Service

Service as a democratic IDEAL refers to the belief that making a difference in the lives of children and families requires serving the needs of the community as well as the school. One of the primary responsibilities of public education is to enable students to develop a strong sense of individual and social responsibility. Service is partially exemplified by learning projects designed to help children learn to serve others in their classrooms, schools and local communities. Michael Apple and James Beane in their book on democratic schools (1995) describe one such project from an elementary school: "Looking out a classroom window at the dumpster below, a student asks the teacher, ‘Where does that garbage go?’ Since she is just as curious, the teacher arranges for a class field trip to an area landfill. Concerned about the size and contents of the landfill, the students undertake a campaign for conservation and recycling in their school. Over several months, their efforts begin to take hold. Though they are just first graders, they have made a difference in their school."

Service is the "doing of democracy." In doing democracy, we provide students with the opportunity to construct and connect knowledge as a result of addressing the social, economic and political concerns of their local and immediate communities. Consequently, student learning becomes connected and meaningful rather than fragmented and abstract (O’Hair, McLaughlin, & Reitzug, 2000).