What is a democratic classroom?

Democracy…here, there and everywhere. This term is omnipresent. Democracy essentially means that the people of a country have the right to choose their leaders and the largest percentage wins. To me, democracy means to have equal rights as everyone else has and to have a voice to be heard. The citizens of a country are given…POWER! “But with great power comes great responsibility” – Stan Lee.

Our country, South Africa is democratic and therefore the classrooms have to be too. What do you perceive a democratic classroom to look like? How will the teacher behave towards the learners and vice versa? Think for a few seconds what virtues or traits you would want to see in a democratic classroom…

We all need to keep in mind that the teacher as well as the learners need to be part of this democratic process. One of the aims of schools should be to be able to send the learners out into the ‘real’ world as good democratic citizens. We cannot ignore democracy in our classrooms but expect learners to know what to do in society once they leave school. Learners need to learn a sense of responsibility and common decency. We, as teachers, are busy molding citizens for this country.  However, teachers are also often guilty of not portraying a democratic classroom.

A few virtues that depicts a democratic classroom are:

·         Respect

·         Trust

·         Compassion

·         Care

·         Listening

·         Inclusivity

We (as teachers in the making) have decided to focus on three virtues we find crucial to education in a democratic classroom. These are respect, trust and compassion.