As we celebrate Labor Day today, it seems that we might also
reflect and think about why we have Labor Day and why it is important to a
democracy. Labor Day represents the voice and expression of
American workers - and we celebrate it for all the people who have worked
and died to make working conditions and working pay fair.
And so it
is in schools - students who work to have a voice in school take on more
ownership of school. They invest of themselves by working to create
an environment in which their participation matters.
As Dennis
Littky remarks, “To learn about democracy and about how to participate
in and contribute to one, students must be part of a democratic
environment. Giving students a voice, though, is much more than just
electing class officers and forming student councils.” (LIttky and
Grabelle, The Big Picture)
And it should be more
than token involvement - like class officers and student councils.
Students can and should be involved as authentically as possible - for
that authentic involvement gives them practice for the involvement that
they should have later in their working environment.
And this level
of authentic involvement is not something that can be recorded or measured
on a test - but it is surely great material for the student
e-Portfolio.