The
article I found is an excerpt from a larger text. Aptly titled, Social Justice in the Classroom deals
with the idea that there are so many missed opportunities to teach students
about acceptance and understanding of others' viewpoints. To begin the article,
an example is given of an African American student and a Mexican American
student commenting off topic about the concept of what a fluid is. One student
comments on how she likes coffee while the other says that's bad because it'll
turn her skin darker. The teacher focuses them back to the topic of fluids
without addressing the negative concept that was brought up of having darker
skin.
There are many times in the
classroom setting that are brushed over as unimportant, but several of those
missed opportunities could prevent the negative stigma that currently looms
over having discussions about race, gender, and other inequalities. Had our
students been taught about the proper way to approach these subject at a
younger age, there would be much more opportunity for social justice in the
classroom. Social justice is "justice exercised within a society, particularly
as it is applied to and among the various social classes of a society"
(Google). To put it simply, it is the equality and justice of socialization.
This concept
of social justice taking place in that classroom is huge! If students feel as
though we don't create an environment that allows equal opportunity for
everyone in the class, then they will not be interested in listening to
anything we say. They will feel isolated and unimportant. By paying attention
and righting these social inequalities, however, we allow opportunity for a
higher level of learning from all of our students. If we don’t allow this type
of environment to exist that puts all of our students on a level playing field
and in a comfortable environment, we are failing them as a teacher because we
are not teaching them key components to life outside the classroom.
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