“The school is truly the guardian of democracy“, write Thomas H. Briggs and others. The schools must build up democratic convictions in our students so strongly that they will withstand the strain not only of the fairly difficult circumstances of ordinary social living but also of such national and world crisis as may occur in the future.
The Secondary Education Commission has observed, “A passion for social justice based on a sensitiveness to the social evils and the exploitation which corrupts the grace of life must be kindled in the heart and mind of our people and the foundations for it should be laid in the school”.
Again the Commission has stressed, “The secondary school must make itself responsible for equipping the students adequately with civic as well as vocational efficiency and the qualities of character that go with it so that they may be able to play their part worthily and competently in the improvement of national life.”
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Dr. K.L. Shrimali writes,
“The school should set up situations which provide constant practice in social and cooperative living. It must encourage activities through which the child can make a personal contribution in group enterprise, cooperative instead of competitive individualism.”
T.M. Greene writes,
“To describe the school as a community is to emphasise the corporate, social character of education.”
Harold Rug considers the school “as an enterprise in living both social and personal.”
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Education in democracy, both within and without the school, should develop in each individual the knowledge, interests, ideals and powers whereby he will find his place and use that place to shape both himself and society.
Kilpatrick states: “The effective school in a democracy must give its pupils an intelligent understanding of the issues of democracy, make them well disposed towards democracy as a way of life, and make them skillful in the cooperative activities through which democracy must function.”
The functions of the schools in the process of educating students in democratic values and principles are two-fold:
1. To convey to the students the meaning of democratic values, ideas and principles and their implications for conduct in the various life situations.
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2. To enable the students to incorporate these values, ideas and principles in their daily conduct, in and out of school.
3. A democratic school introduces radical changes in respect of methods, discipline and administration.