Democracy

[blondebaroness]

I'm preparing to teach 6th grade and am reading the "Reader" that will be used in my class. The story in question is "The Skill of Pericles" by David Scott Meier. It is a play about ancient Greek teens trying to discover what Pericles will give a prize for. It turns out that he's looking for the individual who is the best friend

Comments

[underlankers]

The rule of the people. It's the literal translation of the Greek word, Demos + Kratia.

[anfalicious]

Isn't it Kratos, the Olympian God of power?

[anfalicious]

Oh, and using the literal translations is how I often begin a discussion on Democracy with teens. It obviously isn't sufficient, but it's a good starting point as it brings you into discussing the differences between something like the direct, but selective suffrage, democracy of ancient Greece and the universal suffrage, representational democracy that we have.

[oportet]

A democracy tries to please the majority. A republic tries to please everyone. A democratic republic tries to do both, which is somewhere near impossible and might be the root of all our political arguments.

[meus_ovatio]

To a 10 year old? Hm... I would say democracy is what happens when you let people learn how to read and write.

[luvdovz]

Google is your friend.

[comeonyouspurs]

http://www.marxists.org/glossary/terms/d/i.htm#dictatorship-bourgeois