Diversity. Pluralism. Being who we are and getting along with others. All the work of people living in democratic societies. I was born into and raised in such a society, so I know no other. No matter how many times I flip it and turn it and find all the flaws and jaw-dropping assaults on this way of life, democratic life and these principles are the backdrop to every aspect of my day-to-day life.
At the Merriam-Webster Dictionary website, the word “democracy” has a few definitions.
The first few are:
- government by the people; especially: rule of the majority
- a government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or indirectly through a system of representation usually involving periodically held free elections
After seeing few more definitions on their list, this one also caught my eye:
~The absence of hereditary or arbitrary class distinctions or privileges
(For the complete list of definitions of democracy go to https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/democracy )
Let’s try three steps to teaching children democratic principles: self-reflection, preparing our environments, and engaging the kids in dialogue.
The Necessary Introspection
Why would you need to look at yourself, your beliefs, and what you say and do? Well, according to Albert Bandura’s seminal research on self-efficacy, a large part of what children learn about the world, how to behave, what they think of themselves, and what to think happens unconsciously and consciously from watching us—just being around us. Looking within, will actually give you insights into what the children in your care are learning. Are you religious? Do you eat meat? Do you dye your hair? Do you insist children only speak when spoken to? Do you wear coordinated outfits or just whatever your hand lands on in your t-shirt drawer? What are the messages about life and self you are teaching to the children by how you show up?
(Please click here to find a more in-depth self-reflection exercise for early childhood educators.)
How can we address and teach the ideals of democracy in early childhood environments? As with most worthwhile teaching endeavors, we must first look within and see how the subject is alive in our personal lives. How democracy works for you or doesn’t in your daily life is important to consider. Also, important to consider is how involved you are in the democracy you live in. Possibly, by looking into how the tenets of democracy, such as equity, fall short around us, we might be moved into doing our part toward a more realized democratic community. We are part of a social network and are social beings, therefore, we are all in this together. Active involvement in democratic living is the only way to maintain a democratic way of life. Ask yourself these questions:
Do you find yourself confronted with prejudice against you such as sexism and/or racism as you move through your daily life? Your children?
Do you have a place to sleep tonight; in a month?
Do you fear running out of food before being able to get more?
Do you rely on medication or medical care to function or be alive? Your children?
If you have children, do you know they won’t be mistreated when left with others so you are free to job hunt and then work to survive?
How you answer these questions will give you an idea of how you are navigating in your community, and how your community is supporting you. Maybe your mind will wander and have you consider others in your community who struggle in one or more of these areas. Here we find societal inequities: privileged and underprivileged. Teaching equity and respect for others to the small children in our care will not cure these societal ills, but will help shape a community of people who are more compassionate toward one another and from that place, maybe more competent in ameliorating these issues.
Preparing the Environment to Teach Democratic Principles
A democratic environment is one where we can be individuals who are free to learn more about our likes and dislikes, and one where we work with others collaboratively side-by-side in our lives and making decisions for the whole community. Preparing an early learning environment to teach democratic principles is setting the stage for children to either work independently or play collaboratively. A few things that need to be considered are the layout of furniture, the activities you plan and the ones you encourage, and pictures you display.
I am an advocate for conscious planning in early learning spaces. There should be several areas for play that encourage different types of play, and they should be spaced according to whether they are quiet areas or noisy, will hold many children or just a few, need direct lighting or not, and more. For an overview of setting up play areas click here. Within each space you set up for your group of children, there should be opportunities for social or independent play.
In toddler groups, developmentalists recommend having several of the same toys available so children can work on learning the skills directly related to the toys and not yet be forced to work on social skills like sharing. In preschool classrooms, the recommendation is to offer situations where children are confronted with social learning, for example, by taking away duplicate toys so children learn to share by having to share. As supportive adults, we set the stage for learning and provide guidance to teach how to negotiate with others when situations like sharing arise.
Like the example of removing duplicate toys, here are some other practical ways to encourage social play and learning:
- Place chairs around small tables facing each other
- Place paint easels side by side instead of back to back
- Set out mats or place tape on places for your group to sit in a large group forming a circle where they are facing one another
- Place sensory tables out from walls so children can play on both sides facing each other
We must set up the environment for social interactions and negotiating to indirectly teach basic democratic social skills (taking turns, sharing, negotiating ideas, giving the benefit of the doubt when we disagree, and more.) More direct ways of teaching these skills can be accomplished during our large and small group times.
Large group instruction ideas:
- Deciding on a project theme together, as a group
- Songs that encourage caring for each other, sharing, and more
- Activities that teach being respectful, for example, greeting each other each morning by asking if your friend would like a hand shake, pat on the back, hug or a wave
- Games that require working with others as a team
- Transition games that acknowledge differences in your group by saying every one with brown eyes, you may get up and wash your hands for snack, next who has green eyes?
- Read books that represent a variety of family dynamics, nontraditional gender roles, variety of skin colors represented, and stories from different socio-economic viewpoints—you must consciously have the spirit of “all are okay” however, or presenting these different pieces of life would reflect your biases toward a few over others.
- Assign daily jobs to everyone in your group (you can duplicate some of these ideas), then review who’s doing what during your large group time: wiping down tables, setting tables, picking up around the sink, sweeping, pet care, line leader, light switch operator, weather reporter, teacher’s helper, music helper, pen-cap-checker, attendance taker, calendar reporter, and more!
- Leading the group in deciding the next project by charting ideas and then voting.
- And more!
Small group time should reflect what happens during large group time. In smaller groups, we can explore ideas presented during the large group time more in-depth through arts, crafts, and conversation. We can also practice turn taking, sharing, and negotiating with classmates as we work in a more focused way. But, this can also be a time when children bring out their own art supplies and not have to worry about sharing—a time where children learn about respecting the boundaries of classmates and not taking from others. It could be a time when they can let their individualism shine and we can acknowledge how we are all individuals working side-by-side. I believe there is value in this approach as well.
What we display in our environments also sends out powerful messages to the children. Be sure to display pictures with these ideas in mind at the children’s eye level:
- People of color
- Children getting along with each other
- Your group engaged in cooperation
- Different family dynamics with old and young adults cooperating
- Different genders and skin colors in a variety of occupations
- And more!
Engaging children in dialogue that supports democratic principles
A dialogue means an equal exchange between people, which is different than one person doing all of the talking. A lot of times that one person is us, the adult, enjoying a monologue on what wisdom we want to impart on the children. This is okay sometimes, but be clear that this is not actually talking with children, it’s talking at children. This part of the article is only about talking with children not talking at children.
Talking with the children in our care is the best way to form relationships and get to know one another. The teachers I have asked about their favorite part of the day, always report times when they can speak casually with the kids about their lives and childhoods, and when they can hear from the kids about what’s going on with them and their families. These times occur when sharing lunch together, during free play time, outside time, or whenever there is time to play side by side with children such as doing art work during small group time or building outdoor sculptures from the natural world. Dan Gartrell, calls these moments “contact talks.” This is where we make contact and connect with each other, and is a critical activity in creating a sense of belonging in your group. As you engage children in these sorts of personal conversations, you are teaching them how to do this with each other.
Simple reminders for meaningful conversations are:
- Have loving eye contact (unless eye contact is confrontational for a child due to a diagnosis or cultural belief)
- Be in close proximity during the conversation
- Ask open ended questions
- Repeat back what children say, this is called reflective listening and is key in letting someone know they have been heard
- Be interested in getting to know a child’s home culture and show respect
- When you are proud of children because they worked out a problem regardless of their differences, tell them so and why!
- Be open to children asking personal questions and share appropriately
Let me say that I have always found a certain amount of tension with adult leaders of small children about imparting a healthy respect for authority and engaging in a personal way where the power dynamic is somewhat shared equally (democratically). Different cultures will dictate different levels of control given their belief systems. This is an energetic backdrop within your group. Also at play, is your confidence as a leader. If you believe you have no control of the classroom, the children will feel this and the control will shift toward them. If you believe you have total control in the classroom, the children will also feel this and will be respond accordingly, which is to submit in fear of punishment or act out because that’s too much to ask of their little bodies according to theories of developmental psychology. Also, if you are the owner of the control in your group this puts you in the role of dictator which is a different political climate than a democracy—not your goal if you live in a democratic society.
The reality is, is that in an early childhood environment, the adults are inherently the leaders and therefore, the power defaults to us. What we do with this is up to us, and I encourage you to share it as part of your commitment to teaching the children about living in a democratic society. You can share your power with the children, again teaching them that power is shared in a community where everyone is welcome and all are important.