“Social justice is
significant because there are children who suffer, in very visceral ways, for
the lack of equity and access they experience in their daily life at schools”
(Henderson et al., 2015, p. 100).
à Take a couple
of minutes to watch the following video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z754lhcX6qw
After watching the
video, what does social justice in school mean to you? How can students’ voice be
heard and honored in schools? How can students be engaged in a dialogue about
social justice and social norms in their schools?
I think the way to engage students is:
ReplyDelete1) first by treating them justly
2) second by involving them in community projects to help other people.
In my school, there is a weekly community project where students each time they go to a different place to help little. For example, hospital, church, homelessness shelter, etc.
Jeong,
ReplyDeleteI find your school's community projects intriguing. That is exactly what 3S pedagogy is all about: Student engagement, meaningful activities and problem-solving. So instead of just talking about problems, the school engages the students to become part of the solution. Excellent! Thanks for your input!
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ReplyDeleteJeong & Mohsine
ReplyDeleteThank you for your participation. I like what you said about the importance of treating students equally and encouraging them to engage in some communal activities to help other members in their community. I totally agree with Mohsine that what your school does is part of 3S pedagogy.
One thing that I would like to add is that students and teachers need to engage in deliberative conversations about the social classes in their society. I personally do not think that there is a society exists without some sort of social classes. In some societies, these social classes are hidden and in other societies they are visible.
I would like to use my society as an example, there are various classes based on the the tribe that everyone belongs to. This means that each tribe belongs to a specific class. This classification is not visible to outsiders (people who are not from the country) and some people deny the fact that such a thing exists in our culture. To prove my point, men from specific tribes only marry women from certain tribes and vice versa. They do not allow this cycle to be broken. I know that it is sad, but it does exist in my society.
Reflecting on my past experience as a student and a teacher, I have never heard anybody, whether a student, a fellow teacher, or even a principle, talks or discusses this issue in school. Everyone thinks that bringing up such a topic would do more harm than good. Now, I think that this is wrong and to promote equity in schools, there is an urgent need for addressing these kinds of issues in order to be resolved.
-What does social justice mean to you? As far as I'm concerned, social justice means all schools should provide good education to all students regardless of their social status. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Rich kids go to better schools, get better education and, as a result, get the best of jobs. To the contrary, poor kids go to overcrowded, under-financed public schools, get mediocre education, and end up competing for low-level jobs.
ReplyDelete-How can students’ voice be heard and honored in schools?
In some private schools, there is what is the equivalent of student senate headed by elected student representatives, but this is not the case in the government school system. Maybe following the same model is a democratic way to involve students and hear about their problems and hopes.
-How can students be engaged in a dialogue about social justice and social norms in their schools?
I think this is the role of the teacher, but as I mentioned in a different post, this is cannot be done when you have 30, or even 40 students in one classroom and you have tests and written lesson plans that must be ready to show to government supervisors who may come any time and any day. So as a government teacher there are a lot of obstacles that can stop you from thinking and planning from the standpoint of your students. the best I can do is see what their needs are to prepare them to pass the tests and pass the course.
Mariam,
ReplyDeleteI liked the idea of the student senate. That definitely gives students a platform to be heard, but again since this is only implemented in some private schools, it feels like a privilege for which students are paying.
you are right: the more students pay, the more freedom they get, and the better education they receive. so even in this appealing model, there is no true freedom or equity.
ReplyDelete