The PDF below is the scholarly article for teacher education for social justice. The reading for this topic was one of the the most difficult reading I have ever encountered but it taught me an important lesson which is we as teachers cannot truly be an advocate for social justice until we are aware of our own privilege. The activity I had my classmates engage with was a simple but powerful way to show what privilege is. I have attached the write-up for this activity below.

“For the activity, I’m going to hand out a piece of paper to everyone and I’ll explain what to do once everyone has a piece of paper.” 

“Okay now that everyone has a piece of paper, I want you to crumple it up” (move the bin to the front of the room). “The game is simple, you all represent the country’s population and everyone in the country has a chance to become wealthy and move into the upper class.” “To move into the upper class, all you have to do is throw your wadded-up paper into the bin while sitting in your seat.” 

“As you saw, the closer you were to the bin, the better your odds.” “This is what privilege looks like.” “Did you notice how the only people who complained about fairness were in the back of the room?” “By contrast, people in the front of the room were less likely to be aware of the privilege they were born into.” “All they can see is 10 feet between them and their goal.” 

“Now, your job as students who are receiving an education, is to be aware of your privilege and use this particular privilege called “education” to do your best to achieve great things, all the while advocating for those in the rows behind you.”

Teacher-Education-for-Social-Justice

Click the link below to view a presentation that myself and 3 classmates created to expand our knowledge on teacher education for social justice.

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1a7Mzz-ka8xXr8Rfd1E5wRolM7HWjWDauSbIg_HEbdG8/edit#slide=id.p