Blog Post #2

Prompt: Should social justice necessarily be addressed through education? If so, why? If not, where else in society could social justice be addressed? Is social justice simply an everyday life practice (e.g., activism)? Can it be taught?

Social justice is a concept that must be addressed through education. While social justice can’t necessarily be taught in a specific way, it can be learned. Every single student will experience and/or witness different social injustices in their lifetime and educators should help them form different skills to address these issues. When children and young adults engage with different ideas, it can aid in the explanation of ‘why’ they may have certain experiences or face discrimination. In addition, it can encourage an increased amount of empathy individuals have for one another both inside and outside of the classroom. By learning to acknowledge our differences and the challenges others go through, we could create a society that wants to help curb the spread of injustice. Even if a classroom can’t give a student a full look at every social justice issue, it can serve as a starting point. 

(https://twitter.com/sojustbooks/status/1626764101908152322?s=20) 

Social Justice Books highlights an instance in which 4th graders were able to incorporate social issues regarding censorship and form bar graphs. Combining math and reading with a current event could serve as a self-led way to present different ideas to students. By looking at different censorship statistics, students were introduced to an emerging social issue and observed what types of books were being censored. 

An educator should do their best to present all sides of an argument, without villainizing a certain perspective. Putting their own biases aside and attempting to cultivate an environment of free thinking when discussing social justice issues allows students to challenge different ideas and question ideologies, building critical thinking skills. However, while conversations about privilege and other tough-to-talk-about should be encouraged, students should never be forced to share an experience or put on the spot because an educator assumes that they have experience with a topic.  

Hopefully, this will allow students to be more open to different ideas as they get older, allowing for them to make informed decisions when it comes to participating in government and interacting with those around them.