Why We Can't Let Social Justice Go

In “Why Teaching About Social Justice Matters,” one secondary English teacher explores a question she is often asked: “Why can’t you let ‘social justice’ go?” Her answer is that issues of social justice are constantly occurring, and students must learn their role in these issues. I whole-heartedly agree with her. As teachers, our responsibility goes beyond reading the literature, students need to understand its impact on the world both past and present. Beyond learning grammar and literary devices, our students need to be taught how to think and discuss. These skills will take them so much farther in a world where they are expected to have well-informed opinions on issues. This especially holds true in a world where media (reliable and not) is available at our fingertips and spreads like wildfire.

Torres also brings up a theme that we have often discussed in class. She writes that empathy is necessary lesson to teach and be taught because only through listening to each other will anything change. My favorite thing about literature is that it allows readers to see nearly unlimited perspective to which they might not have been exposed to otherwise. Seeing issues from different points of view and different thought processes teaches powerful empathy, and that is something everyone can benefit from. It’s both important and natural that we use literature to look at the world though the social justice lens.

Finally, Torres makes the point that if teachers aren’t the ones that teach social justice, then that responsibility falls on parents. Frankly, to assume that all parents will show their children how to understand and view issues of social justice is naïve. Many parents do not want to confront these complex issues with their kids, or sometimes worse, they force their own views on their children. Learning about social justice in a classroom setting allows for more diverse discussion than kids would have in their own homes.  As teachers, we should not teach students what to think, but it’s imperative that we teach them how to think.

Torres, C. (2015, March 15). Why Teaching About Social Justice Matters. Retrieved from      https://www.tolerance.org/magazine/why-teaching-about-social-justice-matters