Social+Justice+Themed+Articles

Social Justice Themed Articles with Annotations
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McCall, A. L. (Jul/Aug 2004). Using poetry in social studies classes to teach about cultural diversity and social justice. //**Social **  Studies // , //95(4), 172-176.// McCall describes her experience using poetry in her elementary classroom as a way to integrate social justice themes and issues. In her own teaching, she shares poems that pertain to diversity and equality—in particular, those poems that will draw attention to deeper, more controversial issues like racism and sexism. McCall focuses on the advantage of using poetry: it can be brief and portray a variety of perspectives that students have not heard before. (EF)

//Confronting Prejudice in the Early Childhood Classroom// [] Araujo, L, & Strasser, J. (2003). Confronting prejudice in the early childhood classroom. //Kappa Delta Pi Record//, Summer Issue This article gives great advice on how to quickly deal with signs of prejudice in an elementary classroom. When prejudice is addressed in our class, it suggests some steps you can take as a teacher to respond promptly, give simple answers, model respectful behavior, acknowledge children’s fears, introduce differences, and offer students experiences with real people. The article goes on to provide more suggestions on how to create a classroom that celebrates and accepts diversity. (KD)

Hatoss, A. & Sheely, T. (2009). //Language Maintence and Identity Among Sudanese////-Austrailian Refugee-background Youth//. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development. Vol. 30, No. 2, pp.127-144.

In this article, the authors discuss and share their findings about the language and culture experiences of refugees from Sudan, specifically; young adult or secondary school aged students, who are now living in South-East Queensland, Toowoomba, Australia. The purpose of this study was to explore the attitudes, perceptions, and the use of the Sudanese refugees’ native language or first language, Dinka. The authors were able to observe and perform surveys and with their findings, and they found that the Sudanese refugee community is strongly attached to their native language. However, there are struggles or obstacles that the Sudanese students face when they are in school where it is only an English-speaking environment, and for the most part in their surrounding communities. This article focuses on key ideas, such as, ethnic identity, language maintenance, and language shift. The article explains that what the youths face is the battle between rejecting their first language and culture, or to go mainstream in their education with speaking and using only English. (ST)

Garcia, M. Democracy, Diversity and Presidential Leadership. (Summer 2007). //Liberal Education,// 22-27. The author talks how she has lived in an era where people were mistreated and killed because of their skin color and she also talks about how the United States has not lived up to the ideas of freedom. She goes on to say that today there are people of color in positions of authority. However, she asks the question, “How far have we come in relation to diversity?” Unfortunately, she complains about political corruption in schools and how school officials claim to promote diversity yet they are swayed by the ‘majority bandwagon’. Her philosophy is: people of any color need to model behavior they seek. This can be done by having discussions and debates on controversial issues. She also says leaders should insist on educating others about diversity. Throughout the article, the author draws from her life experiences to encourage other leaders to promote diversity in their leadership roles. (LVH)

Their Fair Share. (February 2008). //Teacher Quality//, 2-15. In this article, it talks about how there is a gap of quality teachers in schools with low income and minority students. The author stresses that Texas needs to ensure that low income and minority students get quality teachers. The Texas State Board requests teachers to receive a Bachelor’s degree and obtain a teaching certificate, yet some schools in Texas make exceptions to this requirement and allow teachers who haven’t met the requirements to teach. Most of these teachers teach at schools with a large population of low income and minority students. According to this article, around 40% of teachers have not met the requirements. This article goes on to say that these teachers are not able to demonstrate the knowledge and skills as of certified teachers. Low income and minority students suffer because they do not get the benefit of having experienced teachers. To compensate for less skilled teachers the schools reduce the class size. The author suggests ways to get more qualified teachers to teach in low income and minority schools by increasing salaries, having professional development resources and providing rewards to teachers who produce the highest academic results. (Lynette Van Hofwegen)

Locke, Steven International Research in Geographical & Environmental Education; 2009, Vol. 18 Issue 2, p97-110, 14p, 2 charts. Accessed through EBSCO on October 21, 2009.

//Using Poetry in Social Studies Classes to Teach about Cultural Diversity and Social Studies// By: Ava McCall In Ava’s article, she talks about the power poetry has in teaching social justice and cultural diversity related issues in the classroom. She has found that it can capture students’ attention and bring up controversial issues in a meaningful and manageable way. Since Poets often write poetry based on their experiences with social injustice and cultural differences, they are great resources to student learning. (MJB) McCall, A.L. (2004). //Using Poetry in Social Studies Classes to Teach about Cultural Diversity and Social Justice//. Social Studies, 95(4), Retrieved from [|http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=11&hid=3&sid=9f1cd7b2-36d5-40e6-b736-f761afae5dea%40sessionmgr4&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=a9h&AN=14222793]

// This article recounts how the author and a fellow teacher set out to “explore the social impact of global warming as well as some of its social roots” with their classrooms. The author explains the teaching tools they used in the unit. Some of these tools were a “tea-party” activity where students play-act as different individuals and, through interactions with each other, discover how the issue affects different people; reading and discussing an article in National Geographic; having students read and critically dissect their textbooks to discover what perspectives on the issue were not represented, and many others. One of the major focuses of this unit was creating a sense of activism in their students to think about what they could do to help solve the injustices that global warming poses for our society. (Briana Martinez)// //Bigelow, Bill. 2009. The big one.// Rethinking Schools //, Vol. 23, No. 4. Retrieved from: [|http://www.rethinkingschools.org/archive/23_04/big234.shtml]

In this article, Christensen discusses how she creates a pedagogy of "joy and justice" in her classroom. Christensen says teachers must begin with the belief that all children are brilliant, must center their curriculum in students' lives, select authors and characters that reflect what really happens in the world, and create a curriculum that matters. (Briana Martinez) Christensen, Linda. (2009). Teaching for joy and justice.// Rethinking Schools//, Vol 23, No. 4. Retrieved from: [|http://www.rethinkingschools.org/archive/23_04/joy234.shtml]//

Walker, L.H. & Waldron, L.S. (2009) Shopping carts and apple tarts. Teaching Children Mathematics, Vol. 16, No. 3, pp. 150-153.


This article from the journal //Teaching Children Mathematics// explains how two different math lessons developed into a vehicle for dealing with issues of social justice. During an outdoor mapping project, a student in a third grade class questioned her teacher about why a woman on the street had clothes in a shopping cart. When the students returned to the classroom, the teacher took the opportunity to talk about issues of homelessness, introducing the words //disenfranchised// and //marginalized// to her students. Students eventually took a field trip to a building that was being renovated to house marginalized people. In another school, a second-grade class took a field trip to a pumpkin patch, and students questioned their teacher about the people lined up outside a soup kitchen. This teacher also took the opportunity to introduce the word //disenfranchised// to her students. Their classroom decided to donate pies to community food banks. (Briana Martinez)


Negotiating Standards and Social Justice in the Social Studies: Educators’ Perspectives By: DeLane Bender-Slack & Mary Pat Raupach // Negotiating Standards and Social Justice in the Social Studies // talks about how to not let state standards hold teachers back from effectively teaching social studies. The article talks about how standards have the ability to negatively impact teaching if they are being taught to. In their study they found that the four social studies professionals (practitioners in the field of social studies) that were interviewed and studied use common language to describe the role of standards in the classroom. As a result, many of these practitioners negatively viewed standards in relation to social justice education. They communicate and explain the limitations these standards create. As a result, the authors have discovered an alternative conceptual framework for teaching social studies which emphasizes methodology or content. (MJB) Bender-Slack, D., & Raupach, M. (2008). //Negotiating Standards and Social Justice in the Social Studies: Educators' Perspective//. //Social Studies//, 99(6), Retrieved from []

Yang, K. (2003). Southeast Asian American Children: Not the "Model Minority". //The Future of Children//, 127-133. The author suggests that data shows that Asian American students perform well academically and are the “model minority” yet this really is not the case. The author says more attention needs to be made for Asian Americans whose heritage is from Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. Many of these people came to America as refugees and endured difficult hardships. Many of their children struggle with formal education because of various reasons such as: discrimination, limited English language skills, miscommunication between students, teachers and parents. Another problem Southeast Asian Students face is cultural differences. Their ideas conflict with “American ideas”. One difference is in the way America values children’s rights where as Southeast Asian culture values parents’ authority. Many Southeast Asian Americans experience discrimination at school. Teachers tell them they should not go to college and many students feel alienated from their school because the curriculum is not tailored for them. Another way they feel alienated is there are very few Southeast Asian staff or none at all. The article offers some recommendations to help with these problems. Here are some recommendations: 1.Diaggregate and disseminate more data. There is a need for better and more accurate information. 2. Promote Southeast Asian American Studies, courses and personnel. By having more Asian American personnel, there can be better communication, and increased support. 3. Support community organizations-They can promote academic success in various ways. 4. Create new systems for financial and technical support. (LVH)

//Human Rights Education for Children// By: Linda Sorter Linda Sorter, a sixth grade teacher in a low-income school worried about her students’ self-esteems and their influences outside of school. As an active participant in fighting for equal rights, it came natural for her to bring this into her classroom. As a result she started a program/project called Amnesty International. In this project students were encouraged to write letters to students whose rights were being violated by government officials. Each week she introduced a new urgent case study for a child and students would respond to those. This project taught students how to write letters to government officials and to express themselves (feelings). This project also taught students how to care and how to express their outrage respectfully and appropriately when another child was being hurt by the government in some way. They also made copies of these letters and created a classroom book entitled, //I can Make a Difference.// This project shows the impact social justice in the classroom can make and what students can get out of it. (MJB) Sorter, L. (2005). Human Rights Education for Children. //Radical Teacher//, (74), Retrieved from [|http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=5&hid=3&sid=9f1cd7b2-36d5-40e6-b736-f761afae5dea%40sessionmgr4&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=a9h&AN=19644341#db=a9h&AN=19644341]

//Grant, C. & Gillette, M. (2006). A candid talk to teacher educators about effectively preparing teachers who can teach everyone's children.// Journal of Teacher Education, //57(3)//, 292-299.

//The authors addressed the need for teachers to effectively promote achievement for the increasing populations of diversified students and the importance for teacher educators to: (1) reevaluate teacher selection criteria to recruit culturally-relevant teacher candidates, and (2) adequately prepare teacher candidates to examine their beliefs about diverse groups, become knowledgeable and build relationships with the various cultural groups in the community, and recognize students' individualism and cultural influences, and (3) promote teacher understanding of individual educational philosophies, understanding and delivery of subject content, analyze and adapt changes to ineffective teaching practices, and consider classroom environments and technology as teaching-learning tools. (Mary Donna Ballew) [|http://jte.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/57/3/292]

Fox, Kathy. 2006. Using author studies in children's literature to explore social justice issues.// The Social Studies //. Volume 97, Issue 6. 251-256. Heldref Publications, Wash. DC. [|http://ezproxy.library.wwu.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=24329678&site=ehost-live] __

In this article, the author presents a different way of looking at the use of children's literature to explore social justice issues. She believes that while teachers “ may use [children's literature] to promote learning through discussion that focuses on character analysis, historical facts embedded in the text, and other elements of the story,” that “children may find it difficult to apply these lessons to their own experience.” Thus, she presents a methodology that begins with the same focus, but then has students getting to know who the author is. By understanding how the author uses his/her “voice as a tool of personal expression”, students are then able to pull more meaning from what they read of that author's work, and come away being able to “use writing as a forum for exploring and expressing their own views”. This methodology is presented through a thorough and concrete example of what a unit of study applying such methods would look like. (NO)

Canestrari, A., Donnell, K., Kamii, M., Marlowe, B., Winfield, A., Yang, L. 2008. Conversations about social justice. // Encounter //. Volume 21, Issue 4. 37-39. Psychology Press / Holistic Education Press. [|http://ezproxy.library.wwu.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=36645807&site=ehost-live]

This article presents a summary the ideas encapsulated in an ongoing discussion of several colleagues at Roger Williams University School of Education in New England. They highlighted the fact that many teachers are teaching// about // social justice as opposed to teaching //for // social justice. They assert that it easier to teach //about // social justice and that to teach //for // social justice, it requires one to “[take] a stand as a teacher – and that doing so is risky.” They explain that because many of the social justice issues are controversy-laden, teachers may feel that while they are trying to bring their students to meet standards, the teachers' beliefs “are often in direct opposition to those same requirements”. Overall, this article provides an opportunity for discussion and for personal reflection on one's own belief about how they will go about teaching social justice in the classroom. (NO)

Bender-slack, D., Raupach, M. 2008. Negotiating standards and social justice in the social studies: educators’ perspectives. //The Social Studies //. Volume 99, Issue 6. 255-259. Heldref Publications. [|http://ezproxy.library.wwu.edu/login?url=http]:// search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=35395733&site=ehost-live The authors of this article present findings from a study of how four teachers of various experience negotiate social justice instruction and the need to teach to standards. They found that educators felt limited by the standards, in that topics covered had to be “tied to a standard” and that they had to limit what was covered so that ”more time [could] be spent covering the standards … of the [state test].” Because of the unique environments the educators found themselves in, each brought different views into the study of how they view social justice, and their worries about teaching //for// social justice in the classroom. They also present suggestions for a framework where educators are focused on “social justice instruction in terms of methods rather than content”. The authors present the idea that rather than teaching students about each topic that shows up in the standards, there could be more focus on teaching those topics “ //through// a social justice lens [emphasis added].” In turn, educators would find themselves less hampered by standards and better able to teach from a variety of perspectives. (NO)

//Boutte, G.S. (2008). Beyond the illusion of diversity: how early childhood teachers can promote social justice.// The Social Studies //, 165-173. This article discusses the importance of talking with students about diversity and social justice and the issues that come up in the classroom. The author presents two illusions and then gives examples as to why the points are in fact illusions. She talks about how it is hard for teachers to teach social justice issues in the classroom with out the proper teacher training. In the end, she suggests how teachers and teacher educators can move their classroom to include social justice topics. JI

Pewewardy, C. (2004). Playing Indian at halftime: The controversy over American Indian mascots, logos, and nicknames in school-related events.// The Clearning House, 77(5) //, 180-185.

The author highlights three issues of cultural bias pertaining to stereotypical Indian mascots often portrayed within school environments: (1) The oppressive affects on Native Americans from educational institutions' continued unsolicited use of mascots, logos, and nicknames in school-related events that often are inaccurate mock sacred or cultural practices, (2) how the negative stereotypical portrayals of Native Americans hinder accurate societal views and affect Native Americans' self-esteem, academic success, and cultural pride, and (3) the importance of educators and school administrators to advocate accurate cultural diversity and prohibit all institutional racist implications during school events at the expense of Native Americans. (Mary Donna Ballew) [|http://web.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.library.wwu.edu/ehost/pdf?vid=4&hid=104&sid=3617e2a8-58e6-49b3-a1ba-76887722a31d%40sessionmgr112]

Pappamihiel, N.E. (2004). Hugs and smiles: Demonstrating caring in a multicultural early childhood classroom.// Early Child Development and Care, 174(6) //, 539-548.

The author reports her investigation results pertaining to preservice teachers' beliefs about working with multicultural student populations in a culturally-sensitive manner and concluded the following results: (1) most preservice teachers believe the best way to we work with other cultures is to generally display equitable displays of affection and acceptance among all students, (2) most monocultural preservice teachers often do not acknowledge that their beliefs are superficial and insensitive to deep multicultural understanding, and (3) to expand on teachers' marginal sensitivity, the author suggests utilizing Bennett's (1993) Model of Intercultural Sensitivity, which describes the developmental stages of ethnocentric and ethnorelative sensitivity, beginning with denial or minimizing differences to acceptance, adaptation, and integration. (Mary Donna Ballew) [|http://web.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.library.wwu.edu/ehost/pdf?vid=2&hid=104&sid=3617e2a8-58e6-49b3-a1ba-76887722a31d%40sessionmgr112]

Locke, Steven International Research in Geographical & Environmental Education; 2009, Vol. 18 Issue 2, p97-110, 14p, 2 charts. Accessed through EBSCO on October 21, 2009.

This article discusses the changes being made in the current Environmental Education systems in Costa Rica, and how there are calls to extend the study beyond science to include social, cultural, and economic factors. Ecology is not isolated from economic and cultural conflicts. Everything is interconnected. Furthermore, Environmental Education needs to address how social inequity and the imbalance of power are at the heart of most pollution and resource depletion. The article draws attention to the fact that Environmental Education promotes citizenship and social justice. LL [|http://ezproxy.library.wwu.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=43389622&site=ehost-live]

Comber, Barbara; Nixon, Helen; Ashmore, Louise; Loo, Stephen; Cook, Jackie.// Urban Renewal From the Inside Out: Spatial and Critical Literacies in a Low Socioeconomic School Community. //Mind, Culture & Activity; 2006, Vol. 13 Issue 3, p228-246, 19p, 4 bw. Accessed through EBSCO on October 21, 2009.

This article follows a communities efforts to redevelop their community ‘from the inside out’ by integrating the redevelopment into their education programs, and making their children an integral part of the program. Emphasis is drawn to the connection between redevelopment plans and local education—how the socioeconomic status of a student’s family will affect their perception of such projects. This article aims to promote involvement of students with community development that will enrich their education as well as their environment, and relates the development of a school garden that connects one school with the local preschool. LL [|http://ezproxy.library.wwu.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=23908654&site=ehost-live]

Yang, K. (2003). Southeast Asian American Children: Not the "Model Minority".// The Future of Children //, 127-133. The author suggests that data shows that Asian American students perform well academically and are the “model minority” yet this really is not the case. The author says more attention needs to be made for Asian Americans whose heritage is from Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. Many of these people came to America as refugees and endured difficult hardships. Many of their children struggle with formal education because of various reasons such as: discrimination, limited English language skills, miscommunication between students, teachers and parents. Another problem Southeast Asian Students face is cultural differences. Their ideas conflict with “American ideas”. One difference is in the way America values children’s rights where as Southeast Asian culture values parents’ authority. Many Southeast Asian Americans experience discrimination at school. Teachers tell them they should not go to college and many students feel alienated from their school because the curriculum is not tailored for them. Another way they feel alienated is there are very few Southeast Asian staff or none at all. The article offers some recommendations to help with these problems. Here are some recommendations: 1.Diaggregate and disseminate more data. There is a need for better and more accurate information. 2. Promote Southeast Asian American Studies, courses and personnel. By having more Asian American personnel, there can be better communication, and increased support. 3. Support community organizations-They can promote academic success in various ways. 4. Create new systems for financial and technical support. (Lynette Van Hofwegen)

Lee, Jung-Sook & Bowen, Natasha K.. “Parent Involvement, Cultural Capital, and the Achievement Gap Among Elementary School Children.”// American Educational Research Journal. //43.2 (2006): 193-218.

This article follows a study done with third through fifth graders, analyzing the effects of parent involvement on performance. Since parental involvement has been speculated to positively affect student performance, increased parental involvement has been a strategy used to close the achievement gap in the elementary schools. Parental involvement has also been shown to balance the effects of race/ethnicity, poverty, and the level of parent education. This interesting study measures many different aspects of parental involvement in the elementary years and how it effects all different students. (KS) []

McNamara, Erin, Weininger, Elliot B., & Lareau, Annette. “From Social Ties to Social Capital: Class Differences in Relations Between Schools and Parent Networks.”// American Educational Research Journal. //40.2 (2003): 319-351.

This article looks deeper into the issue of parent networks in schools and how those networks differ among social classes. Specifically, this article compares how the parent networks in each social class deal with difficult school situations. Middle class parents were found to react differently than working class and poor families. The middle class parent networks had access to greater resources and had the opportunities to address the problem in a systematic way. The working class and poor families did not have that same support. This article stresses the importance and vitality of having equal resources for all families and creating a system that supports all networks fairly. (KS) http://www.jstor.org/stable/3699392?&Search=yes&term=schools&term=social&term=studies&term=elementary&list=hide&searchUri=%2Faction%2FdoBasicSearch%3FQuery%3Dsocial%2Bstudies%2Bin%2Bthe%2Belementary%2Bschools%26gw%3Djtx%26prq%3Dsocial%2Bstudies%2Bsocial%2Bjustice%2Bissues%26hp%3D25%26wc%3Don&item=12&ttl=47529&returnArticleService=showArticle

Pettit, Betty. “Moving and Children’s Social Connections: Neighborhood Context and Consequences of Moving for Low-Income Families.”// Sociological Forum. //19.2 (2002): 285-301.

We will all deal with students who come from another school or even another state or country. This could even include a situation in which we have a foster child in our class, or a student that has to move into a different relative’s home. This article investigates how moving affects students’ social connections and how those social connections compare to those of students who have not moved. Children who moved are influenced by the new neighborhood and environment they move into, financial resources, the age at which they move, and many other key factors. This is something that should not be ignored and usually comes with issues that are left unresolved and underestimated. (KS) @http://www.jstor.org/stable/4148798 &Search=yes&term=schools&term=social&term=studies&term=elementary&list=hide&searchUri=%2Faction%2FdoBasicSearch%3FQuery%3Dsocial%2Bstudies%2Bin%2Bthe%2Belementary%2Bschools%26gw%3Djtx%26prq%3Dsocial%2Bstudies%2Bsocial%2Bjustice%2Bissues%26hp%3D25%26wc%3Don&item=20&ttl=47529&returnArticleService=showArticle

Lalas, J. (2007). Teaching for social justice in multicultural urban schools: Conceptualization and classroom implication. Multicultural Education This online article provides an overview of what social justice looks like in a classroom setting and how it can be applied to education. It looks at several studies that share the importance of teaching social justice issues in the classroom. Most of the article works to address the following statement and how it can be applied in a practical way. “Students' voices need to be heard so teachers can understand their students and "create a caring environment to pave the path for social justice." It looks to answer the question of what it really means to teach social justice in the classroom. (MS) []

Anderson, J., Medina, M., Morrone, A. (2005). Promoting social justice in an urban secondaryteacher education program. The Clearing House, 78(5), 207-212. This article discusses the lack of qualified teachers that want to teach in the challenging urban settings. It shares the importance of teaching preservice teachers how to address social justice issues in their classroom. With the skills to deal with students who may have previously been looked at as “unteachable”, teachers can help students reach their full potential. This study put together a field based teacher education program that looks at how different social justice assignments can be taught within urban education. (MS) []

Social Justice Literature for the Elementary Classroom This website gives great resources for literature focused on social justice issues for K-5 classrooms. It shares a summary of each story and gives reflections and comments from teachers who have used the resource in their classrooms. For most of the literature it gives the domains of social justice that are explored in the story. It also provides additional links that allow you to access other resources for that specific book. People have also given ideas for lesson plans that go along with the literature. (MS) []

Reaching Diverse Learners through Social Justice Themes// This article makes it clear that low socioeconomic status students need new ways to express themselves such as exploring their culture and family’s “funds of knowledge.” To reach this goal with the help of Organizing the Curriculum (OTC), teachers are learning new strategies of how to bring a new curriculum that focuses on content about labor, social justice, and immigration experiences, as well as using technology for storytelling. This new curriculum provides students a meaningful education that they can relate to and enjoy while improving their skills in reading, writing, speaking, and viewing. (LM) Sanello, M.P, Sosin, A.A., Eichenholtz, S., & Buttaro, L. (2009) Reaching Diverse Learners through Social Justice Themes. //Educator’s Voice//, Volume II, retrieved from[| http://www.nysut.org/cps/rde/xchg/nysut/hs.xsl/educatorsvoice_12355.htm]

//Breaking the Silence: Critical Literacy and Social Action// This powerful article gives us a glimpse of a teacher’s classroom where social justice is just not talked about but acted upon. The students in an English class are asked to explore contemporary issues that speak to social issues. As the list grew larger, it was clear that homophobia was an issue that must be addressed. The class explored derogatory words and names that associated with homophobia and discussed how language could be so powerful yet hurtful. Through journal writing and classroom discussions, students finally put their feelings into action by creating a school day called “A Day of Solidarity” where students wore jeans and white T-shirts to support GLBT as well as starting a GLBT club at school. (LM) Young, S. L-B. (2009) Breaking the Silence: Critical Literacy and Social Action. //English Journal//, retrieved from // [] //

//Developing Social Justice Educators// At Power Elementary school in South Central Los Angeles, there are seven dedicated teachers who participate in a teacher inquiry group. These teachers give us an image of what it means to be really committed to your students’ success in learning. What they found out is that they can’t just teach to the test but it starts with the teachers changing their pedagogy belief, putting more focus on student critical thinking, and developing teacher professionalism where teachers get together to reflect on their classroom learning of what’s working and what needs to change. Such questions that they ask are, “How can a focus on teaching for social justice energize teaching and learning in an urban school?” and “How can an urban school create a formal space for teachers to investigate and question their philosophies and beliefs and learn from colleagues who provide relevant, socially transformable instruction?” (LM) Duncan-Andrade, Jeffrey M.R. (2005) Developing Social Justice Educators. //Educational Leadership.// Retrieved from []

Picht-Truj, S. and Ledezma,P. (2008). //Putting a Human Face on the Immigration Debate.// Rethinking Schools. Vol. 22, No. 4. Retrieved from []. This article from Rethinking Schools describes how a group of teachers in southern California worked together to develop and teach a unit on immigration in high school language classes. What is unique about this unit is that it asks kids to interact with the personal side of immigration and understand immigration from several points of view. For example, one lesson has students do role plays of immigration events in the news. Learners also have the opportunity to represent their own heritage through writing and posters. This is a good example of social justice teaching –facing the heated issue of immigration head on and making an environment where students can consider multiple and personal perspectives of immigrants. (AM)

Drake, I. (2008). //Classroom Simulations: Proceed with Caution.// Teaching Tolerance. No. 33. Retrieved from []. This intriguing article captures a debate among educators and parents about how much simulation students can handle in order to effectively learn about social justice issues. The article cited an example of a camp where students had to do activities like kneel in a slave ship and walk through the woods at night as if they were escaping on the Underground Railroad. Some parents and teachers felt that these activities were too traumatic for kids to handle, while others argued that these experiences were important so that children could understand these difficult issues and that children are more resilient than we give them credit. Other researchers suggest that students do not need these simulations, as they encounter difficult prejudice in their everyday lives and can use these to understand the social justice concepts. One thing is for sure: if simulations are not handled properly, they can have adverse affects on students that include reinforcing negative views of oppressed people or inducing unnecessary stress. Read this article and decide for yourself. (AM)

Lockette, T. (2009). Crossing The Gap. Teaching Tolerance. No. 35. Retrieved from [] This article took place in Illinois, Chicago. The story is about two high school students coming from two different social economical backgrounds. When their paths crossed, they noticed and realized the inequality and the segregation that is happening in their hometown. They decided to form a group called Illinois Council for Students, //“a coalition of kids from some of the Chicago area's richest and poorest districts, which is mounting a statewide effort to end school inequity in their state once and for all”// (Lockette, 2009). This is not the typical article about teachers and their experiences, but rather a story about high school students standing up, fighting for their education and their future in this unfair situation that they are living in.

Though this article comes from a journal that mainly concerns adult education, it is still a valuable source of info for anyone thinking of teaching with a social justice slant. Heaney writes of his experiences working with in Chicago neighborhood schools that offer classes (GED, ESL, literacy) to adults in severely underprivileged areas while teaching with a social justice mindset. The focus of the article is the tension between towing the party line of the school district and the bureaucracy whose funds control it; while at the same time being able to effectively teach social justice themes in a relevant way to the students of the school. (N.B.) What does social justice education look like? In this article Tony Stewart’s work fighting the Aryan Nation in Northern Idaho is looked at. Stewart’s use of public education was able to get to community members at a young age, and the anti-racism focus was able to push the organization from its once prominent place within the community. (N.B.)
 * Title:** Pursuit of Social Justice in Situations of Conflict.
 * Author:** Heaney, Tom
 * Journal:** New Directions for Adult & Continuing Education; Fall2009, Issue 123, p65-74, 10p
 * Retrieved from:** []
 * Title:** SOCIAL JUSTICE LESDERSHIP IN ACTION: THE CASE OF TONY STEWART.
 * Authors:** Kathy Canfield-Davis, Mary E. Gardiner, Russell A. Joki
 * Journal:** Journal of Ethnographic & Qualitative Research; Summer2009, Vol. 3 Issue 4, p205-217, 13p, 1 chart
 * Retrieved from:** http://ezproxy.library.wwu.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=41423250&site=ehost-live

This article concerns the use of literature and inquiry based education to teach themes of social responsibility and social justice. Themes of responsibility, empathy, environmental literacy, power and propaganda, historical consciousness, and multicultural education are amongst the list of topics that are covered. (N.B.)
 * Title:** Reading for a Better World: Teaching for Social Responsibility with Young Adult Literature.
 * Author:** Steven Wolk
 * Journal:** Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy; May2009, Vol. 52 Issue 8, p664-673, 10p
 * Retrieved from:** http://ezproxy.library.wwu.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=39260019&site=ehost-live

**Title:** Lessons in ** Social ** Action: Equipping and Inspiring Students to Improve Their World. This article focuses on providing preservice teachers with tools to promote civic engagement in their future classrooms. The article highlights four teaching strategies that help preservice teachers cultivate a sense of social justice and equity in themselves and their students: a critical literacy approach, primary sources, role playing, and civic debates. The authors use situations from real classrooms to demonstrate and define the strategies. 627d3fd2-ec90-48fc-8999-a058046d2e0c%40sessionmgr112 (MF)
 * Authors:** Marshall, Jill; Klein, Ana Maria.
 * Journal:** ** Social ** Studies, Sep2009, Vol. 100 Issue 5, p218-221, 4p.
 * Retrieved from:** http://web.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.library.wwu.edu/ehost/pdf?vid=8&hid=107&sid=

**Author:** Baghban, Marcia. The main purpose of this article is to provide teachers with quality children’s picture books that can help students who are immigrants connect to and become interested about learning in their new environments. The author describes many of the challenges that immigrant families and children face, and provides specific literature resources that address or shed light on these issues. Some of these issues include learning a new language, being different, and responding to one’s name.
 * Title:** Immigration in Childhood: Using Picture Books to Cope
 * Journal:** **Social Studies**, Mar2007, Vol. 98 Issue 2, p71-76, 6p.
 * Retrieved from:** http://web.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.library.wwu.edu/ehost/pdf?vid=3&hid=107&sid= 6ae48a86-39cc-4da1-aa09-8469c42683e3%40sessionmgr111 (MF)

This article is aimed at secondary teachers, but is also very relevant to elementary teachers. The author discusses how controversial issues, like war, environment, immigration, and economic policy, can be used in classroom teaching to open students’ minds to different perspectives, to help them develop skills essential to living in a democracy, and to encourage critical thinking, problem solving, and public speaking. Emphasis is put on teaching these issues in a safe classroom community and addressing issues that may stem from either student interests or presented by the teacher. 107&sid=f8678a05-f9da-4017-bc9b-1b882d15ed06%40sessionmgr110
 * Title:** Teaching with Controversy
 * Author:** Graseck, Susan.
 * Journal:** Educational Leadership, Sep2009, Vol. 67 Issue 1, p45-49, 5p.
 * Retrieved from:** http://web.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.library.wwu.edu/ehost/pdf?vid=5&hid=

//Timothy Lintner//. [|**The Social Studies**]. Washington: [|Jan/Feb 2005]. Vol. 96, Iss. 1; pg. 34, 4 pgs I found this article to be very useful because not only does the author provide information about how children’s attitudes towards people’s differences are related to their interactions with family members, peers, and media, but also that their opinions and beliefs begin to form during their preschool years and are set by the time they reach early adolescence. The article gives examples of student responses to posed questions about people who may be “different” from themselves, which helps give insight to teachers as to what kind of questions could be asked to their students to initiate a discussion about cultural, physical, and economic differences throughout the United States and other countries. The article also gives a short outline to a lesson plan that was geared toward elementary students because young learners are in the stage of their lives where they are forming their perceptions of people. SW
 * A World of Difference: //Teaching Tolerance// through Photographs in //Elementary School// **
 * || http://proquest.umi.com.ezproxy.wcls.org:2048/pqdweb?did=822994951&sid=8&Fmt=3&clientId=22133&RQT=309&VName=PQD ||

//Selamawit Tadesse//, //James Hoot//. [|**Childhood //Education//**]. Olney: [|Winter 2006/2007]. Vol. 83, Iss. 2; pg. 75, 5 pgs [] This article touches on many issues that teachers, no matter where you teach, will be faced with on a daily basis. Although it focuses its attention to ten female prostitute students in Ethiopia, many of the issues that these students, and teachers, have to deal with are issues that can prevalent throughout the world. The article tends to paint a negative picture on the teachers that are dealing with these young girls, however, I feel that every teacher could benefit from reading the article to gain a sense of “what not to do” in similar situations—a student does not have to be a prostitute to share some of the same educational difficulties. For example, the article touches on school absence and poor performance and how many of the teachers attributed this to laziness. The article also supplies the reader with testimonies of 10 female child prostitutes who are allowed to voice what they feel they need from their teacher(s) in order to be successful in school, feel valued, and work toward bettering their lives. Like many students in the United States, these students do not have a strong support system at home, if any at all. SW
 * Child Prostitutes in Primary Classrooms: Voices From Ethiopia **

//Sureshrani Paintal//. [|**Childhood //Education//**]. Olney: [|2007]. Vol. 83, Iss. 6; pg. 410, 4 pgs [] I found this article to be very interesting because I was not aware that “reasonable” corporal punishment is //still// legal in our schools in approximately fifty percent of the United States. Along with providing a definition to corporal punishment, the article gives bulleted consequences to children whose parents use corporal punishment as a way of discipline. The article also provides a bulleted list of alternatives to corporate punishment for parents to use and supplies a bulleted list for teachers to help students and parents find resources. The article gives a clear set of rules for teachers to use in their classroom that will help set the students up for success in such a manner that is healthy to their physical, mental, and emotional well-being. At the end of the article, there is a list of Organizations that has addresses, phone numbers, fax numbers, and web addresses that may be useful to gather more information on this issue to share with colleagues, parents, family members, community members, etc. SW
 * Banning Corporal Punishment of Children **

"Understanding Poverty in America"
[]This article starts out by stating facts about the poor that live in America. For example, 46% of all "poor" people in America actually own their own homes, 76% have air conditioning, and only 6% live in overcroweded homes. It goes on to tell us that the main reason that American children are poor is that a) their parents are unable to work and b) their fathers are absent from the home. This article discusses what it means to live in poverty, stating that it is far better than what the public actually thinks. It contains a table that presents the reader with percentages of what people classified as poor own and eat and a table that shows us living conditions among "poor" people. There is also a section on the links between poverty and malnutrition, which is actually on the rise. This would be a good article that confronts stereotypes about people who are classified as poor as well as some good tables and graphs that show current trends. -Katie Emmons

"Today, over 25,000 children died around the world"
[]

This is the equivelence to: This article questions why these are not in the headlines in our newspapers and why this tragedy is only brought up in global meetings. This article looks at the media and recent headlines, blaming the media for not paying closer attention. They make an argument saying that if the media put these headlines in their stories everyday, people will become less and less fascinated with the news when they hear the same stories over and over again. In addition to looking at the media, this article gives several graphs that shows where the most child deaths are occuring and what the trends are. This is a great article to pull facts from as well as showing how media is related to social justice issues. - Katie Emmons
 * **1 child dying every 3.5 seconds**
 * **17-18 children dying every minute**
 * **A 2004 Asian Tsunami occurring almost every 1.5 weeks**
 * **An Iraq-scale death toll every 16–38 days**
 * **Over 9 million children dying every year**
 * **Some 70 million children dying between 2000 and 2007**

Poverty/Enequality​
[] This article talks about what it means to be poor and how poverty is measured. Although the world's poverty level is dropping, mostly due to China, it still poses a huge dilemma with 1.4 estimated to be living off of $1.25 a day! This article discusses inequality found not only in the poorest countries in the world, but also the richest; how health is related to inequalilty; how inequality promotes social tensions; what the World Bank is doing about poverty; and poverty in industrialized countries. - Katie Emmons