In a democratic society, it is the responsibility of the citizens to help make decisions. In order for citizens to be efficient at making those decisions, they must be educated. An uneducated society is a powerless one. The purpose of education in a democratic society is to help educate citizens on various topics and current events so they can help elect officials that have their best interests in mind. This has been the case in the past and will continue to be so in the future. Based on the information we've read in Democracy Schools as well as The Pedagogy for Teacher Activism, we have gotten a look into how schools were throughout history. As the same ineffective teaching methods have been around for far too long, it is our responsibility as future teachers to inform the next generation of what is going on outside of school doors. The fields that are taught to students don't just have to be Math, Science, and English. I'm sorry to say, I have never used the Pythagorean Theorem past the ninth grade. Teaching students real skills that they are going to need after graduation to be a functioning member of a democratic society are important. Therefore, democracy, current events and politics are necessary to adolescent development, and teaching them doesn't just make teachers "Social Justice Warriors."
Throughout this semester, I was able to take on an advocacy project. The purpose of the project was to think about something we were passionate about in terms of schooling or education, and what we would do to change it. The project allowed me to collaborate with other students who had the same feelings on the topic. We were able to research the topic, have group meetings, and in the end, we created a presentation with our findings. This was good practice for the future, when I can use the skills I acquired (like researching, putting together a petition, etc.) for other leadership and advocacy opportunities.