Week 1 of EDUC 692

Gone are the days where children are seen but not heard, sit with hands on the desks and feet planted on the floor, and every child in a classroom sits and records from the chalkboard all day. An elementary classroom in 2006 is interactive, busy, and engaged in activity. Children share the responsibilities, engage in meetings, discussions, reflection and peer evaluation. I have seen this in action.

My oldest daughter just completed grade 4. She had a teacher who leads a very democratic classroom. I saw students engaged in all of the activities listed above throughout the year. I admired this teacher's approach. She has a natural ability to encorporate democracy into every facet of her classroom. I saw peer interaction, classroom meetings, teaching the children how to question and make personal connections in daily assignments, and more. As a result, I saw amazing growth, improved self confidence and peer interactions in my daughter.

I am impressed with what I have seen in practise. It is my goal to incorporate and use the tools we learn in EDUC 692 to have a more democratic classroom.