Jim Farr and Robert Hildreth

Practicing Democratic Education and Public Achievement program

University of Minnesota

Practicing Democratic Education

James Farr, Professor of Political Science
University of Minnesota
This course and practicum is designed for advanced undergraduate students (juniors and seniors).
The course is structured around one 10 week quarter, with class meeting once a week for 2
hours. The practicum is designed to extend over 2 quarters.
Course Description
This course will address some long-standing debates about democracy, politics, and the
education of citizens. It arises out of the conviction that any particular theory of democracy, or of
politics more generally, can and should be evaluated in terms of what it says theoretically about
citizen education and by what it does practically to educate citizens.
In order to address the debates in question in a theoretical way, our course will investigate
critically some major texts in the history of Western political thought that address the question of
citizen or political education, broadly speaking. The texts include Platos Republic, John Lockes
Some Thoughts Concerning Education, John Deweys Democracy and Education, and Myles
Horton and Paolo Freires We Make the Road by Walking. These texts should be understood as
being about political education, as well as actually attempting to politically educate their
audiences. In reading and collectively discussing these texts, we will be concerned to trace
changing conceptions of education and politics over time, as well as to articulate the various
relationships between the practice of theorizing about politics and the practice of educating
citizens.
As the title hopes to indicate, this course will also address questions of democracy, politics, and
citizen education practically, in the form of an educationa1 practicum. Students will put their
education and democratic citizenship into practice by serving as coaches for middle-school
students (at St. Bernards Grade School in St. Paul) who will be researching and debating their
own questions about democracy and social issues (in and around their school). The fundamental
premise of the seminar is that we learn theoretically about citizenship and education in large part
by being engaged practically as citizens and educators. Or to put it differently: to learn what
must be learned about democratic education just is to be engaged in the practice of educating
democrats.
Given the mix and the demands of the various theoretica1 and practical activities that make up
the course, an additional 2 credit practicum course in the political science department (Pol 3070)
has been Attached to supplement Pol 3090 (of 4 credits, bringing the total to 6 credits). The
practicum course will continue through Winter quarter (for another additional 2 credits). It is
hoped that students will continue with the practicum through winter, in order for us collectively
to live up to our obligations to St. Bernards School.

Course Requirements
The requirements of the course reflect its diverse goals.
1) The course will meet once a week (at class time on Tuesdays) to discuss assigned readings.
Students are expected to read the materials closely and carefully, and to come to class prepared
to engage in discussion and debate.
2) The required practicum component will be satisfied by students coaching activities at St.
Bernards (during class time on Thursdays, to be followed by a discussion period integrating the
weeks readings and the practica1 experiences at the middle school). The model of student
coaching that we will follow has been developed by Public Achievement (sponsored by the
Center for Democracy and Citizenship at the University) some of the students at St. Bernards
have previously been involved in investigating civic issues in and around their school with the
assistance of Public Achievement coaches. The seminar, therefore, will build upon that
experience.
3) There will be a required day- long training session and Issues Convention (scheduled for the
second Thursdays of class, September 28) to introduce students to the St. Bernards environment
and to the practice of being a coach, This occurs during regular class time, although we may
have to start a little earlier than usual.
4) In terms of writing, students will keep an ongoing notebook/journal that records reflections on
their course readings, the ir coaching experiences, and more generally on the relationship between
democracy, politics, and citizen education. The notebook/journal will be submitted for
commentary and evaluation at the time of midterm and final examinations.
5) As a final entry into the notebook/journal, students will be asked to evaluate the coaching
practicum in terms of what you thought worked or didnt work, and what could be done to
improve the overall experiment in practical democratic education.
6) Finally, there will be a take- home final examination (of about 8 typed pages). The exam will
principally cover the course readings. Like the notebook/journal, however, the final examination
will allow and call for integration of the theoretical literature on political education and the
practical educational experiences involved in the course.
Grades
Letter grades for the course will be assigned on the basis of the final examination (50%), the
notebook/journal (30%), and class discussion and participation (20%). Faithful attendance and
committed involvement in the practicum is essential in order to receive the additional 2 credits of
the political science course, as well as to successfully complete the seminar as a whole and to
receive an overall grade for it.
Required Books
The following books are available for purchase at the University Bookstore (on the East Bank),
with the exception of Locke, which is available in photocopy form at Smith Bookstore on the
West Bank).

Plato: The Republic

John Locke: Some Thoughts Concerning Education

John Dewey: Democracy and Education

Myles Horton and Paolo Freire: We Make the Road by Walking

Some additional readings will be provided or placed on reserve.

Readings and Assignments
Week 1: Introductory

General Discussion of citizenship, education, and Public Achievement (26 Sept)

Read: Michael Ignatieff The Myth of Citizenship, in R. Beiner, ed., Theorizing
Citizenship
Read: Melissa Bass, Towards a New Theory and Practice of Civic Education: An
Evaluation of Public Achievement, MS.
Training Session and Issues Convention at St. Bernards (28 Sept)
Read: Making the Rules: A Public Achievement Guidebook

Week 2: Justice, the Ideal City, and the Education of Guardians

Read: Plato, The Republic, Books 1-4.

Week 3: Myths, Forms, and Philosopher Kings

Read: Plato, The Republic, Books 5-10.

Week 4: Education of Youth in the Family

Read: Locke, Some Thoughts Concerning Education, sections 1-132.

Week 5: Virtue and the Enlightened Gentleman

Read: Locke, Some Thoughts Concerning Education, sections 133-217.

Submission of notebook/journal

Week 6: Educating a Democratic Public

Read: Dewey, Democracy and Education, pp. 1-163.

Week 7: Method and Curriculum

Read: Dewey, Democracy and Education, pp. 164-360.

Week 8: Populism and Citizen Action

Read: Horton and Freire, We Make the Road by Walking, pp. 1-143.

Week 9: Citizen Education and Social Change

Read: Horton and Freire, We Make the Road by Walking, pp. 144-248.

Week 10: Democracy, Politics, and Citizen Education: Final Reflections

Submission of notebook/journal.
Take-home final examination.

Click here to connect to:

? The Center for Democracy and Citizenship
? Public Achievement