The Larger Picture

Section 51.301 of the Texas Education Code states that "No college or university receiving state support or state aid from public funds may grant a baccalaureate degree or a lesser degree" to a student until the student has completed six semester hours of study in Government.  This webpage is designed not only to assist you in fulfilling that requirement, but also to enable you to have a greater understanding of the principles underlying our democratic government.

Recent elections in the United States have led many to comment despairingly that our country is becoming ‘polarized’ between competing political ideologies and parties.  However, factionalization, and the concern over it, are as old as the republic itself.  In fact, the framers of our constitution established our particular form of democracy specifically to harness the otherwise destructive effects of factions and turn them into a constructive force.  James Madison believed that our democracy is strengthened as the number of divisions in society is increased, saying "In an equal degree does the increased variety of parties comprised within the Union, increase this security" (Federalist #10)

However, this multiplicity of interests is not a naturally occurring phenomenon.   Instead, it is something that needs to be cultivated, and the best way to do this is through education.  John Dewey once noted that "A democracy is more than a form of government; it is primarily a mode of associated living, of conjoint communicated experience . . . A society marked off into classes need be specially attentive only to the education of its ruling elements. A society which is mobile, which is full of channels for the distribution of a change occurring anywhere, must see to it that its members are educated to personal initiative and adaptability."  Dewey's point is that a democratic society requires interaction with others.  The education system of any democratic society must therefore instill in its citizenry the abilities and beliefs that allow each person to interact with one another.

This is my point of departure:  that as one becomes more educated in any respect our democratic society is strengthened.  In my courses you will have the added bonus of acquiring the basic tools to understand how our democracy works.