As educators, we need to recognize how
powerful education is, and see it as having transformative potential. It may
not be tangible with step by step guidelines, but nonetheless it is possible to
include social justice into our teaching practice. In relation to the 21st
century literacies, I feel that implementing social justice would be a
combination of multicultural, moral, and critical literacy. By allowing students to question the messages
which come their way, they will learn to recognize the inequalities which exist
in society (Harwood, 2008).
An exploration of human rights and social justice in the classroom.
I recently came across a great article which really sparked
my interest. Evans (2008) discussed human rights over a series of four
generations, and how we often forget that human rights are actually quite a
recent development. Just to break it down for you, here is how the article described
the development of the “rights revolution”:
First generation: Establishing principles. The end of
the Second World War led to the founding of the United Nations. The United
Nations Declaration of Human Rights (UDRH) of 1948 was a significant
achievement which shed light on rights asserting dignity, integrity, and
equality.
Second generation: Standard setting. This was a
generation which worked towards translating the moral force of the UDRH into
legal practice. It was recognized that there was not a practical system set in
place to implement and enforce the human rights which had recently been
developed. This movement was launched primarily by Non- governmental
organizations.
Third generation: Coping with the “New World Order”. The
1990s were a very critical time period with all the rapid changes happening
around the world. It was recognized that the world people were living in was
much different than the world they were born into. This time period consisted
of violations which escalated in severity, and was an assault to identities
(gender, language, ethnicity, etc.). The “new world order” was a dangerous time
where power remained in the hands of a few, and others were left feeling
helpless at making a difference.
Fourth generation: Making rights real. Changes continue
to occur internationally, and there are many challenges that are making it
difficult to break the cycle of human rights violations. Many human rights which
were violated through tragic incidents such as trauma, torture etc. can lead to
behavior dysfunctions which will just get passed down if they are not dealt
with effectively (Evans, 2008).
…. You may be
asking yourself, why is this important? As we can see, each of the past few
generations have played a role in the development of human rights. And now - it
is our turn! I found it ridiculous that children do not even know that they
protected by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). Personally,
by the time I learned about it, I was no longer a child. The students in our
classroom will be part of the fifth generation, and there is no doubt that we
want those students to shape the world for the better.
Here is a video which explains a brief overview on universal human rights
In order to
progress towards an inclusive social order, it requires educators to address
issues such as race, discrimination, hate and oppression (Bouette, 2008). Although
it is a very difficult and sensitive issue to address, educators have the
capacity to connect with individuals in a way which is not possible with other
professions.
Providing students with a multicultural
education can have such a profound impact. It allows the students to be open minded
towards people of all cultures, but it also allows them to challenge the
existing inequalities which exist in society. I feel that challenging these
inequalities and taking an active stance against them will be what the fifth
generation contributes to society.
For anyone who would like to learn more about social justice in the classroom, click here for some awesome ideas which help transform these ideas into practice.
References:
Boutte, G. S. (2008). Beyond the Illusion of Diversity: How Early
Childhood Teachers Can Promote Social Justice. Social Studies, 99(4),
165-173.
Evans,
D. G. (2008). Human rights: four generations of practice and development. In
A.A. Abdi & L. Shultz (Eds.), Education
for Human Rights and Global Citizenship (pp. 25 – 38).
Harwood, D. d. (2008). Deconstructing and
Reconstructing Cinderella: Theoretical Defense of Critical Literacy for Young
Children. Language & Literacy: A Canadian Educational E-Journal, 10(2),
1-13.
