Preface
The meaning of “teaching for social justice” can change, depending on the classroom, teacher, or students. However, as I read about various teachers and strategies throughout the semester, several themes kept popping up. Using those themes, as well as my own beliefs about what teaching for social justice entails, I have come up with my own four foundations of social justice education. These foundations are empathy, community, critique, and empowerment. They are not steps, exactly, but attitudes and ways of thinking that should eventually be as natural as breathing. I truly believe that by teaching and modeling these four tenets, teachers can create the kind and just citizens that they hope their students will become.
My first genre is a movie poster about empathy because I believe empathy to be the first and most important step in social justice education. Without the ability to walk a mile in someone else’s perspective, or at least acknowledge that there are other perspectives, students will achieve little in the way of community, critique, and empowerment. I believe in using reading and writing activities to foster empathetic thinking, an idea that was influenced by Linda Christensen, as well as Amanda Haertling Thein, Richard Beach, and Daryl Parks. I chose a movie poster simply because it seemed interesting to me. But once I created it, the imaginary movie came alive in my head. Empathy is something that is life changing, and I could picture an inspirational documentary about how some strategically picked books could change an entire classroom. All of my genres stick with the movie theme, and I created this movie website to house my entire project.
The next foundation of social justice is a classroom community based on equality and diversity, which I chose to explore using an interview form. I “interviewed” Linda Christensen and Tony Fenwick because I like how they explain their classroom communities. Though they strive for equality, they also want students to celebrate each other for their differences. Though she is not directly “interviewed,” Elizabeth Walton also supports this idea. Both Christensen and Fenwick have clear ideas about the role of the teacher in promoting such a classroom, which I find useful as I imagine and plan my future classroom. They believe that the teacher should be an equal, as well as a role model in "taking off the mask." It should be noted that some quotes in the interview are verbatim from the articles, while other quotes are completely invented by me based on my reading of those articles.
The next phase of social justice education is a critique of society. Students cannot stop at reading and empathizing; they must learn to question why certain groups have power while others remain powerless. They must also ask what they can do. Linda Christensen and Heather Bruce talk about critiquing society in this way, and I shaped their ideas into three reviews of this imaginary movie. The excerpts of the reviews focus on the critique and questioning phase of social justice education and the kinds of questions we should be teaching our students to ask.
The main goal of social justice education is empowerment that leads to some kind of action. I love how Delane Bender Slack views empowerment as being optimistic about the future. She has her students study social movements that have gone before them and how they succeeded. I also love Linda Christensen’s description of taking what students learn out of the classroom and into the community. Heather Bruce creatively describes revision as erasing or changing words of hate into creations of peace and tolerance. I used all of these influences to create a soundtrack to my imaginary movie that focuses on empowerment, action, and optimism. I included the track listing of the soundtrack as well as the lyrics to the song “Peace Cranes.” The title comes from Bruce’s article and the lyrics are influenced by all three authors. There are many “call to action” songs, so I thought the genre would fit this pillar of social justice well. The lyrics, though extremely cheesy, are very optimistic and idealistic, qualities we should be passing on to our students.
Social justice is a slippery term in itself, so the idea of teaching for social justice is a difficult one. However, I believe four things must happen in a classroom that promotes social justice. Students must feel a part of a community where they are appreciated for who they are without the mask. They must engage with literature that forces them to see the world from different perspectives, and then they must question why society is the way it is. Finally, with optimism and enthusiasm, they should feel empowered to change things, no matter how subtle those changes are. These four foundations are the ones that I see as most important. I feel ready and able to promote this kind of thinking in my future class.
References
Bruce, H. E. (2013). Subversive acts of revision: Writing and justice. The English Journal, (102)6, 31-39.
Fenwick, T. & Sanders, S. (2011). Teaching out prejudice – celebrating equality. Education Review, (24)1, 61-69.
Golden, J. (2008). A conversation with Linda Christensen on social justice education. The English Journal, (97)6, 59-64.
Slack, D. B. (2001). Fusing social justice with multigenre writing. The English Journal, (90)6, 62-66.
Thein, A. H., Beach, R., & Parks, D. (2007). Perspective-taking as transformative practice in teaching multicultural literature to white students. The English Journal, (97)2, 54-60.
Walton, E. (2011). Using literature as a strategy to promote inclusivity in high school classrooms. Intervention in School and Clinic, (47)4, 224-233.
My first genre is a movie poster about empathy because I believe empathy to be the first and most important step in social justice education. Without the ability to walk a mile in someone else’s perspective, or at least acknowledge that there are other perspectives, students will achieve little in the way of community, critique, and empowerment. I believe in using reading and writing activities to foster empathetic thinking, an idea that was influenced by Linda Christensen, as well as Amanda Haertling Thein, Richard Beach, and Daryl Parks. I chose a movie poster simply because it seemed interesting to me. But once I created it, the imaginary movie came alive in my head. Empathy is something that is life changing, and I could picture an inspirational documentary about how some strategically picked books could change an entire classroom. All of my genres stick with the movie theme, and I created this movie website to house my entire project.
The next foundation of social justice is a classroom community based on equality and diversity, which I chose to explore using an interview form. I “interviewed” Linda Christensen and Tony Fenwick because I like how they explain their classroom communities. Though they strive for equality, they also want students to celebrate each other for their differences. Though she is not directly “interviewed,” Elizabeth Walton also supports this idea. Both Christensen and Fenwick have clear ideas about the role of the teacher in promoting such a classroom, which I find useful as I imagine and plan my future classroom. They believe that the teacher should be an equal, as well as a role model in "taking off the mask." It should be noted that some quotes in the interview are verbatim from the articles, while other quotes are completely invented by me based on my reading of those articles.
The next phase of social justice education is a critique of society. Students cannot stop at reading and empathizing; they must learn to question why certain groups have power while others remain powerless. They must also ask what they can do. Linda Christensen and Heather Bruce talk about critiquing society in this way, and I shaped their ideas into three reviews of this imaginary movie. The excerpts of the reviews focus on the critique and questioning phase of social justice education and the kinds of questions we should be teaching our students to ask.
The main goal of social justice education is empowerment that leads to some kind of action. I love how Delane Bender Slack views empowerment as being optimistic about the future. She has her students study social movements that have gone before them and how they succeeded. I also love Linda Christensen’s description of taking what students learn out of the classroom and into the community. Heather Bruce creatively describes revision as erasing or changing words of hate into creations of peace and tolerance. I used all of these influences to create a soundtrack to my imaginary movie that focuses on empowerment, action, and optimism. I included the track listing of the soundtrack as well as the lyrics to the song “Peace Cranes.” The title comes from Bruce’s article and the lyrics are influenced by all three authors. There are many “call to action” songs, so I thought the genre would fit this pillar of social justice well. The lyrics, though extremely cheesy, are very optimistic and idealistic, qualities we should be passing on to our students.
Social justice is a slippery term in itself, so the idea of teaching for social justice is a difficult one. However, I believe four things must happen in a classroom that promotes social justice. Students must feel a part of a community where they are appreciated for who they are without the mask. They must engage with literature that forces them to see the world from different perspectives, and then they must question why society is the way it is. Finally, with optimism and enthusiasm, they should feel empowered to change things, no matter how subtle those changes are. These four foundations are the ones that I see as most important. I feel ready and able to promote this kind of thinking in my future class.
References
Bruce, H. E. (2013). Subversive acts of revision: Writing and justice. The English Journal, (102)6, 31-39.
Fenwick, T. & Sanders, S. (2011). Teaching out prejudice – celebrating equality. Education Review, (24)1, 61-69.
Golden, J. (2008). A conversation with Linda Christensen on social justice education. The English Journal, (97)6, 59-64.
Slack, D. B. (2001). Fusing social justice with multigenre writing. The English Journal, (90)6, 62-66.
Thein, A. H., Beach, R., & Parks, D. (2007). Perspective-taking as transformative practice in teaching multicultural literature to white students. The English Journal, (97)2, 54-60.
Walton, E. (2011). Using literature as a strategy to promote inclusivity in high school classrooms. Intervention in School and Clinic, (47)4, 224-233.