To: Principal (name)
District (#)
Concerned Parents/Citizens
From: Future Teacher
Date: April 3, 2015
Subject: Social Justice Curriculum in Biology/Environmental Justice
Mr. Principal,
I would like to bring to your attention my intent to teach a unit covering soil quality to my classes. I wanted to make you aware that I intend to cover this subject through a lens focused on environmental and social justice.
I find that looking at this unit on environment, soil quality, and pollution really hits home in the area of environmental justice and that our students and children need to be made aware of how they can, and will, impact their society and the environment in which that society exists. It is my belief that the unit provides a great deal of field experience both in and out of the lab that not only directly applies to Illinois’ Next Generation Science Standards, but also gives the students relevant career level experience upon which they can draw when entering college and their future career fields. As this unit draws upon gathering testable materials from other areas outside of the children’s immediate comfort zone, this unit will also foster social awareness and cross-cultural cooperation and understanding, again, a needed skill in today’s Global Marketplace.
While I understand the preconception that engaging in social justice is for schools that serve mostly oppressed student populations, I want to use this opportunity to introduce the concepts that a social justice oriented curriculum to our more privileged student body. In his book, Pedagogy of the Oppressed, Paulo Freire suggests that privileged individuals must recognize their privilege and use it to help the oppressed before we, as humans, can ever truly be free of oppression at a social level. I believe that we must educate children in a way that shows them that they can be their own tools of change, leading them to discover their own empowerment. This belief lines up with Dr. Allison Dover’s article, Teaching for Social Justice: From Conceptual Frameworks to Classroom Practices, which states that the major themes of teaching for social justice are “creating a supportive classroom climate that embraces multiple perspectives, emphasizing critical thinking and inquiry-based instruction, and promoting students’ academic, civic, and personal growth.” (Dover, 2013). We, as parents, teachers, and administrators, all want nothing less than the very best education and future for our children. The use of social justice methods in my unit provide me with an avenue to teach our children their standardized content, while also educating them about the world and society they are about to become a participant in.
I want to give our children the best chance possible to make changes, no matter how small, in the lives of their communities, families, and themselves. In his article, Social Justice in the Suburbs, Scott Seiders research suggest that those from privileged backgrounds become entrenched in that privilege. He finds that, when privileged students are exposed to knowledge of oppression, 3 interesting responses are noted: Knowledge can be overwhelming, Fear can impede social responsibility, and “Radical” arguments can be counterproductive. We, as educators, must find the thin line that will walk our privileged students toward wanting to fix the oppression they see in their lives without making them believe that the world’s problems and societal oppression that occur within are simply a way of life and too big to correct. We need our privileged students to believe that they can be agents of change as well!
The students here at Glenbard West must be made aware of pollution in their area as it ultimately affects the world they will shortly become a part of. However, they must also be introduced to how this level of pollution, and the subsequent quality of life, in their immediate area compares to pollution and quality of life in other areas. Does it differ based on class? Race? How does it affect the health and future of the communities, families, and children whom live, work, and play in these areas? I want them to ask themselves “Is there really a “wrong side of the tracks?”" and individually reconstruct a true, fact based, tested answer. I think that this work will show them the reality of the world as it is currently. Only then can they make the informed and personal decision as to what they want to do, if anything, about it. We will not be there to make our children’s decisions for them their entire lives. We must educate them to learn to make the hard discoveries about the world, and themselves, and answer them as individuals.
Another thought on why I would like to attempt this in my class is that much research has spoken of the phenomenon of “not-learning”. Wherein students simply shut-down when they are not interested in topics, or turned-off of topics and content that they may find is not relevant or inclusive of them as individuals. This phenomenon of “not-learning” tends to occur less in classrooms where students are democratically involved in their content learning, meaning they help to create and navigate the learning process from topic choice to assessment type. It is in these democratic classes that the acts of simply experiencing and exploring content leads to the production of knowledge as opposed to blind memorization and recitation of knowledge (Duncan-Andrade and Morrell, pg. 169). I believe that this unit will include all the wonderfully creative and curious minds that sit in my classes every day. It will challenge them to think of their own ways around real life issues while simultaneously finding where they, themselves, stand on difficult social and political issues.
I understand that these are difficult questions for any of us, even as adults, to ask. I understand if you, as the guardians of our children, our future, feel a bit nervous and unsure of the direction of this unit. I promise you, as a guardian, that I will lead these children on this journey with the sole intent of educating them to prosper in their future endeavors. I will attempt to instill in them the desire to become the best people they can. I hope that you will support me, and my classes, on this journey to a better future, both for our students and, selfishly, for ourselves. I mean, what would be better than to retire in a world where oppression has ceased to exist and peace permeates our global society?
Thank you for your time! Please feel free to contact me with questions or concerns via my email or with a phone call. I would be happy to discuss this in further detail so that there is cohesion and understanding as we take part in this process, together.
Sincerely,
Teacher
Email –
Phone –
For further information on this unit, please visit the website www.soiljustice.weebly.com