Felisa Tibbitts: A Primer for Selecting
Democratic and Human Rights Education Teaching Materials
| The School in Democratic Society:
A Course Plan for Poland's Future Teachers was one of the first bilateral efforts between a
Central East European country and a Western one to develop a full curriculum. The course,
developed for Polish teacher training institutions, was the result of a collaboration
between the Mershon Center (US) and Polish specialists. It is also a rare curriculum,
insofar as it addresses the pre-service training of teachers and the challenge of training
teachers to support democratic schooling in a transitional society. The course plan is intended for future civic teachers, and covers in great detail many issues related to democracy, rights and responsibilities in the classroom, schools and the local community. The course is organized around seven topics, related to core features of an educational system: - the role and position of the teacher; Coverage of each of these topic areas includes the definition of the topic (e.g., what does society expect from teachers?), key issues (what is the relationship between teachers and parents?), student objectives, lessons, and background readings. The treatment is comprehensive, specific, and deep, with difficult issues acknowledged and problematized (What are the reasons for the differences between teachers ' and parents' visions of the goal of schooling?). The model lessons use activity-based methods that emphasize critical thought and democratic process.The course plan document is complemented by an Auxiliary Materials publication. This book details the techniques of simulation, role playing and the use of case studies, and includes the exemplary lesson scenarios used in the course plan. One of the key strengths of this curriculum is its revelations about the conditions of schooling, and the problematizing of these realities. The curriculum takes a "system-based" approach, recognizing that student learning takes place in an educational system where all participants and stakeholders -- including teachers, students and parents -- have both rights and responsibilities to ensure this learning process.The selection presented is the first section of the "student rights and responsibilities" chapter. This excerpt presents the rationale and goal for the chapter, and exemplifies the overall course approach.
Title: The School in Democratic Society: A Course Plan for Poland's Future TeacherAuthor(s): K. Broclawik, B. Malak-Minkiewicz, M. Simlat, M. Zahorska-Bugaj, E. Zuchowska-Czwartosz Publisher: The Mershon Center Place and date of publication: Columbus, Ohio, USA 1994 Languages: Polish and English Total pages: course plan -- 98 (English translation) auxiliary materials -- 79 (English translation) Form: books Available in full-text at: http://www.civnet.org/resoures/teach/lessplan/syllabus2.htm |