Social Justice in the Suburbs

Many U.S. students growing up in affluent suburbs are insulated from the hunger, homelessness, poverty, and illness faced by individuals in their own communities and around the globe. The author of this article examines how educators in privileged communities can heighten their students' awareness of and concern about social injustice. In his study of 83 students who participated in a course on social justice issues, he found that these privileged teens sometimes responded to the course in unexpected ways. For example, some reacted to information about difficult world problems by feeling overwhelmed and helpless. Some, after studying what it is like to live in poverty, became anxious about falling into poverty themselves and therefore more protective of their own privileged positions. The author offers strategies to counteract these and other negative reactions and empower privileged youth to work for social justice. [author]