What is Democracy?

Dear Sarah, I hope your time at Harvard is all you had hoped it would be. I am very excited for you and I thank you for including me in on this conversation about developing great schools.

You mention you want to open a school that embraces democracy. So, a great school that does this would be one reflective of democratic principles and processes, yes? I am wondering if it would be helpful then to develop a common language around what this democracy is along with what the principles are and the how the democratic processes manifest. For starters, how would you define a democracy in this context?

Recently on a trip to Minneapolis, I spoke with Asad Zaman, the executive director of a charter school that serves primarily Muslim children in the Twin Cities. The school's mission is as follows (from the school’s website):

The mission of the Tarek Ibn Ziyad Academy is to contribute to building a diverse, virtuous and moral America by helping children to understand their stewardship role in the world, embedding in them a sense of care, responsibility, love, tolerance and cooperation. Strengthened by these virtues, our students will be prepared to participate actively in civic life and take leadership roles in their communities. In addition, the Academy aims to help students integrate into American society, while retaining their identity.

Asad states he now wishes to create a university. When I asked him about his motivation to do so, he said that his intention is birthed from concern that the Somali children in his state are not able to access educational equity and programs that will support them -- so these children continue to struggle. There are over 30,000 Somali children in Minnesota.

I mention this because the kind of democratic school to adequately serve Somali children may vary from one that supports a different population or community.

So, what is democracy to you and how, if at all, does a specific population or community play a role in forming and participating in this democratic school? Karla