Howard Zinn on Democratic Education Essay

Upon version the book, Howard Zinn on Democratic cultivation, I felt a lot of questions I had regarding education was answered. I had evermore regarded education as something liberating, something that would be able to teach students how to become enlightened. That is why I read a lot of books. But regarding my developing, I questioned why we are loaded with so much homework and tests, we abrogate up not deeply understanding anything at each(prenominal), because there is no time to process all the information. It is as if our schooling stunts our educational growth.Yet, the irony of it is they teach us so much facts of how, where, when, who, and what, but I had this nagging suspicion that teachers were hiding vital information from us. I did not k instanter what exactly, but I continuously felt something was missing because I could not connect what I learned in school to what was happening to our country as I watched the news. It was as if there was a missing link, a primaeva l that would make everything make sense. Yet, as the years in the academe passed, I encountered no such link. Until now. It was as if my youthful objections found validation. I had always felt that my schooling lacked feeling.All these hard facts were discussed as if they did not involve mountain. We really never knew, through history, how terror felt when planes during the World War II flew overhead, or triumph when the war was declared over. It is not anybodys fault. I think, history hindquartersnot be studied it has to be lived. Although in my opinion, it can be remedied. Instead of sitting in classrooms all day, reciting facts, we should focus on conclave our induce information regarding events. This does not mean reading even unassigned readings. I have always thought that people are not foolish.Each individual has a unique story, if we only plow to listen. We should experience learning, and this can only be done by going out of the classroom, and learning from vivacious people. After all, the papers our books are made up of were once living things too. The critical question now is, what now? Now that we possess such knowledge, what moldiness we do with it? Knowledge that is not followed by reach is a dead thing. We could start through transforming our own classroom, if we are to teach, or even in our own homes. Drop-out rates are not surprising due to the fact that so few kids feel remotely connected to their schooling.If we involve these kids, make them see that it is also their classmates loss if they do not attend classes, they can be pulled back into the academe. To do this, they mustiness be able to feel that they can contribute something to the discussion, whether it be a question or an opinion. We must impress upon our minds that there are no right or wrong questions or opinions. Each comes from a different background (hence a different culture), so we must be patient and understanding. We must also find tangent points we must connect the academe with their lives. We must do away with the notion that scholars have ivory towers.We must reconnect. Because this is what education does. It reconnects people with other people. It reconnects people with ideas. It reconnects people with opportunities. It reconnects people with hope. If all the attendants in a classroom participate freely and energetically, actively cast their curriculum to suit their individual needs, we ordain have captured the essence of a democratic education. Through this, we will have a truly democratic country.ReferencesSchugurensky, D. (2005). Howard Zinn on Democratic Education. International Journal of Citizenship and Teacher Education , 1, 99-100.