The Classroom as Civic Sanctuary: Teaching, Learning, and the Emotional Labor of Democracy
By Ray Block Jr.,
What does it mean to teach democracy in a moment of deep division, distrust, and emotional strain? Drawing on personal and professional experiences, political science professor and researcher, Ray Block Jr., reflects on teaching as a form of emotional labor and the classroom as a potential civic sanctuary.
Political disagreements among students that might disrupt classrooms can instead become linchpins for democratic learning when trust-building is a key part of the curriculum. Educators are invited to think more intentionally about the relational work of teaching and the quiet but powerful ways classrooms shape civic habits, belonging, and democratic possibility.
The Journal of Political Science Education is an intellectually rigorous, path-breaking, agenda-setting journal that publishes the highest quality scholarship on teaching and pedagogical issues in political science. The journal aims to represent the full range of questions, issues and approaches regarding political science education, including teaching-related issues, methods and techniques, learning/teaching activities and devices, educational assessment in political science, graduate education, and curriculum development.
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