Social Justice in the Classroom

Social Justice is an important subject in this day and age. As we continue to evolve from our traditional standards of living, more and more people are concerned with creating a fair and equal society without the threats of stratification. Therefore, social justice has become a very important lesson in the classroom, but many teachers are finding it difficult to integrate lessons of social justice without sounding overly political. Social justice can also be a difficult subject to integrate in schools of conservative communities where traditionalism (which is often plagued by xenophobia) takes precedence. 

How can a teacher integrate principles of social justice such as anti-racism, anti-wealth inequality, a desire for communal sharing and concern for the environment in the most subtle manner? Especially among children.

Many people are aware of the Dr. Seuss book, "The Sneetches". The book opens with two distinct species of creatures. The star belly sneetches and the plain belly sneetches. The star belly sneetches feel superior to the plain belly sneetches and treat them poorly because of this. The book, while silly, is actual a subtle lesson in the dangers of racism. Many other Dr. Seuss books offer similar childish outlooks on social issues. There are also tons of other books and lessons similar to Dr. Seuss books that offer subtle approaches to social justice. This pin on Pinterest contains a small collection:
https://www.pinterest.com/saywhatyoumean/children-s-books-for-social-justice/

Environmental Education

One of the few things that I remember in public high school was a class pertaining to environmental education. Not only was the teacher very good at introducing the topic and discussing what environmental education means, but the class was also interesting since it was such a foreign concept from writing, reading and math, but at the same time environmental education is just as (if not more) important as writing, reading and math skills. We only have one planet, so we need to know the proper steps and what we can do to save this planet. 

For this blog post, I decided to take a look at the website for the North American Association for Environmental Education, which is one of the largest organizations in the United States that advocates for environmental care and protection through spreading information related to the environment to students. I was specifically interested in their link pertaining to environmental literacy. Literacy means the ability to read and write, so I was naturally curious of how this would apply to environmental education. Environmental literacy is somewhat similar to the ability to read and write, but instead of knowing or having the knowledge to read and write, environmental literacy is understanding and knowing what steps need to be taken to make the environment better. 

The North American Association for Environmental Education defines environmental literacy as: "someone who, both individually and together with others, makes informed decisions concerning the environment; is willing to act on these decisions to improve the well-being of other individuals, societies, and the global environment; and participates in civic life". 

The Banking of Education

The conceptual theory of "banking education" can be described as attributing modern education to that of a bank. In which students receive education and learning concepts by the teacher as deposits, but nothing more than that. Education can be seen as information that is stored, but not reflected toward. Coined by Paulo Freire, a Brazilian educator and philosopher, In his essay, titled "Banking Education", Paulo describes modern education as being akin to a form of assimilation. In which students are not encouraged to critically think and should not take ownership upon what they are learning. This results in reinforcing principles of oppression. Paulo describes one solution to this issue with oppressive education through the Problem-posing solution to education in which students are given problems and must solve these problems on their own through the use of prior knowledge. This method would encourage critical thinking and reflection on the task that is being done. Which would likewise, result in an interest from the student to pursue higher educational gains. 

I believe that the concept of banking education is a very real problem in the modern educational system (especially in the West), and a problem that has yet to be resolved. There are others who would agree as well such as educator Gregory Cajete, a Native American (Tewa) and professor from Santa Clara Pueblo, New Mexico. Dr. Gregory's lies in Native American studies and spreading cultural teachings in the classroom. A majority of his emphasis is on health and wellness. He would agree that the modern education system is a serious problem that needs to be addressed by incorporating more critical thinking in the classroom. Introducing new cultures is one way to address the problem of the modern educational system in America. By favoring cultural studies, we present an opportunity for students to think about themselves, their history and their identity and to take ownership of these concepts. While this may not apply so well in the math and sciences, it can be essential in the history and literature departments. 

Educational Philosophy

Every person has a method of doing things and every person has a way of thinking. We wouldn't be human if we all thought the same. We'd be more like ants. Which wouldn't be such a bad thing since we'd all be working together for a common purpose as opposed to working against each other to succeed in our own goals. If these first few sentences aren't a hint to my educational philosophy, then I don't know what else is.

In taking an educational philosophy self assessment, it came as no surprise that a majority of my results pointed toward progressivism and humanism. I've always been a very "all of us are different, but all of us should work together" kind of person, and I believe that is what the assessment was attempting to tell me. When it comes to education, I believe that every individual should be allowed to question everything that society presents towards them. In fact, I believe that's really the only way to truly learn, is by questioning reality, society and everything you are told to arrive to a conclusion. 

In our class textbook there was a section on Marxism and education which brought up Hegelian Dialectics. These dialectics largely explain my opinions on how education should be taught. We have the the thesis, everything we are told by teachers, parents, and society. It is the job of the student to develop the antithesis to conflict the thesis. Asking questions. Why is it this way? What is the meaning of what I am learning? Why am I learning it? What is the point? The conclusion produces a synthesis. An answer. After which one can retain what they have learned because they have a different influence in what and why they are learning it. Thesis and antithesis. The conflict between the two should be an inevitable part of our education system, yet we persist with a rigid and standardized system that teaches the what but not the why.