Title: Teaching Social Justice to Privileged Students
Necessary for Change
Audience: Students, Parents, Teachers, Admin
Key Points:
A professor named Katy Swalwell
introduced to her students a new way of looking at social injustices we
currently have. What she wanted to show the students is how privilege can play
a role in perpetuating inequalities. She says that she has found in her
research that the poor and middle class only get what they want when their
needs fall into line with what the wealthy people needs. She did a case study
at a private school where a majority of the population were from upper class
families. Swalwell had students get involved in causes to get an understanding
of the inequalities that exist in our society. Her study identified a
disconnect between the student perception and reality when it comes to social
justice problems.
This is an interesting article that I can relate to because all three of my children went to a small private school. There was minimal diversity at their school. It was a K-8 Christian school where all peoples were accepted and presumably treated equally. As I look back, I realize how protected they were from the harshness of the "world" and all of the difficulties so many students face in schools. It was a loving, nurturing environment where kids could just be kids. This was over 20 years ago and as we know, the world is a different place now. I find it true what the author says about schools of this type teaching how to "help", but do they really emphasize with the struggles of some of "other" populations? It was an interesting article.
ReplyDeleteI certainly think there is a disconnect between perception and reality at times. That disconnect can go both ways, but that is a conversation for another time and place.
ReplyDeleteThe final portion of the article is sub titled "education vs indoctrination." I am concerned that often this line is blurred if not crossed in classes like the one from the article. The author tries to answer my question though: "The goal isn't to get all kids to think the same way or to have the same political beliefs, but to get them grappling with the same questions and make sense of the same data related to inequalities," Swalwell said. I think she contradicts herself here and does not make sense. If we are to "grapple with the same questions" and "make sense of the same data" we would by definition be coming to the same conclusions. This seems to be the kind of groupthink that Orwell warned us about.
Having students involved in a project/cause outside of their day-to-day reality or comfort zone is always a good idea, in my opinion. I think there will always be a disconnect when trying to understand someone else’s reality, no matter the situation. I do notice a sort of celebrity/wealth worship that is perpetuated by mainstream media. It makes sense to me that students would not see their wealth/good fortune as a problem, but rather a potential solution. Our society values independence and unless that changes on a drastic level, I don’t see most people perceiving it as a collective issue, but an individual one.
ReplyDelete