Building Democracy, One Child At a Time

Summary of Article's First 150 Words

Total word count: 2018

At the end of an engaging presentation about an in-depth project a group of children had undertaken trying to figure out how to catch the moon, a director sitting next to me leaned over and whispered her delight, "Think what our country would be like if all children were encouraged to think like that!" I had to smile because I was feeling similarly.

These children were clearly fully involved and thinking outside the box and their teacher responded with respectful enthusiasm, offering multiple ways for them to explore this ongoing interest. They were encouraged to challenge each other with questions, invent ways to test out their theories, and tell the story of their experiences to their classmates, families, and visitors.

Whenever I see children actively engaged in pursuing their questions and ideas, I am reminded how much more is possible than is typical in our early education programs. Why, instead, do ...