"According to Bell (1997), the ultimate goal of social justice education is to combat oppression by enabling all groups to have an equitable portion of society's resources and, with these resources, to be able to participate fully in a democratic society" (Esposito & Swain, 2009, P. 39).
Social commitment means a consistent dedication to equity. I find it important to differentiate between equity and equality. Equality means treating everyone in a similar manner, while equity means ensuring that everyone has an equal opportunity. For example, if I have a disabled student, treating all students equally does not amount to equity for the special needs student. In my understanding of social justice, there is the issue of the pursuit of equity, as aforementioned. Similarly, I also undertake community service activities in a bid to improve the situation of my students. Advocacy is also an important component of social commitment to seeking the best outcomes for my students. Finally, to enable proper participation in molding their future societies, I teach algebra as part of my social commitment to my students. My social justice commitment causes me to constantly go out of my way to provide the best possible education for my students with a view of both imparting knowledge and instigating positive change in their lives currently and in the future.
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Equity
Equity is an advancement of the concept of equality based on the fact backgrounds are a bearing factor in future opportunities. The idea behind equity comes from the notion that some segments of the community face discrimination and manifest injustices (Esposito & Swain, 2009). It would be irrational to expect these segments of the community to have the same opportunities as their privileged peers if they are treated in the same way. As a teacher, I seek to carefully assess my students in order to identify the ones that have some form of disadvantage. The limitation could relate to a learning disability, some form of discrimination, family issues, an ailment, or other challenges. I then seek to understand how best to assist the student ensure equity in future opportunities. My assistance enables the students to overcome the handicap or the capacity to thrive despite the handicap.
Community Service
Secondary to my job as a teacher, I also undertake community service to improve the quality of life for my students. My notion of community service stems from Cammarota & Fine (2010), an article about using resistance as a tool to fight for social justice for young people. As outlined in the article, injustices are not natural but rather carefully developed tools for oppression. To overcome injustice, benign individuals must take active steps to aid those who suffer injustices. My idea of community service involves working for my students beyond the scope of my employment. For example, some of my students have personal challenges and need a caring person to share them with. Creating time for such students can make a major difference in their lives.
Advocacy
Social commitment also means undertaking advocacy for and on behalf of my students to ensure that they get the right education for an ideal future. It is easier for me as a teacher to follow the laid out procedure, do my job and earn my pay. However, I also need to carefully evaluate the processes and material in place to ensure that it serves my students interests. For example, according to Breunig (2005), critical and experimental education is the best for modern pedagogy. Such teaching methods require a variety of resources that may not be available to students. Advocacy means being a champion for my students to the powers that be to ensure that they get the necessary resources. For example, I can speak to the school's administration to ensure that the budgeting process factors in the learning needs of my students.
Citizenship & Civics Education
Finally, as reflected in the quote above, the ability to participate fully in the democratic process is pertinent to the student's ability to live a positive and fruitful life. As indicated in Breuing (2011), schools have an important role in molding students regarding their future " political, social, and economic life " p. 4. Democracy is an important component of a just society. For a democracy to thrive, the populace needs to play their respective roles, such as voting, running for political office, and even picketing when the need arises. I believe that I have a duty to train my students to play a positive role in the political system that they will find themselves in their future. All over the world, tyrannies thrive because citizens do not understand their rights or what they need to do if their rights are taken away. Hopefully, by teaching my students about democracy, they can spread the message to their peers and those that they interact with, leading to a better-informed populace, which is essential for a functional democracy.
Conclusion
I have often wondered if I am abnormally dedicated to my work and my students, more so due to the emotional and material investments I make regarding social commitment. Further, I often notice that for many of my colleagues, teaching is a job like any other, and the values outlined above do not seem to matter to them. I do hope that I will not gradually develop this level of indifference in my future as a teacher. It is my desire to keep ensuring that I treat my students equitably to ensure that they have equal opportunities despite their unequal backgrounds. I would also want to keep on advocating for them so that they get the right resources for an ideal education. Finally, I want to give them the capacity to participate in the democratic process so that they can play a role in mitigating the inequalities their generation continues to face.
References
Breuing, M. (2011). Problematizing critical pedagogy. The International Journal of Critical Pedagogy , 3 (3).
Breunig, M. (2005). Turning experiential education and critical pedagogy theory into praxis. Journal of experiential education , 28 (2), 106-122.
Cammarota, J., & Fine, M. (2010). Youth participatory action research: A pedagogy for transformational resistance. In Revolutionizing education (pp. 9-20). Routledge.
Esposito, J., & Swain, A. N. (2009). Pathways to Social Justice: Urban Teachers' Uses of Culturally Relevant Pedagogy as a Conduit for Teaching for Social Justice. Penn GSE Perspectives on Urban Education , 6 (1), 38-48.
