Democratic society is peculiarly dependent for its maintenance upon the use in forming a course of study of criteria which are broadly human. Democracy cannot flourish where the chief influences in selecting subject matter of instructions are utilitarian ends narrowly conceived for the masses, and, for the higher education of the few, the traditions of a specialized cultivated class. The notion that the "essentials" of elementary education are the three R's mechanically treated, is based upon ignorance of the essential needed for realization of democratic ideals... A curriculum which acknowledges the social responsibilities of education must present situations where problems are relevant to the problems of living together, and where observation and information are calculated to develop social insight and interest. (Democracy and Education, John Dewey, 1916)

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Democratic society is peculiarly dependent for its maintenance upon the use in forming a course of study of criteria which are broadly human. Democracy cannot flourish where the chief influences in selecting subject matter of instructions are utilitarian ends narrowly conceived for the masses, and, for the higher education of the few, the traditions of a specialized cultivated class. The notion that the "essentials" of elementary education are the three R's mechanically treated, is based upon ignorance of the essential needed for realization of democratic ideals... A curriculum which acknowledges the social responsibilities of education must present situations where problems are relevant to the problems of living together, and where observation and information are calculated to develop social insight and interest. (Democracy and Education, John Dewey, 1916)

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Here's a start. The method of Deweyan democratic education is an experimental process in which thought and reason are applied to activity to find the best answer to a problem at a particular time and place. This, the scientific method, and his applications to the field of education are some of the great themes in his work. The scientific method shows that knowledge does not exist statically or separate from action. The knowledge that is isolated from the action and is acquired passively prevents the formation of new habits and the reconstruction of experience, thereby preventing growth and learning. The experimental method unites mental activity and experience and allows for the creation of new knowledge. This presupposes that knowledge is not a body of universal truth waiting to be uncovered by rational, objective thought. Experimental science has shown that "there is no such thing as genuine knowledge and fruitful understanding except as the offspring of doing" (321). In seeking to overcome the idealization and remoteness of reason, making it experimental and practical, Dewey called for a curriculum that combines liberal and vocational education and enlarges personal experience "by furnishing their context, their background, and outlook" to the present community life (247).