Is Education Social Justice?

Is Education Social Justice?

Raul Ruelas

Los Angeles Leadership Academy

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IS EDUCATION SOCIAL JUSTICE?

Abstract

Eleanor Roosevelt famously said that education is essential to good citizenship and that

education is important to life because it enables people to contribute to their community and their

country. It is the job of school and their districts to prepare and develop students into becoming

great independent minds. This paper will address the question is social justice education? And

will argue both sides but will lean towards one.

Keywords: Social Justice, Education, School, Students, broken, system

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IS EDUCATION SOCIAL JUSTICE?

What does it mean to foreground social justice in our thinking about education?

(Hytten,Kathy & Bettez, Silvia C. 2011). When it comes to education , we must see that the

value of it can impact certain aspects of life beyond the classroom , such as society as a whole

and the evolution of the human race itself. It has become increasingly common for schools to

claim a social justice standard in their curriculum however, their practices do not represent social

justice.In according to Bell (2007), social justice is both a goal and a process. The goal

of social justice is equal participation of all groups in a society that is mutually

shaped to meet their needs in which distribution of resources is equitable and

all members are physically and psychologically safe and secure (Sommers P.10

2014).Education is not social justice, true social justice is not present in school systems because

they do not represent the ideals of equality. The public school system is broken and has become

both a social justice and civil rights issue, however, there are ways to align education towards

social justice. School systems that promote social justice studied the idea of no justice, social

justice can simply be defined as the distribution of wealth,opportunities, and privileges between

people, including schools therefore, education can become a tool for students to use and receive

social justice education.

Education and social justice: resources and opportunities are not equal

Education and social justice struggle to function together due to the fact that the public
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school system is being ignored and the reality that all schools are different and other factors can

hinder students education. Some of these factors could be money issues, and transportation.

Typically private schools give more opportunities, wealth, privileges to their students. According

to a study conducted by the Huffington Post, 90% of students in America go to public schools

while only 10% go to privates.A recent study, "Confronting the Opportunity Gap," revealed the

spending gaps among the top 100 wealthiest districts. It also reported 92 percent student

graduation rates in wealthy school districts vs. 65 percent of students in low-wealth

districts.Students in underfunded schools are underperforming on the flawed Common Core tests

compared to students in well-funded districts.How can we expect a school district that spends

$8,600 less per student than its wealthier neighbor to somehow have the same academic results

which are, of course, based on meaningless, arbitrary standardized tests?(Pecorale, 2015).

One principal complication is that all schools are different and therefore have differing

budgets and resources. For this reason some schools can not afford to provide their students with

the proper resources and qualified personnel to guide them into success. In close similarity with

the quote above by NYSUT Vice President Paul Pecorale, he stated that education is evaluated

by standardized testing and a study conducted by Harvard University found that eleven out of

twelve times privates schools outscored public schools. This is not true social justice as the

private schools

The public school system is broken and is a social justice issue:

In a correspondence to Vice President Paul Pecorale of New York State Teachers United,

he stated that It is abundantly evident that corporations and hedge fund managers have a huge,

selfish interest in public education. They are not interested in that third-grade student or that

second-year college student in your classroom. Their interest lies solely on the fact that they
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want their fingers in the pool of money that goes into a public school system. These corporations

have teamed up with both Republican and Democratic legislators who have created this broken

school system today. Public schools are not a monopoly to be broken, rather ... the centerpiece

of our democracy and a ladder to opportunity and success for all. (Pallotta, 2015). This quote is

significant because individuals who work for the federal government only assist the public

school district for their benefit. Consequently, due to this selfishness the school system suffers

weath loss and most importantly the students lose opportunities, and privileges.

Eleanor Roosevelt famously said that education is essential to good citizenship and that

education is important to life because it enables people to contribute to their community and their

country. This is significant because if schools do not provide the essential tools and proper

education, students will not develop into hard working helpful individuals. An essential part in

providing student academic success is found in the structure of education. According to Marilyn

Cochran-Smith, a leading scholar in education, a social justice framework "actively address[es]

the dynamics of oppression, privilege, and isms, [and recognizes] that society is the product of

historically rooted, institutionally sanctioned stratification along socially constructed group lines

that include race, class, gender, secual orientation, and ability [among others].( SENSOY,

ZLEM & DiANGELO, 2009)Robin A social justice framework will distribute wealth (schools

budget), privileges, and opportunities fairly throughout the school. Additionally, Caroll (2008)

found the strategies in which the school promotes social justice include weekly community

meetings where the students are able to purpose and vote on school policies (promoting

democratic principles)(kinney p.22 2010). A social justice framework is especially effective as it

allows the students to be more involved with the school.

The Line Between Success and Failure

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Education not being socially justified is an issue involving social justice because

education is the driving force between a student's future success and failure. According to

secretary of education Arne Duncan he mentioned and believes that education is the civil rights

issue of our generation. Duncan continued with, if you care about promoting opportunity and

reducing inequality, the classroom is the place to start. Great teaching is about so much more

than education; it is a daily fight for social justice (Duncan 2009). The Goal of social justice

education is to protect the dignity of human beings while maintaining the core pillars of equality

and solidarity especially in the younger generations. All students should be granted the right to

social justice education.

Conclusion

In conclusion, social justice is not present in school systems as they do not represent the

ideals of true social justice. In present day social justice and education struggle to coexist due to

the public school system being ignored. In addition, schools are affected due to budget cuts and

they are funded by a selfish federal government run by egotistical individuals. That being the

case, education is vital to success and is the driving force between a students success and failure.

In the final analysis social justice and education coexist however, due to the system the

government has put the public school districts they struggle to function and will continue

malfunctioning until the government acknowledges and creates a solution.

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References

Hytten, Kathy and Bettez, B Silvia. (2011). Understanding Education for Social Justice.

Educational Foundations. Retrieved from http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ925898.pdf

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Kinney, Rose Ashley. (2010). The Current State of Social Justice Education: Effective

Strategies for Educators to Teach for Social Justice. The Evergreen State College.

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Mthethwa-Sommers, Shirley. (2014). What is social justice education?. Springer.

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Pecorale, Paul. (2015). Public Education - the Social Justice Issue of our Time. Nysut.

Retrieved from http://www.nysut.org/news/nysut-united/issues/2015/march-2015/public-

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Sensoy, zlem and Diangelo, Robin. (2009). Developing Social Justice Literacy. Phi Delta

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