Social Justice in the Classroom

“Social Justice in the Classroom: Understanding the Implications of Interlocking Oppressions”
 by Becky Ropers – Huilman

In the article, Huilman suggests that in promoting social justice, teaches need to overcome the effects that the oppressive systems can have on teaching and learning. Huilman looks into the cause and effects of oppression and ways to promote social justice and decrease the feelings of oppression. Huilman identifies with Marily Frye’s definition of oppressions as being “caught between or among forces and barriers which are so related to each other that jointly they retrain, restrict, or prevent the things motion or mobility.” By using the metaphor of a birdcage, Frye suggests that we all have disappointments and painful events that happen in our lives. These hurts ultimately impede d the attainment of our ambitions. Sometimes these hurts can be a trap that cannot be escaped from or broken into.  These forces can limit relationships between a student and teacher and a student and peers.

Huilman then went on to share two examples from her own teaching in college classes. She realized that promoting social justice is a very hard thing to do. In her first example, she introduced sexuality into the discussion. The responses from the students were very interesting. Some people called gays and bisexuals “less than animals” and others did not consider them to be human. Some students were in shock about what the other students said. In one student response Huilman shared, the student was amazed that the African American woman could say such terrible things about gays. The student wondered how the oppression the woman faced had affected her thinking. The student made connections that the statements about gays had been the same ones being made about blacks historically.

In the second example, one student was attacking another student demeanor. The student claimed that the other student “only cared for himself.” Huilman immediately suggested that the discussion attack ideas and not people and the student instantly got quiet. In reflection later, Huilman wondered if by asking the student not to attack the other student, she in turn, attacked the student. This idea of oppression and social justice is a difficult concept and an even harder concept to incorporate into classrooms.  One quote from the article I really enjoyed about teaching, “I believe that sexism and racism exist, and that we educators have a special responsibility to confront them by using the institutional power in our role to identify and counteract the effects of oppressive acts. “

Ropers-Huilman, Becky. “Social Justice in the Classroom: Understanding the Implications of Interlocking Oppressions.” College Teaching.47.3 (1999):91-95. Web. Oct. 2013. http://www.jstor.org/stable/pdfplus/27558949.pdf?acceptTC=true

After reading my peer’s blog posts about social justice, I realized I probably missed an enlightening discussion. L I did notice a few common themes among the articles. Most of the articles addressed the idea of creating a better learning environment in classrooms. Most people agreed that education shapes lives and it is our responsibility as teachers to provide equal opportunities, fairness, and quality education to all students.  While these concepts seem fundamental and expected, there are some flaws and difficulties.

For instance, there does not seem to be a universal definition for social justice or any rules to maintain social justice. If we focus on social justice in the classroom as providing each student with equal opportunities to learn and achieve we have a process and a common goal but hit some flaws. Each student is different and therefore has a different need than the next guy. The “equality” part is a little unrealistic because of the factors outside of the school, in the home situation, and in the student’s school life. I liked that one of my peers brought the movie Stand and Deliver into their blog. I feel like the movie is a great way of visualizing social justice and oppression and how a teacher can create an environment that supports and challenges each student no matter their IQ, race, gender, sexuality, family history or home life.