Un‐contented characters: an education in the shared practices of democratic engagement

Abstract

How should children be educated for democratic politics in ways that do not undermine their diverse needs, ideas, and interests? The dual challenges for a democratic theory of education are, first, to protect the pluralism of the young from standardization or indoctrination by the old, and second, to protect the social cohesion of the political community from the disruptive radicalism of its youngest members. I argue that liberal theories address this challenge by imagining an education in shared values (or content) that, in the end, undermines democracy. Following Aristotle and John Dewey, I suggest that an education in shared practices of democratic engagement provides a source of commonality that also preserves plurality.

Keywords:

• democratic education
• liberal education
• political practices

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank Tom Spragens, Peter Euben, Rom Coles, Evan Charney, Michaelle Browers, David Coates, Jack Crittenden, Michael Morrell, Efren Perez, Ali Aslam, Stefan Dolgert, and the participants of the Duke University Friday afternoon colloquium for their comments and suggestions on various versions of this essay. I am especially grateful to Richard Bellamy and an anonymous reviewer from Critical review of international social and political philosophy for their constructive criticisms.

Notes

1. Torney‐Purta et al. (2001) conducted an international survey of civic knowledge and attitudes among 14‐year‐olds in Europe, North America, South America, and Asia. Niemi and Junn (1998) and Niemi and Chapman (1998) conducted surveys in the United States. Print cites low levels of voter turnout among the young across advanced industrial democracies (2007, p. 329). See Brady et al. (1995); Putnam (2000).

2. I will use the term ‘civic education’ to describe the movement of citizenship training which most industrial democracies are undertaking. I advance my own theory, which I call ‘democratic education’. ‘Political education’ is a term used by Hannah Arendt (1993), which refers to any kind of public education that advances a political purpose.

3. See Dewey, ‘Ethics of democracy’ in Dewey (1993).

4. Thanks to Joel Schlosser of Duke University for this useful play on words. In the spirit of the uncontented character, this essay is not meant to provide the last word (leaving us contented) about which practices are best suited to democratic education. It is meant, rather, to provoke a conversation about how theories of democratic education ought to be conceived and put into practice.

5. See Galston (1989, 1991, 2002).

6. See Wendy Brown's (2004) deconstruction of tolerance, Chantal Mouffe's (2000) critique of the kind of politics ensuing from the norm of liberal neutrality, or Gutmann's own defense of school integration in the US over and against the objection of black parents, which demonstrates that her principles of non‐repression can be easily compromised (1987, p. 165, see p. 285).

7. Although Aristotle is speaking to the practice of virtue, not democratic citizenship, the same method can apply to democratic practices: by providing opportunities for practice, education can nurture citizens who sustain a democratic community. See Aristotle (1941a, 1276b35, 180).

8. This is often taken to mean that education is the great unifier (or standardizer) of men, but Aristotle makes this claim in the midst of a critique of Socrates' call for unity of the citizenry via regulation.

9. Just as citizens learn to rule by both being ruled and by (practicing) ruling (1941a, 1277b7. 182).

10. Aristotle distinguishes the state from the community, but he says that the state also cannot thrive if it is totally the same or totally different (1941a, 1261a‐b. 1147‐1148).

11. Aristotle (1941b, 1167b.10‐15. 1084): ‘Unanimity seems, then, to be political friendship, as indeed it is commonly said to be; for it is concerned with things that are to our interest and have an influence on our life.’

12. Ibid. See 1105b.10‐15. 956: ‘it is by doing just acts that the just man is produced, and by doing temperate acts the temperate man; without doing these no one would have even a prospect of becoming good’ (1276b. 35).

13. William Bennett, the former US Secretary of Education, espouses an Aristotelianism that identifies exemplars of democratic life whom young schoolchildren ought to emulate. See The book of virtues (1993) and Our children and our country (1988).

14. This is what Aristotle means when he says that individuals learn to make good choices via deliberation (not rote imitation). Aristotle (1941b, 1106b.36, see 1150b.20‐21).

15. They do so amid changing contexts and changing perceptions of what virtuous behavior is (1941b, 1109b.23‐27. 964).

16. Aristotle imagines a community of those who ‘live together and delight in each other’ (1941b, 1157b).

17. See Dewey (1993, p. 101) and (1994, p. 87).

18. See Bourdieu (1974).

19. See Kennedy (2007) (data from Torney‐Purta et al.'s cross‐national IEA Civic Education Study); Print (2007) (data from Australia's Youth Electoral Study); Craft (2003) (UK); Gregory (2007) (US); and Boyte (2008) (US).

20. It is difficult to pinpoint a universal model of civic engagement (Kennedy 2007, p. 319); this approach identifies democratic practices that are necessary (but contextually adaptable) whether students live in Sydney, Seoul, or St Louis.

21. Print argues that a participatory pedagogy can ‘increase student participation, improve communication skills, and empower students to become more engaged’ (2007, p. 338). There is no evidence that increased efficacy will last longer than 6–12 months unless students continue in political practices (Feldman et al. 2007, pp. 92–93; see Niemi & Junn 1998).

22. See Paley (1992), who recounts her experience with a kindergarteners who spend a school year deliberating the legitimacy of a proposed class rule ‘You can't say, “You can't play”.’ See Sánchez (2008, pp. 54–55).

23. See Crittenden (2002) and Gutmann (1987, 1995, 2000).

24. See Craft (2003, p. 146).

25. Creative thinking is often practiced as ‘brainstorming’, but also is more apt to foster the emotional (or ‘caring’) thinking that allows students to empathize with others than critical thinking can (Gregory 2007, pp. 64–65).

26. See Craft (2003, pp. 145, 151–152).

27. Schultz et al. argue that students must make decisions in contexts (personal and collective) that are significant for them (2008, p. 159). See Sánchez (2008, pp. 55–56).

28. See Scott (1990).

29. See Young (2000).

30. I advocate something like Romand Coles’ (2005) concept of receptivity, a political skill that is nurtured in practice with others and involves focusing on listening and understanding, rather than arguing or winning debates. Coles argues that, even in the agonism of politics, this kind of receptivity is possible and necessary. See Sánchez (2008). The point is not that critical thinking and debate are inappropriate for democratic politics, but that they cannot be its sole modus operandi.