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Social Justice in the Classroom Response -- Blog Post #8

Work Cited

Inchausti, Robert. “Teaching Social Justice in the Classroom.” The Radical Teacher, no. 35, 1988, pp. 30–33. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/20709614.
 

Social Justice in the Classroom Response -- Blog Post  #8

What is Social Justice? Why is it important for our Classrooms? 

 Social Justice is the protection of said underrepresented groups. Social Justice Warriors are a group of a people that protects or advocates for marginalized groups such as minorities, the LGBTQ+ community and other underrepresented groups. They protect their rights and provide them a platform to have a voice in today's issues. It's important to have in our classrooms because it gives our students of underrepresented backgrounds a safe space for them to speak and be themselves.

In Inchausti's "Teaching Social Justice in the Classroom" he explains an activity he had his class of all boys try. They drew for their social class - wealthy, middle class, and poor - and divided the classroom space and desks according to those classes. With the wealthy being the smallest group with the most space and nicest desks and the poor being crowded and having the broken down desks. They held democratic elections to determine their mayor who quickly became corrupt due to corporations and wealthy enterprises in their fictional city and government.

Afterward, the boys reflected on what happened - the social injustices that occurred, the corruption, and what they learned about today's society from a simple simulation. The poor continued to be poor, the middle class were confused about what to do (either work on reform, move up or settle) and the wealthy pushed the envelope and ran the show. It was interesting to see how quickly things reflected real life - between what happened and in what should have happened if they were respectful of social justice.

 The purpose of having the boys simulate social class life in a city wasn't just for them to reflect on what transpired. Given that most of the boys were white with wealthy parents, it was for them to gain a certain awareness - to learn and understand what it's like for different backgrounds and ethnic groups within their make believe city. Pedagogies are created on needs of reform or defining ideologies for certain issues. One could be created to stem the corruption of this make believe city in hopes of reforming the city and its people to be respectful and aware of its residents. All of its residents regardless of creed, gender, and ethnicity. Unfortunately, social justice is there because we do not live in an optimistic or ideal world.

We're the product of one that's terrifying similar to the simulation. Where the words of those not fully represented are crushed underfoot by money and greed. It's not just a race and money game in this case, as different ethnicities come from different backgrounds and socioeconomic statuses. Social Justice is needed in a classroom not just to gain awareness of what goes on and to validate having everyone heard. The importance of Social Justice in classrooms is to ensure that fair is fair.
That the law caters to no biases and education does not either.

In an ideal world we wouldn't have to discuss social justice in a classroom but since we do not live an ideal world it's important to include this fundamental part of our society. A fundamental part that is often overshadowed by greed and corruption. Money shouldn't be what causes the cogs to the machine of life to go round and round. It shouldn't even be a machine in the first place as machines are imperfect just as humans are. No, I think that social justice does the world one better if done in moderation and within context. So that fair is truly fair in a world where it wasn't that way before.

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