Social Justice in the Classroom

So this is a topic that is not so easily answered and is definitely not a black and white subject, I hope that statement is received as intended. Social justice is a hot topic in all aspects of our society in the present day and is not just a unique situation to the educational system. I found an article, as mentioned below in references, but I also wanted to ask my mentor teacher the same question that our class was being prompted with. So I asked the question and the first response I got was a heavy sigh and a kind of “wow” look followed by the statement that that is not a very easy question to answer and it is also very point of view. For instance, my experiences with social justice (as a White native born American) are going to be different than an immigrant from Mexico. Or different than that a black male American or different than that of a white female American. The term bends and flexes depending on your own background and your own experiences. That is just one level of the question. My mentor teacher, who has been teaching about twenty years, mentioned to me how the term social justice has evolved from when he started teaching. This is understandable considering the ever-changing world of education. He also told me something which I really agreed with, he said that it is not our jobs as educators to mold students into something they are not but instead it is our job to teach them to value their differences and use them as strengths that can help them in different aspects of their lives. Our job is to take these students and help reinforce who they believe they are and make them feel confident about anything that they wish to tackle in this crazy world. I really liked how down to earth and blunt my mentor teacher was. He said, what does it matter if the student is white, black, brown, gay, trans, straight, male, female, disabled, rich, poor, or “different” in any way? Every student deserves the same education and the same opportunities to thrive in this world. That is what I believe social justice is all about in all different levels of our society.


The article that I read about social justice in the classroom was very informative and provided me with insight that I had not previously even considered. The quote below also reiforces the point the article is making that teaching for social justice as a new teacher can easily become overwhelming while trying to adhere to the standards and the district policies. What I took from the article is that teachers are become more aware of the importance to teach about this topic but “red tape” as well as cultural differences can impede the success of the instruction.

“This is arguably the distinguishing feature of teaching for social justice relative to other equity-oriented reform movements: It is inherently situated within the contemporary educational context and requires teachers to simultaneously meet social justice goals, local curricular mandates, and accountability demands” (Reference 1).

References:
1) http://content.ebscohost.com/ContentServer.asp?T=P&P=AN&K=85408049&S=R&D=a9h&EbscoContent=dGJyMNXb4kSeprU4xNvgOLCmr1Cep65Ssqa4SLKWxWXS&ContentCustomer=dGJyMPGusk%2ByrrNOuePfgeyx44Dt6fIA

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