Blog Post #8: Social Justice Education

In my search for the perfect definition for social justice I became aware of the fact that social justice can be defined in a myriad of ways. Every article or website I came across provided a slightly different perspective on what social justice means and what it looks like. To me, social justice is that justice by which we seek to better people in our communities whom are trapped in lower classes or societal oppressions. In light of our readings this quarter, it is essentially seeking the welfare of those who are lacking. The act of social justice can take on many different forms: clothing or shelter for those without a home, money to the poor, giving food to the hungry, taking care of children who need love. However, one of the most effective ways to be an activist for social justice, in my opinion, is through education.

Social justice is important in our classrooms because “students who participate in social justice education have a greater awareness of inequalities that impact their school, community, and society, and learn tools for taking action to address these inequalities” (Welton, Harris, La Londe, & Moyer, 2015). The article I picked to read for this week’s posting took a research based approach to examine a high school course on social justice education, paying specific attention to the classroom pedagogy and dialogue on issues of race, power, and privilege. I deliberately selected this article because I think it provides a detailed look at what social justice in the classroom actually looks like and it provides pedagogical tools for educators who want to integrate social justice education in high school classrooms, especially racially diverse classrooms.

I love the idea of a social justice class in a high school, especially when it has been properly implemented. I think the social justice class depicted in this study created a really unique space in which students could connect and discuss the politics of power, race, and privilege to their own diverse identities, their school, community, and society. However, I think the benefit of implementing this sort of course in a high school classroom depends heavily on a teacher’s content decisions and experiences. Students in a social justice class discuss and work through truly difficult and sensitive concepts and there is a lot of work on the part of the teacher to make this work efficiently. Therefore, teachers must be prepared to work through these issues with students and create a classroom environment where students are equipped with the skills to properly engage with the difficult topics. In addition, I couldn’t help but wonder whether it makes sense to restrict social justice education to a single course. I think it is a school-wide responsibility for social justice education, not just a single teacher.

Welton, A. D., Harris, T. O., La Londe, P. G., Moyer, R. T. (2015). Social Justice Education in a Diverse Classroom: Examining High School Discussions about Race, Power, and Privilege, Equity & Excellence in Education. Official Journal of University of Massachusetts Amherst, College of Education, 48:4, 549-570. doi:10.1080/10665684.2015.1083839

http://www.tandfonline.com.ezproxy.library.ewu.edu/doi/pdf/10.1080/10665684.2015.1083839