Social Justice in Education
“I believe that
education is the civil rights issue of our generation. And if you care about
promoting opportunity and reducing inequality, the classroom is the place to
start. Great teaching is about so much more than education; it is a daily fight
for social justice.”
~ Secretary Arne Duncan, October 9, 2009
This quote reflects what a successful classroom would look
like. As Secretary Duncan stated, teaching is about so much more than
education. If teachers taught strictly curriculum, students would never gain an
insight to issues going on outside of the classroom. The classroom presents a
safe, wonderful way to talk about what is going on in the real world in a civil
and educational way. An article I came across states, “Teachers can both
maintain high-quality content instruction and create a classroom with a social
justice orientation.” Any type of classroom can incorporate social justice
issues and greatly benefit from it, even if the classroom is lacking diversity.
By bringing social justice issues into the classroom, students will think at a
high level, gain good discussion skills, and be exposed to the different
opinions their peers may share. Connecting real-life issues with curriculum is
also a great way for students to make connections with the material and shows
students that what they are learning can be applied to situations outside of
the school walls. Giving students time to discuss and share ideas on social
justice issues also creates a community. The article I read coined the term,
“academic siblings,” and I love the idea of that term. The article states that
most students have siblings and know what it is like for their siblings to get
on their nerves. But in the end, you know that your brother/sister will have
your back, respect your opinion, and support you. I think this is an awesome
term to use in the classroom to get the students to feel that sense of
community. Incorporating social justice issues in the class is imperative to
get the students making real life connections and giving students a voice.
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