The most important thing for teaching social justice is you have to be passionate about something. You have to believe in it, and put much effort in changing this issue and teaching others to do the same. I liked how Kohl mentioned to reach out to other who feels as you do. It definitely helps when you have many people who feel passionate about the same thing, because they can tackle the issue better and quicker. Another good point that Kohl made was that “it is not enough to teach well and create a social justice classroom separate from the larger community. You have to be a community activist, a good parent, a decent citizen, and an active community member as well".
Some people criticize that social justice cannot be taught; it’s something people have to experience and learn from it themselves, as they have every right to. But I believe that there’s nothing wrong with teaching students about ethical issues that the community is concerned about. Educating students to value differences and recognize unjust behavior and take actions against it is definitely something that can and should be taught to kids. It makes them more aware about issues concerning their communities and the world. Teachers should be able to teach kids in good faith, what they think are important issues in society. Like Kohl mentioned don’t teach by the text, or something that makes you uncomfortable. Teach it the way that it works for you. Students are more willing to learn and listen when there’s a teacher being creative and knows what they’re talking about, rather than someone just reading off the required curriculum. They can tell a teacher what to teach, but not what ways to do it.
I ran into a website Teaching for Change where they help teachers and parents to change schools into centers of justice where students learn to read, write and change the world. I thought this was a great organization. They offer training to early childhood educators in the DC area on “anti-bias, culturally responsive education”. They encourage teachers and students to take situations from the real world and connect those issues to their classrooms and their community. This teaches the kids to become “active global citizens”.