Blog Post 7 – What is Social Justice and why is it important in the classroom?

I wasn’t familiar with the term social justice, so I first had to do some digging to learn more.  From my research, I learned that social justice can be an ambiguous term, and definitions can vary from equal access to education to human rights to matters of dignity.  A YouTube video stated, “The Haves always have too much, and the Have-Nots never have enough” (PragerU, 2014).  Interestingly, PragerU cautioned viewers: “Beware what is done in the name of social justice.”

I chose a lesson plan that taught social justice by analyzing photographs, focusing on gender bias.  The lesson plan described how “photographs shape meaning,” and the viewers then “interpret those photographs” (para. 3). The lesson began by showing students Photo A and asked the following questions:

1.      Do you think the woman is a construction worker?  Why or why not?

2.      What features in the photograph emphasize the woman’s competence?

3.      What features in the photograph emphasize the woman’s beauty?

4.      What is missing from the photo that you might expect to see?

5.      Overall, what do you think of the woman in the photo?  Why?

After answering these questions, students were shown Photo B and asked to answer the same set of questions.  The class discusses the photos and the gender stereotypes they promote.  Students often found that “stereotypes are not accurate reflections of individuals or groups of people” (para. 6).

Students are then asked to locate their own pair of photos of women—one that depicts women in a “stereotypical fashion” and another that “counter[s] that stereotype” (para. 7).  They are asked to write captions for their photos, explaining how each photo maintains or counters the stereotype.  The last step of the lesson is to ask students to relate gender stereotyping to their own life experiences, answering “How did this activity influence your thinking?” (para. 8).

Social justice can be defined as the distribution method of “wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society” (Dictionary.com, 2014).  I can think of two problems with that notion.  First, the people in power are the ones deciding the method of distribution.  Second, the people in power already have the aforementioned wealth, opportunities, and privileges.  It’s a closed system, so where does that leave the ones without these niceties?  Lacking, that’s where.

Because the lesson makes students aware of gender stereotypes in pop culture and how their thinking about this topic can change, I think Paulo Freire would have approved of this lesson.

 
Photo A                           Photo B
     

References

Dictionary.com. (2014). Social justice. Retrieved from http://www.dictionary.com/ browse/social-justice

Teaching tolerance. (2018). Using photographs to teach social justice: Exposing gender bias. Retrieved from https://www.tolerance.org/classroom-resources/tolerance-lessons/using-photographs-to-teach-social-justice-exposing-gender

[PragerU]. (2014, March 24).  What is social justice? [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtBvQj2k6xo&vl=en