My Realities

A few barriers that exist are finances, parent and community instruction, and parent, teacher and student involvement in policy development. Each of these barriers are solved reasonably over time with the guidance of administrators who encourage a more democratic approach to school governance. Grants are available to supplement the funding available from the state. Parents who have had poor school experiences are usually not open to becoming involved in their children's schools, but when they discover that their voice is heard, over time they will likely soften their hearts to schools. The challenge for administrators and teachers is to allow students to participate in such sacred areas of governance. If it's true that "The secret of education lies in respecting the pupil." (Emerson), then our schools must show ultimate respect for the learners by allowing them to have active participation in forming school policy.
This blog activity showed me how incredibly easy it is to establish a blog page, firstly. I've also seen how this could be a very useful tool to encourage participation from parents and community members, and to share information between students in the school and well beyond the school walls.

Finances and Resources

In a democratic school the finances are partly provided by the state and local government. Teams of students, teachers, and / or administrators write grants to supplement the funding from the state and local governments. Ideally, national government funding would also be available. Community members such as business owners, grocery managers, bankers, etc. might serve on committees to help to finance the needs of the school based on the needs of the students. The most up-to-date technology is obtained with the help of grant monies, and instruction on using the new technology is provided by local tech-savvy people. The university and college technology departments and post high school students might also be helpful in this regard. The funds are managed by teams of accountants or a hired professional accountant. What is done with the funds, though, must be determined by the stakeholders directly or through the use of representatives of each group.

Governance

The democratic school is governed using a team approach. Student and teacher representatives would meet with administrators to determine and establish policies and rules. Expectations would be clearly understood by students, teachers, administration, and parents. Because the administrators must ultimately answer for decisions, they have the final say when policies are suggested that don't address the best interest of the school, or if they are illegal or otherwise inappropriate. All stakeholders are directly or indirectly responsible for the decisions, and those not directly engaged will receive drafts of the handbook and other governing materials before they are approved. All will be required to sign documenting that they have read and understood the expectations.

Building and Facilities Usage

In a democratic school, the building would be arranged so that different classes studying similar material would be able to come to a central location or use linked computers or take advantage of blogs and social bookmarking, etc. to work together to reach established goals of learning. The building would be maintained by all staffers and students to some degree. For example, students might rotate taking the responsibility of assisting custodial staff in making the school ready for learning each day. For each grade level there would be a common meeting area capable of housing the entire class, or using technology such as linked classrooms and cameras or videoconferencing. Samples of exceptional work hands attractively on the walls. The walls and halls are colorful and organized, but provide an opportunity to build student self-esteem. Authority figures (teachers, parent volunteers, community volunteers, and principals) are present and visible when students are moving in large groups. Self-monitoring is also utilized as student leaders are taught to observe and require "good behavior" by their peers.

Instruction

In a democratic school, the instruction would begin with a brief "hook" activity by the teacher or community member. Students would be given basic instruction as to the end goal of learning. Through work done up front by the teacher, and utilizing technology, students would be given guidelines then be asked to choose from various "avenues" of research to get to the end goal. Ideally, the "avenues" would allow for various learning styles to be used. Members of the community such as business owners or other professionals would be encouraged to add their knowledge and experience to the learning process either by their presence or through e-documents or paper documents students could use as reference. At the end of the lesson, students would be encouraged to assess the lesson. The teacher would also assess the learning and level of mastery the students attained. Finally, the teacher would discuss ways to improve the lesson with the students and other teachers in PLC's. (Professional Learning Communities, or brief meetings used to discuss best practices, effective lessons, etc.)