“Is Everyone really Equal” by Ozlem Sensoy and Robin DiAngelo is an introduction to building frameworks that will help students comprehend Social Justice courses more completely. This highlights the patterns and tensions that is caused by inequality within Society. It is important to view these courses through a critical lens and not necessarily through a personal one. Social justice courses are suppose to challenge mainstream ideologies; however when students are not prepared to hear this, they will shut it out and may lead them to question their place in society. This occurs when privilege, “isms”- racism, sexism, sexism- and the inequality that tends to be involved. This may also lead to students viewing themselves as “bad” because they are using a mainstream binary framework of good and bad. Though, using reaction to understand the material is very useful. One way that Sensoy and DiAngelo suggest changing these frameworks is through recognizing ones positionality and acknowledging the the dominant cultures knowledge is not the only truth. Another suggestion that may help is showing that opinions are not the same as knowledge gained from scholarly articles. Normally when someone does this, they do not understand the content and this leads them to using their opinions gained from the dominate knowledge. This may lead students to using Anecdotal Evidence, which is taking a rare instance and making it a rule, instead of viewing it as the exception to the rule and
Throughout the semester, we have discussed many different social justice issues. One issue that has stuck with me is gender and racial inequality. Gender inequality is very important to me because I was raised by a single mother and surrounded by women all the time. I do not believe that anyone should be payed or treated differently due to their gender. While growing up, I saw that women are capable for doing anything and often times have to work harder than men to prove themselves. Racial inequality is an issues that is important to me because I feel that all individuals should be equal. I think Dr. King’s idea of color blindness, not today’s definition, should be something that we as a society strive for. We need to move past the idea that
The introduction to the article is set up with examples of extreme examples of social justice in education, calling them the “by products of […] an elementary school education rooted in social-justice principles” (Reynolds, 2012, p. 1). Reynolds argues that schools are increasing the “weave [of] social justice throughout the primary school curriculum” (Reynolds, 2012, p.1). The ideas of social justice in the education system to inspire children to become critical thinkers of current events.
White privilege is the societal privileges that specifically benefit white people. White privilege is why white people can get pulled over by the police and escape a ticket with just a smile and apology. White privilege is also why whites are in charge of a company and they see a black person, they bypass the application. Whites carry a certain privilege not available to people of color. Marilyn Frye describes how whiteness is a form social and political power.
To completely cover the questions of what materials helped me understand the class theme of social justice, and how the understanding might impact me as a future teacher I had to choose two very different things. Both of these things came to my mind instantly, when I thought about this reflection, as being both an eye opener and a turning point for me. Both things came from the Supreme Court and Capital Building tour. The first thing that helped me to better understand the class theme of social justice was the history script with Helen Gougar and May Wright Sewall. The second thing that ultimately greatly impacted my course as a future teacher was the intern from IUPUI.
One of the concerns regarding social justice in education is that there are marginalised groups within society do not having equal access to the learning and life opportunities that they deserve. The concept of social justice stresses that every individual within society is entitled to have equal rights and opportunities. This means that an individual from a lower class background deserves the same opportunities as a person from a wealthier background. It is about becoming aware and recognising that there are certain situations where the application of the same rules to unequal groups can sometimes lead to imbalanced results. It is therefore crucial that the government create a curriculum that can empower every student regardless of their
Case 5 from Hare and Portelli provides a sense of the choices and decisions facing educators today for teaching social justice, but also provides teacher candidates with potential conflicts that might arise during their teaching practice. Sandra Cole has put a lot of effort into her classes, trying to make them up to date and challenging (p.33). As an educator, Sandra, self reflected on her teaching and learning about how things were going. Sandra then came across a philosopher Bertrand Russell and she found his distinction between teaching the truth and being truthful in teaching very interesting. Sandra then realized that there were many gaps within the curriculum. Sandra challenged, but also critiqued the curriculum about what was being
In society, our knowledge is often based on experiences and influences we gain over time. This could range from the teachers who taught us how to count when we were in grade school to culture and the values our family or friends embedded into our brain. Knowledge is a powerful aspect of human beings that can shape how we know the world and how the world is changing. But understanding how we gain our knowledge is crucial before we can use it as such a tool. In the book, Is Everyone Really Equal?, the authors used their knowledge of social justice to share their perspective of the relationships between the minority and dominant group in society. However, the ideas and claims presented in this book shows a clear pattern of bias toward society’s dominant groups ideology.
Diversity, to this program, is something to be protected, a belief that I strongly agree with. To be socially just is to grant all people, including all the groups and individuals who have diversified our country, equality and basic human rights. Furthermore, social justice is done by advocating for human dignity, recognizing that all people no matter who they are have an innate right to fair and equal treatment and the right to be valued because they are a human being. Unfortunately, as we know human dignity is not always valued or upheld. Through dehumanizing and degrading acts, we have seen extreme violations of human dignity. I have witnessed violations of human dignity, like poverty, when I volunteered to serve meals at Preble Street Soup Kitchen in Portland, Maine. There, I saw individuals who truly had nothing; no home, no income, and no hope, who relied on us just so they were able to eat and get through the day. The School of Social Work acknowledges the unfortunate fact that there are so many violations of human dignity in our world, and aims to teach its students how to combat social injustice and violations of this dignity in an educated and successful way.
A professor of mine once said, “Social justice is a goal—it has not yet been achieved.” From that moment, my mission became clear. The concept of social justice has greatly shaped who I am as a person. In fact, it is one of the reasons I want to become a social worker. It is no secret that we live in a flawed society plagued with inequality based on identifying factors such as race, religion, and gender. Moreover, the solutions proposed often miss a key component: education. I advocate for social reform and raising awareness through open-forum discussions or peaceful demonstrations. In order to reach opposing audiences, common ground must be established, and this cannot be done with an approach that is too radical. At the same time, it is imperative
From the time we are born we are submerged in our own norms with little understanding of those that are different from us, where most look at other differences with their own judgemental opinions, never taking the time to understand where others actions are stemming form. By acknowledging other beliefs through literature, education, and in the workforce, we eliminate fear of the unknown, which promotes equality of those whom may be different from ourselves. By including social justice issues in all attributes of life, from a young age into adulthood, will promote inclusion, equality and a just society for all.
The in class Rawls assignment focused on justice, and the fairness of how people are treated throughout society. The class, after being broken down into groups, tackled the subjects of why people disagree about what is right, and what is not, and how morals and ethics guides a person’s interest as to what is fair and what is just. As with many things in life, there are two sides to every story. There are people that accentuate the outcome, and those that accentuate the process. Those that put emphasis on the outcome, more than likely see inequality as unjustifiable. However, when the process is emphasized, although the system may seem unequal, it provides everyone with a fair chance.
Is discrimination and inequality truly equal? Is there one group that is more discriminated against than the other? A key concept that addresses tensions between U.S. feminism and feminisms globally is the idea of intersectionality. Before this course, I had never heard of this concept. This concept to me demonstrates the idea of levels of oppression. “In the 1960s and 1970s, African-American women activists confronted the puzzle of how their needs simply fell through the cracks of anti-racist social movements, feminism, and unions organizing for workers ' rights. Each of these social movements elevated one category of analysis and action above others, for example, race within the civil rights movement, or gender within feminism or class
Over the last eight weeks, we have visited and deeply discussed many topics that surround social justice in the classroom. These topics have ranged from social justice in the world to how to create a socially just classroom and everything in between. In class, there has been a few times where it has been uncomfortable because the topics can bring out many opinions in the room. Many people in the room shared their opinions, including me, which brought up many other discussions. In this essay, I will be discussing our navigations through the social justice issues that classrooms face by talking about the key points of our class throughout the last eight weeks.
We live in a world that very diverse especially when it comes to gender, race and class. Since we are all very different, discrimination happens which leads to social inequality. Taking a social inequality class I find myself connecting my experiences in my life to what I'm learning in class. I have come to realization that I can relate to inequalities and differences when it comes to my class, race and gender.
Graham-Matheson (2015) defines poverty as more than just about income, it is the lack of opportunity, aspiration and stability. The philosophy of Kant as cited by Cahn (2009) is that children should be educated to do better than their parents so as they are able to develop an improved future. Brighouse (2006) concurs with Kant’s philosophy, believing all children should have the opportunities to an enriched future which will create more opportunities other than those with which their parents wish for them to follow. According to Graham-Matheson (2015) the government sees schools as the key to tackling social inequality as by educating all children it will help to eliminate poverty. The government’s aim is to break the cycle of disadvantage stating that where you start in life should not determine where you end up (HM Government, 2014). According to Graham-Matheson (2015) the government is using intervention such as the Pupil Deprivation Grant (PDG) to provide extra funding for pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds. The PDG is given to schools for every child who has received FSM within the last six years. Gorad (2012) states that eligibility for free school meals (FSM) is the measure the government uses as an indicator of potential disadvantage. Research has shown a link between low income families and low attainment (West and Pennell, 2004). However, the Guardian (2008) highlighted evidence that 14% of pupils in England received FSM yet 25% of families are living below the