Social Justice part 1 of final blog

Social Justice plays a key part in schools everywhere all over the United States. In most schools around the world there are many children from all different backgrounds. This means that they were brought up different and their first language may not be English. However that is only one of the social justices that come to play in a classroom. There are many for example in an article titled What does it mean to teach for Social Justice?, it states that many areas of social Justice contains “race, class, gender, ability, or sexuality group”(Pat Russo) As a teacher it is very important to understand Social Justice and work to make your classroom a place where there is no inequalities. Which figuratively speaking sounds a lot easier that it is to do. There are numerous amounts of steps a teacher needs to take to help solve this problem.

As a teacher I feel it is are job to find different strategies to incorporate activities into the classroom which involve gender, race, and class. Whether it’s having children talk about their backgrounds to the class, or just doing a fun project regarding a family tree. Which as a teacher you make the student feel as comfortable as possible. Always let a child know that they are beautiful what ever skin color gender or language they speak. If you are one of those teachers who chose not to talk about any of these topics it hurts your class and the children who are touched by such issues. If as a teacher I do not let them know that being different is a wonderful and beautiful thing, then they might come to be ashamed about whom they are. As a teacher I will always correct a student who is saying negative things about skin color, gender, or a disability. No child deserves to be bullied by any child and I will never condone such behavior in my classroom. If as a teacher the student who is saying disrespectful does not get consequence for their actions nothing will ever change with that student. If anything the student might get other children to join in which is a harder thing to stop. So as a teacher the vicious circle must be stopped before it gets out of control.

Social Justice impacts most every educational choice that is made in a classroom. As a teacher the children look up to everything that I do therefore i must constantly be setting a good example for the students. I also need to let them no what is exceptable and what is unexceptable in my classroom. I will not except any student who talks negatively about another student, nor will i accept any kind of racism or fighting in my classroom. I will teach and do many activities to help get the students to get to know each other as well as brining out the beauty in the difference of who they are as people. Some activities may include have the children draw picture of their families and explain who each person is in the picture.

WEBSITE USED -http://www.oswego.edu/~prusso1/Russos_what_does_it_mean_to_teach_for_s.htm

Poem for social justice
http://davepoems.tripod.com/id4.html

Prayer for Justice
You came to set men free LordYet men are still bound by oppressionTo proclaim your justice LordBut still injustice is rife in your world.You came in love but men preferred hatredYou came in peace but men preferred war
How shall we show the world your care Lord?
The Lord says:Where man is oppressed - proclaim my freedom.Where injustice rules - let my justice be known.Where there is violence - I give you my peaceWhere there is hatred - I give you my love.
Lord show that you care through us your people that we might be:
For freedom and against oppressionFor justice and against injusticeFor love and against hatredFor love and against violenceThat we may follow the example of Jesus our Master. Amen
1984