Creating Classrooms For Social Justice

With landmark Supreme Court decisions in regards to education such as Brown v Board of Education, which made segregation within schools illegal, one would be inclined to believe that modern schools are void of any inequality. However, at a deeper glance, it is apparent that there is a glaring inequality within public school systems at the national, statewide, and even district-wide level. Such an inequality has drastic results as the education one receives has a high correlation to the college they will attend, and the job they will work. It is in society's best interest that public school systems be improved to equally supplement students with the tools necessary to succeed. While the public school system aims to reduce the inequality within it, they have proven ineffective in guaranteeing children of all races and economic classes an equal education.

Reynolds illustrates how there are a variety of different ways social justice can be taught, and explains how each teacher has a different way of implementing the same ideas. She provides examples of lessons a child might learn and the biases behind it teaching social justice. Reynolds is concerned with the age range of teaching social justice and when is considered the appropriate time. New teachers are now getting taught how to teach social justice within the class room, and the curriculum is changing to include aspects of social justice. Reynolds states how social justice is a branch off the bigger question of “who gets to decide the best

Education and economic justice were two forms of systemic inequalities that make inequality difficult to talk about. Education is a requirement if someone wishes to have a better life, but not everyone has access to quality education. In the U.S there has always been a battle, people of color have fought to be able to access quality education, (Philips, 2016: 130) they are constantly attending inferior and ineffective school where there are many distractions for students to be fully successful in the classrooms. Often these schools where children of color attend lack quality facilities, educational resources, and qualified teachers. Someone can’t help to notice that in general such unqualified schools are mostly in color people’s neighborhoods.

The educational system has been around for thousands of years, and throughout time, there have always existed equality issues. From girls not being able to attend school as far as the boys, to children being separated into different schools because of the color of their skin, equality in education is an issue that has plagued humanity for far too long. Throughout the years, there have been some important decisions made in an effort to afford equality in education. Perhaps, as we move forward in our thinking and beliefs, we may find a way to make education a right that everyone who has the desire to grow through knowledge should be afforded, regardless of circumstance.

A school setting provides opportunities where issues of social justice, oppression, and discrimination can be addressed. According to Bemak and Chung (2009), students of color and economically disadvantaged students are likely to have low academic achievement, in comparison to their White middle class counterparts. These disparities in academic

The first article I read was titled “What Does Teaching for Social Justice Mean to Teacher Candidates?” I learned that its not the gap between age of the student and teacher, but the main problem is the teachers entering the field have limited to no experience or understanding of different races, backgrounds, culture, and class. Because of this, teachers are having a harder time working with diverse learners, and its common to see teachers holding grudges on these students or having poor attitudes towards this population. In this same article, they talk about this gap a little bit more in depth by saying “The academic achievement gap among different racial, cultural, linguistic, and socioeconomic status groups of students is exacerbated by inequitable educational opportunities and resources, access to highly qualified teachers, and access to proper pedagogy and pedagogical resources.” From this reading, I have learned its very important to know my students and get to know a little about bout where they come from and their backgrounds to better be able to

Per the DVHS Handbook, missed class work and tests resulting from an excused absence must be completed within a reasonable period of time commensurate with the length of the absence.

In today’s day and age most people expect the educational system to be equal among all students; people expect these students to grow up and get a good job with the education they have been taught throughout the years. But how can this be achieved when the system is not even close to being equal or fair? In this world, there are schools in poverty and then there are more privileged schools. At the higher class schools, the students are given an amazing education with more supplies and funding, whereas at the schools in poverty it is the complete opposite. In Kandice Sumners TedTalk (2016), How America's public schools keep kids in poverty, she rants about this exact topic. She has seen both worlds of the school controversy. She’s been to a high-class school and learned so much from them as a student, but now she teaches at a school in poverty and only wishes that she could have the same exact supplies and funding for her students. There is obviously a

As we grow in education, it always seems as in there is someone that is left behind. Educators need to be able to reach out as many students as possible, but some may argue that it does not feel this way. Often, students with special education needs are considered to be too difficult to teach, or simple just a “lost cause.” The way we interact and care for all students not only shows in each student, but it shows in the impact it has on the community as a whole.

Martin Luther once said, “When schools flourish, all flourishes.” Schools are the institutions where students’ foundations for lifelong success are built. One would think, or at least hope, that sixty years after the Brown v. Board of Education decision, all schools in America would be flourishing or near flourishing. How wonderful would it be, if politicians and other people in power realized how true Martin Luther’s words were. Unfortunately, this is not the case. As Jonathan Kozol explicitly depicts in his 1991 novel, Savage Inequalities, inequality in American public schools still exists despite segregation being outlawed. Even though this book was written twenty-five years ago, it still applies to this day. There are many schools in America that are still segregated, and the complete opposite of flourishing. This is due to one main reason: inadequate funding. There is a tremendous amount of inequality in funding between the poor, city schools, and the affluent, suburban schools. Kozol explores these various schools in his novel, and demonstrates how by underfunding schools that are in dire need of funds, we are essentially setting up our future generations for failure. We are inhibiting them from reaching their potentials and showcasing their talents. We ourselves are ripping their chances of a bright future out of their hands. We are allowing our society to believe segregation in schools is ok.

The post 1945 Civil Rights movement, also known as the “Second Reconstruction”, began its trek to equality by challenging the education system. Civil rights activists believed a decent education was a right reserved for all. They saw schooling as their doorway to begin “socializing” white children at a young age to the idea of being around and working alongside black children. More importantly, education readies people for the working world, and activists believed integrating schooling would allow them the opportunity to get the same education and skill set currently reserved for white schools. Therefore, making them just as prepared or “equal” as white folks. This would not come easily though. We see a prime example of massive resistance

One of the concerns regarding social justice in education is that there are marginalised groups within society do not having equal access to the learning and life opportunities that they deserve. The concept of social justice stresses that every individual within society is entitled to have equal rights and opportunities. This means that an individual from a lower class background deserves the same opportunities as a person from a wealthier background. It is about becoming aware and recognising that there are certain situations where the application of the same rules to unequal groups can sometimes lead to imbalanced results. It is therefore crucial that the government create a curriculum that can empower every student regardless of their

Social justice and inclusion have become important parts of the modern world, especially within the Scottish education system. They allow pupils to reach their full potential and to become fully integrated whilst at school, regardless of background or disability. However these terms are ever changing and require a lot of thought and determination to be fully fulfilled within schools. This paper will look at the importance of social justice and inclusion as well as considering different views on the topics. It will also focus on the teacher’s role in achieving an inclusive environment within school and the implications for learning.

Personally, I love school and I love all of my classes. However, I still have my favorites, and those are the ones that make me think about the world I live in. Biology, physics, and world history are some examples because it urges me to question my surroundings. Social Justice has that aspect as well, so I can most definitely say it has the potential to be one of my favorite classes for this semester.

Over the last eight weeks, we have visited and deeply discussed many topics that surround social justice in the classroom. These topics have ranged from social justice in the world to how to create a socially just classroom and everything in between. In class, there has been a few times where it has been uncomfortable because the topics can bring out many opinions in the room. Many people in the room shared their opinions, including me, which brought up many other discussions. In this essay, I will be discussing our navigations through the social justice issues that classrooms face by talking about the key points of our class throughout the last eight weeks.