Three Essentials

1. Basic acknowledgement that social justice and diversity issues EXIST.

Too often society is caught up in the "hush hush" about race issues. The Lewis & Clark arena is a unique one in which we are comfortable and open about such topics. It is nice to have such a forum, however this is not representative of most of society in general.

Once we are teachers, it will be easy to get caught up in the business of being a teacher. It may be easy to forget the power or lack thereof that is associated with race. In Other People's Children, Delpit states "I further believe that to act as if power does not exist is to ensure that the power status quo remains the same" (page 39). Nothing will change if we don't do anything about it.

It is important to keep social justice at the forefront in our own minds and in our classroom. I imagine my own classroom as a place of openness and communication (see my third "essential"), and I will establish this arena early on in the school year. This will be acknowledged through an activity surrounding our differences, whether those differences are racial, ethnic, religious, etc.

2. Respect

This is the core of social justice. It should be obvious, but sometimes it gets lost. Maintaining respect within the classroom is easier said than done. Both teachers and students will need to mutually participate. As the teacher, we will model a behavior of respect and tolerance. Respect and the developing of it (for those that don't have it) is a process.

3. Honesty via communication

I liked the idea from the class list that stated "Explicit talks about race/gender/any other discrimination as a class." This is a good example of how kids can handle big ideas (also from the class list), and that having straight-forward talks about our differences can be productive. Communication is a tool for honesty, and honesty is a tool for communication. Let's just talk about it.