Stirring Up Justice

Most students think about social justice issues, whether schools encourage this focus or not, and they look to the adults in their lives to help them decide what to do about them. Educators should encourage authentic conversations about difficult issues, embrace the question, What can we do about it? and teach students to act. Teachers can introduce students to social justice by having them write a Social Action Autobiography, which will help clarify how the students have acted for the good of others in the past. Students can read books that highlight how young people have solved social problems, and they can collaborate on projects locally, nationally, or internationally. Including social justice projects in the social studies curriculum develops skills that are fundamental to a rigorous standards-based education.