undw- standing their readings. 1 began to notice a few wwks into the course that they were cou~~t ing on ole to tell them what the au thurs meallt. Shortly after expressing to them the dangers uf allowing any pro- fessor, politician, or person in authority to define reality for them, I read an editorial that very cleverly addressed soIne of the

Thresholds in Education

theoreticd nud pc~liticnt wsues we tiad rrcrrltly discussed.

The class hnd jitst cctmpleted r ea~ l inp crf Scwinl Darwinists and Socinlists, which were writteu during America's enrly cl~velcbp- rnent of ~ndustrializabi~n dr~d growth ( i f large :etninopolirs The editorial suggested that the pr lptl- lar Mr~nopoly ganie by Parker Bruthers shr~uld he redesigned to reflect the political and eco~~rtmic realities of the 1990s. I suggested the venture tc~ sh~dentb and sev- eral eagerly accepted the chal- lenge. They found that in estab- lishing the ground rules for the game, they really did have to evaluate the ecrtnonuc and politi- cal environment and discuss who benefitted and who suffered from American rconomic policies. 111 the prtress of examnirling these is- sues, they began tc~ connect their own thinking to the thoughts ex- prebsed by W & m Crahamn Sumner, Eugene Debs, Henry Da- merst Lloyd, Frederick Taylor, and others.

Not tidy did they delight in realizing that they tcw were ad- dresbing "lnfty" issues, but they were amazed at how much more cc~mplex they regarded the eco- nc~mic and political issues after re- ally thinking through the specific rules for the game. They met with me several times during the quar- ter to create the game and even began hi revise their own Monop- oly p,~une ;lt home with friends. They drew a nehl hc~rrl that re- flected their vision of povertv and wealth in America and new card5 for chance and cvmmrr~uty chest. The Inst time 1 met with them, we were to spend a ctwple uf hours playing the new game fur the first time. Instpad, many of us stayed for several hturs enjoying the p r r d ~ ~ c t of their ingen~clus efforts.

-. The final boibk my sh~dents read for the political thought class was Liyg h i s kuLlhbi~ H d h m ' s Phi-

d G r w America by Theodore L. Becker and Anthony L. Dcdsun. Al- though I had a test scheduled at the concl tlsion nf our disctlssion uf the bcxjk, the irony Iut me that I was using baditiollal testing methcds to evaluate whether stu- dents had read and understocd the material about such a non- traditictnal political radical. There- fore, I gave s t u c l e ~ ~ t s a choice of taking an c)bjectiv~-~ssav exan) or perform in^ guerilla thritr~ to ex- press a political message. About half r)f the class chtjse the morr imaginative prrress. The result was the best display of talent and creativity I had ever see11 demon- strated ~ I I 111y classes at GeorGa Southern. Also I disctwered apti- hides in students, who had Kcme unnoticed f~br the entire quarter. Whe1-r I remarkrd trr one student ~ C N I P that I was certain they had done much more work writing, practicing, and performing their event than they had ever dime studying for r me c>f my tests, they agreed that it was far more tune consuming, but ~nuch more enjrby- able. 1 know I have bwn left with many wonderful n~emc~ries; and am convi~~ced that thus "euanl" was one that n ~ y stitdents will lung remember as well.

Mentirr Roles

As I have come to more fully understand that s t u d e ~ ~ t s see me as an authurity figure, I have rec- ognized that nwny students are reluctant to acknowledge their fears, anxieties, and insecurities t( I me. In some cases students may suspect that I would later use that against them and in other situ- ations they may care more what their peers t l ~ . Therefore, 1 an exploring a variety of ways to get students to aid each other in their intellectual growth and activities. As an example, in my class on the judicial prcxess, students must

present a c a e befvre a judge ur jury of other students. %)me stu- dents are terrified at the prospects uf such an exercise. To help allevi- ate the apprehensions I allow stu- dents to wtirk as a team of law- yers. Nevertheless, I found some gritups to be articulate, clever, in- teresting, and lively wlule r~ther g r o ~ ~ p s w e r e bland, repetitive, ct~nvcduted, and sluggish. In ctrder to pmvoke more enthusias~n and competence in t h r exerdst.>, I identjfi~cl students in the class that had d~rnonstrated ~~uts ta~icl- in^ skill in one or Illore aspects of the case prewnta tion (research, open in^ or clr jsi1-1~ argi~mrr~ts, pre5entation elf facts, challe~lges, or rebuttals. 1 met wi t t ~ tlwrn as a pwup dfter class and sug~ehted that they tr~tcir c lther studerlts and wirk wit11 then1 to devel(ip the cclnfidenc~ and c( lnl pvtence tc~ har~dle the assip14 tasks. Not unly did fi~ture teams herlefit from the assistarlce, but the cc ~nfidence level uf thr studellts serving as mentors was noticeably higher. Tiley begnn to in~prcive their p a - formances in other aspects of the clas5.

Obwrvirlg how the mentor rde aided classrr~ates at both the receiving ar l~i g i v i n ~ e n d , 1 have decided t41 utilizr the rnrntor model in other classes fcbr ;l I1 type5 cd activities incllldirlg st~lcly srs- sions and review a11c1 crit ique of papers. Ed Schwerin (1982) of Florida Atlantic University, whr) has experime~~ted with students editing each other's papers, foilnd that the original resistance of stu- dents to ct~llaborate was e v e ~ ~ t u - ally overcome when they began tc) 11otice the ~ ( r n t h in their cormnu- ~uca tion skills and the improve- ments in their product.

Conclusion My mission in theclassroo~n is

to contribute to the capacity of each student to function effec-

Thresholds in Education

tjve1y in a democratic society. That e~ldeavclr is motecl in the philosctphcal views espoused by such detnocrats as Thomas Jeffer- son, John Dewey, Eric Frumrn, and Carl Friedrich and is based on the belief that experts in swiety sllituld be "on tap, not un top." In encotrraging and nurturing incle- pendent thinkers, w hc~ also recog-

References

Becker, T.L. and C.D. Slaton. (1 981). " University-Based Neighborhood Justice Cen- ters: The Hawaii Model." Fa- per presented at American Psychological Associa tion, Lcjs Angeles, California.

Becker, T.L. and C.D. Slatc)~~. (1 9H1). "Hawaii Televote: Measuring Public Opinjun on Corn lex Policy Issues," W ~~u (NZ) %,I , 52-X3.

nize the value n f c(u>pera tion, I un- derstand that the means to my de- sired end cannot be accomplished in an authoritarian fashicm with an overemphasis on competi ticln. And finally, I must not lose sight of the bigger picture by excessive attention to detail and rote learn- ing. The gains in demrhcratizing methcds in the classroutn are re-

Campbell, V.N. (1974). * Televote System fur Clvx

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