臺灣的民主是屬於自由主義的民主，強調自由與個人權利，重視多元價值，但也因此出現許多亂象，社會不斷地發生抗爭、衝突與對立事件，人們彼此之間無法容忍與尊重差異。要解決這個問題，必須培養人民具備尊重的美德。本文以筆者自己的過往經驗為基礎，從小學教育工作者的角度去思考在小學教育當中，應該如何教育學生具備尊重的美德，使其將來能成為好公民，以實踐民主社會的理想。據此，本文提出三點建議：一、確實推動多元文化教育，尊重不同的族群、性別與社會階層每個人的基本權利；二、教導學生尊重學校實踐活動的規則；三、具有權力的教師必須以身作則，尊重學生。

Taiwan’s democracy is a type of liberal democracy that emphasizes freedom and individual rights as well as the importance of diverse values. However, we can also clearly see Taiwan’s democracy was often troubled by frequent social protests, confl icts, and confrontations along with a failure to tolerate and respect differences. The virtue of respect therefore must be cultivated among citizens for realizing the idea of democracy. This study is based on the author’s experiences and it explores issues related to the virtue of respect. The study asks how should we educate elementary school students with the virtues required of a democratic society and enable them to become good citizens for the future and realize the ideals of a democratic society. Finally, the study makes three recommendations. First, the promotion of multicultural education is critical. Second, teachers must teach students to respect for the rules of activities. Third, teachers must lead by example.