The "encounter" -- as it was called -- was an expression of Moyenda's anger at the institutionalized racism of our educational system, a system whose foundations are reinforced and whose assumptions about race are reproduced in the graduate school classroom. Forcing everyone involved to rethink their own race consciousness, Taking it Personally is a chronicle of two teachers and their own educational progress. In processing their own responses to the encounter, along with their students', Berlak and Moyenda meditate not only on their own ideas on teaching and learning, but also redefine the obligation a teacher has to his or her students.
Personal in its approach, yet grounded in significant currents of educational thought, Taking it Personally will be a must-read for any educator or educator-to-be who is committed to teaching in our diverse classrooms. Sekani Moyenda teaches reading and is the administrator for computer and network technology at Rosa Parks Elementary School in San Francisco.
Many readers will have difficulty appreciating a book that comes to the conclusion that "all white people are infected with racism. Unfortunately, this important message is obscured by the angry, self-righteous, and occasionally self-indulgent tone of this work. Recommended only for the most comprehensive academic collections related to multicultural education or teacher education. Berlak, a white college professor, and Moyenda, an African American elementary school teacher and former student of Berlak, built their book around a classroom simulation that Moyenda constructed for prospective teachers enrolled in Berlak's class on cultural and linguistic diversity.
The work progresses through a collection of distinct but related sections. For example, in the introduction Berlak explains that this simulation demonstrated how racism harms children, and Moyenda describes the experiences she underwent that caused her to construct the simulation.
What is social justice, and how does it fit into the curriculum?
In the first part, each author offers an autobiography. In the second part, Moyenda tells how she constructed the minute simulation in which a white teacher tried to work with an irate African American mother and six students from different ethnic backgrounds and ability levels. Berlak shows what the students in her class wrote about this simulation in their class journals. In the third part, Berlak and Moyenda provide their reactions to the expressed feelings of the prospective teachers.
Readers interested in ways to eliminate racism may wish to consult Practicing What We teach: Confronting Diversity in Teacher Education, ed. This award-winning organization comes up most often any time social justice teaching is discussed. One of these lessons is Confronting Unjust Practices , where students learn about the anti-segregation actions taken by the Freedom Riders and the attack on one of these buses in Anniston, Alabama pictured above.
Other lessons from this library include What is Ageism? Lessons are available for elementary, middle, and high school students. No lesson plans here: This entry makes them eligible to win prizes, including scholarships.
A Collection of Resources for Teaching Social Justice
Most campaigns are just right for high school students, and some would be appropriate for middle schoolers as well. Some topics may be considered risque, so review the content before introducing it to students. On a related note, DoSomething. The accompanying lesson plan is called A Day in the Life , which has students examine the film and other resources related to the economic situation in India. The films are truly stunning. And that kind of empathy is one of the most important building blocks for any kind of social justice action.
These episodes will be mainly useful for teachers to educate themselves about social justice education: He interviews practicing teachers and administrators who are walking the walk with social justice teaching. Listening to them will give you a template from which to build your own practice. Here are a few examples: I love this idea: The Educational Video Center teaches students the skills of documentary filmmaking, telling important stories in the name of social justice. Alumni of the EVC have created documentaries on everything from criminal justice to domestic violence to mental health.
The Two Dollar Challenge is a challenge issued to people who want to make an impact on poverty. The challenge is simple: If at any time those taking the Challenge are using resources which are valuable for indigent residents in the area this action must be re-evaluated. Offers a template for how to engage students in authentic conversations about difficult issues, ask themselves what they can do about social justice issues, consider ways they have already acted in the past, study how other kids and young adults have successfully solved problems, and participate in their own social justice projects.
Educolor Resources Educolor, an organization dedicated to an equitable, just education for everyone, maintains this list of books, movies, articles, and websites that will educate teachers and students on issues of social justice, especially as it pertains to educational equity. This is by no means an exhaustive list. If you have a resource you like to use for teaching about social justice, please share it in the comments below.
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Hot Topics , Learning Theory. Great article with helpful resources! Thanks for the great resource. Teen and adult players will become aware that racism exists in many everyday kinds of situations interpersonal and institutional , learn why each situation is racist stereotyping, tokenism, cultural appropriation, etc. Your resources are absolutely brilliant. Thank you so very much for sharing all your wonderful ideas. Teachers can upload activities and resources to share with others. Also, we have an online community for folks to collaborate, please join us!
Some Advice for Teaching Social Justice
Thanks for your great podcast and articles, I love your work! And thanks for adding my comment. Thank you for these great resources, and for your own insights into best practices for teaching social justice. I checked out the Anti-Defamation League and they have some great resources. I especially love that despite being supportive of the State of Israel, they had some lessons against Anti-Muslim bigotry and about how to be an ally to Muslim citizens. Hi Susan, Thank you for sharing this. I have added additional information to the listing for the ADL.
I also highly recommend Better World Education, http: Self centered concept of social justice. It has a fully aligned curriculum that is free online. There is a play called Voices From Beyond the Dark: Here is the website: Saying Prop 8 is controversial is the same as saying segrated schools is controversial. Both were struck down by the US Supreme Court under the same legal test. Using that as an example demonstrates your bias. There is no classroom that should suggest treating others differently under the law is okay.
If I have any bias, it comes from living in a state that has a history of voting against any policy that would improve civil rights for members of the LGBT community, and being part of the local movements that have pushed for improving those rights. I am all too aware of the opposition to LGBT rights in this country. Calling the fight to legalize same-sex marriage controversial has nothing to do with standing on the side of those who oppose it.
In New Zealand, to our discredit, schools fail to include historical accounts of our first nations indigenous peoples, and of course as a consequence our kids miss out on fundamental philosophical concepts through their formative years. Lots and lots of other issues too that can be a part of the important social justice discourse for the development of our kids.
A Collection of Resources for Teaching Social Justice | Cult of Pedagogy
As and educator I will most certainly share this article widely. I love just about everything you share and especially love this post. Good luck with your boards!
I also recommend Radical Math for the socially aware math educators who want to add some social justice into their math curriculum! Hello, I am a student in the mathematics secondary education program at the University of Illinois and I am preparing for student teaching in the spring semester. In my classes we spend a considerable amount of time discussing culturally relevant math teaching and including social justice in our lessons.
Still I understand there is always a lot to learn. Despite all this I still am struggling with finding ways to incorporate these topics into math lessons where I also have to include math standards, accommodations, and differentiation for students among many other requirements.
So I really appreciate the resource you provided as well as all the above resources. These concrete examples will surely take a lot of pressure off of me as a beginning teacher. Yes, these would make great additions to your already amazing list of resources. I especially like the trial activity in the book Rethinking Columbus. I strongly object to the use of any ADL resources on a site claiming to promote social justice. Even Jewish groups speak out against ADL. One cannot cherry-pick social justice issues. If this was a group that had good resources on one social justice issue but supported misogyny in other areas — I doubt that you would continue to use them as a resource.
It is a real and problematic double standard among progressive people that somehow it is ok for groups deny Palestinian rights as long as the group is ok on other issues. They have also taken stances in support of police violence in the context of the Black Lives Matter movement: Please be aware of the source Brooke Atherton cites. From the charter of the International Ant-Zionist Network: I appreciate the comments and contributions of everyone who visits my site, and the concerns about the ADL outside of the context of their social justice curriculum have been voiced here. Thanks for the article!
I thought it was interesting that you suggest getting you know each students background in order to better teach the social justice curriculum. Viewing each issue through just our point of view can create a specific bias and can block our growth and learning. I once had a teacher that made sure we understood every aspect of a situation in order to make an educated decision.
This always made learning about new and challenging topics more enjoyable. I really appreciate your input, I hope to apply it to my own teaching style. Great set of resources! Becoming a Renegade, which features advice, lesson plans, and strategies from 20 justice-oriented social studies teachers. Letters from the teachers and details about the project are at http: