EmpoweringStudentsthroughEmpoweredTeachers.docVIP

Empowering Students through Fostering Empowered Teachers Joy R. Cowdery, Ed.D., Muskingum College Democracy, Empowerment, and Education Citizenship in a democracy requires a citizenry who have the skills to solve complex problems, reason out the essential from the non-essential, and the confidence to effectively act on decisions over which they can exercise control. Mary Parker Follet, advocate for life-long learning and worker empowerment, believed that the training for that citizenry should begin in the cradle and continue through a lifetime (Boje Rosile, 2001). Educational reform was her vehicle for ensuring this outcome. Rather than revising curriculum, she believed that the very structure of school needed to be reformed into an experiential model in which students practiced democratic principles in daily decision-making, Citizenship is not to be learned in good government classes or current events courses or lessons in civics. It is to be acquired only through those modes of living and acting which shall teach us how to grow the social consciousness(Boje Rosile, 2001, p. 90). To effectively grow the social consciousness in students, students must not only experience democratic practices, but also feel that they have ownership in the educational process and the power to effect change. Historically, students appear to have been the missing link in school reform. Very few schools have given students voice in determining policy or practice. Alfie Kohn in Choices for Children; Why and How to Let Students Decide (1993) urged school reformist to consider letting students have a chance to view learning as something under their control rather than something disembodied. Even today, few schools have taken his advice. Then again, simply giving students the power to make choices does not empower students. Students must have the confidence and skills to empower themselves. By the very definition of empowerment, one must be able to take control of his or her learning.