Democratic Values
Democracy is not predetermined - it needs democrats to shape it.
Our education landscape must cultivate active democratically minded communities.
Nelson Mandela’s Minister of Education, Professor Bengu, declared that,
“Democracy means the absence of domination”.
In the spirit of this principle, all the activities of
Personalised Education Now are designed to promote the key ideas
of co-operation, participation, learner-choice and responsibility,
flexibility, diversity, self-motivation, equal access, as well as
personalised learning. The slogan of democratic forms of learning is
‘we did it our way’.
Democratic values, organization and practice … are absolutely essential. Democracy is not pre-determined, cannot be taken for granted and has to cultivated and developed.
Key Rationale:
- We currently pay lip service to democracy. Much of what we have is uniformed, fragmentary and tokenistic.
- If we really value democracy we need to ensure it is continuously cultivated and developed.
- Ultimately, we need to live out democratic values and organisation in our daily lives.
- Guides to these values already exist in UN Rights and Responsibilities
- Reasoned persuasion, the needs, rights and responsibilities of all need to be acknowledged.
- Young people are just as capable of understanding democratic values, organising and practising democratically.
- The ‘fall-out’, casualties of our limited democracy threaten its existence. We cannot afford disengaged citizens or we risk totalitarian regimes.
- Lack of democracy strikes at family, societal and global sustainability and cohesion.