Free Essay On Social Justice

Teaching Social Justice in Early Childhood

Overview
The topic for this paper will be social justice and the year level is children of five years. The topic social justice is crucial for children who are five years old because it helps them to treat other children and everybody else equally and with respect. Furthermore, the aspect of social justice is not only important for children but also for every human being regardless of age. Children should be taught the importance of social justice because when they join school they meet all types of children. They will meet children whose basic need have not been met, who have been raised where traditions are not respected, others come from families with strange religious practices, others maybe natives who are just starting to learn English while others may be fighting an illness. Other children may not be well disciplined, others do not talk much, and who are shy, children who do not trust anyone and children who have a different skin color. Social justice teaches children to tolerate and respect others because everybody is different and unique.

The resources that provide teachers with background knowledge about the topic of social justice include:

Hyland, N. (2010). Social justice in early childhood classroom. ececompast. Available at: http://ececompsat.org/docs/dld-socialjustice.pdf [Accessed 10 Apr. 2015].
National Pro Bono Resource Centre, (2011). What is social justice? Available at: https://wic041u.server-secure.com/vs155205_secure/CMS/files_cms/Occ_1_What%20is%20Social%20Justice_FINAL.pdf [Accessed 10 Apr. 2015].
British Columbia, (2008). Making Space. Available at: https://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/irp/pdfs/making_space/mkg_spc_intr.pdf [Accessed 10 Apr. 2015].

Resources that that provide lesson ideas that can be modified and adapted:

Vigliante, T. (n.d.). Social education with very young children. sceaa. Available at: http://sceaa.org.au/media/vigliante%20SEAA.pdf [Accessed 10 Apr. 2015].
‘10 Social Justice Activities for Students’. (n.d). Educationworld. Available at: http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/social-justice-activities-students.shtml [Accessed 10 Apr. 2015].
Lee, Y. (2014). Three cases of students teaching practice for social studies in early childhood. Redfame.com. Available at: http://redfame.com/journal/index.php/jets/article/viewFile/489/401 [Accessed 10 Apr. 2015].
Resource that provides descriptions or views on how to teach in the Humanities and Social Science area
Neil, P. (2015). Going from me to we: Social studies in preschool. highscope. Available at: http://www.highscope.org/file/NewsandInformation/Extensions/Extensions_Vol29No1_web-SocialStudies.pdf [Accessed 10 Apr. 2015].
Discussion
Hyland, N. (2010). Social justice in early childhood classroom. ececompast. Available at: http://ececompsat.org/docs/dld-socialjustice.pdf [Accessed 10 Apr. 2015].
This resource connects into the humanities and social studies because its main theme is social justice in the early childhood education. According to Hyland, it is very important to teach young children social studies in both schools and home environment, however, the school environment is the more important of the two because the teachers repeat until a concept until the child understands (2010). She says that children are able to learn while they are still young and it is visible in the manner in which they play and talk with other children. Hyland says that the American population is growing in number but also ethnically, culturally with people who speak different languages and with different sexual preferences (Hyland 2010 pg. 1). According to Hyland, over half of the population of children will be from the ethnic communities by the year 2050. Currently, these children are the worst performers in schools because they are bullied and discriminated against by other children. Therefore, this resource is helpful in understanding the background of social justice that can be taught in schools. The information that Hyland has provided will help to teach young children that it is okay for others to be different. Information on culture, race, and language as outlined in by Hyland will help the teacher address the topic on social justice. She states that the teacher can give the children books that talk about different cultures and races in class (Hyland 2010 pg. 4).The information is up-to-date and therefore it can be used to address the day-to-day issues on social justice. For example she talks about children can be taught to accommodate homosexuals children in the classrooms, and here she uses information from the year 2005 (Hyland 2010 pg. 6). This information can be used to teach social justice to all age groups because it covers all aspects of the topic. It also raises conscious of the children hence makes them pay attention to the teacher.
National Pro Bono Resource Centre, (2011). What is social justice? Available at: https://wic041u.server-secure.com/vs155205_secure/CMS/files_cms/Occ_1_What%20is%20Social%20Justice_FINAL.pdf [Accessed 10 Apr. 2015].
This resource begins with giving the definition of social justice hence it fits perfectly in the category. It gives an analysis of the contents of social justice entails and all its concepts. This paper differentiates between social justice and human rights so that reader can understand social justice more. Human right is a subgroup of social justice and the difference is that human rights incorporate all aspects of equality. This means that human rights cater for both the positive and the negative aspects of human life, for example it advocates for the right to employment and education and so on. National Pro Bono Resource Centre provides the earliest ideas of social justice and where it all begun (5). This resource gives more information about the topic by highlighting the elements of social justice that include; everybody should have equal access to opportunities, resources, and rights. Every citizen should be given the same treatment and disadvantaged citizens protected by the law. The information is up-to-date because it covers all areas of social justice from when it all started up to now. People above age five can use this resource since it caters for the legal and political aspects of social justice. It raises curiosity in the children because of the fact that it touches on the legal aspect and that may instill fear in them (National Pro Bono Resource Centre 2011 p. 10).
British Columbia, (2008). Making Space. Available at: https://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/irp/pdfs/making_space/mkg_spc_intr.pdf [Accessed 10 Apr. 2015].
According to the British Columbia people all over the world, belong to different cultures, races, age and others are physically disadvantaged (British Columbia 2008 p. 2). Additionally, people speak different languages, others are rich while others are poor and have different religious beliefs as well. This resource helps to give the teacher a background understanding of the topic social justice. People should try their best not to let social injustice prevent them or other people from achieving success. They should not mistreat people based on their background or economic situations. According to the British Columbia, people should understand that the differences between themselves and other people started long time ago and they should not make it a big issue (8). Additionally, according to British Columbia certain group of people or community will seem better than the rest. This information will help to teach the children that they should embrace each other’s uniqueness and stop fighting it. The information provided is up-to-date and no improvement is required. Additionally it can be used for other age groups of students particularly because the authors have examined how social justice can be taught through all the subjects in schools (British Columbia 2008 p. 9).
Vigliante, T. (n.d.). Social education with very young children. sceaa. Available at: http://sceaa.org.au/media/vigliante%20SEAA.pdf [Accessed 10 Apr. 2015].
This paper relates to social justice because it analyzes the importance of developing a good society by teaching the young children the importance of social justice so that when they are adults they can become responsible citizens or even political activist. The author focuses mainly on equality and equal moral worth. Children should be taught the importance of respecting and loving other children and even adults (Vigliante n.d pg. 1). According to Vigliante it is important to teach children to value human beings rather than material things and that the teacher should point out this behaviors so that the children can understand more. Social justice should be taught to children who are as young as three years old because from there they will be able to practice what they have learned until they are grownups. Vigliante insists that young children are able to understand that they are different from other children, for example in skin color; hence, it is better if they are taught social justice at that age. The information provided is up-to-date and can be used for other age groups especially up to age seven. The teacher can use pictures to raise curiosity in children as highlighted in the book (Vigliante n.d pg. 16).
‘10 Social Justice Activities for Students’. (n.d). Educationworld. Available at: http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/social-justice-activities-students.shtml [Accessed 10 Apr. 2015].
This article talks about the ideas a teacher can use to teach social justice in the classroom. Social justice is paramount in shaping children to understand that everybody deserves the best of everything (10 Social Justice Activities for Students n.d p. 1). Everybody deserves to be treated right regardless of his or her race, religion, ethnic community or social economic background. The article highlights the use of pictures, timelines and other activities that can be used in the classrooms. The information in this resource can help to plan a class lesson by allowing the teacher to monitor each student’s reactions. It also helps to arrange the children in groups and allows them to practice as if it were in real life. This information is up-to-date because it provides ideas that fit into the current times. Similarly, the information can be used for other age groups because it requires the participation of all students in the activities and timelines (10 Social Justice Activities for Students n.d p. 1).
Lee, Y. (2014). Three cases of students teaching practice for social studies in early childhood. Redfame.com. Available at: http://redfame.com/journal/index.php/jets/article/viewFile/489/401 [Accessed 10 Apr. 2015].
This article gives three case studies showing how a teacher can teach children social studies. The author used interviews and the course work to pass the message to the students. This article states that some teachers have experiences a difficult time trying to teach students the topic of social justice because it is complex (Lee 2014 pg. 1). The author says that teachers have a hard time trying to teach social studies in the different situations because they lack examples. In other words, it is difficult to interpret the theory into practical so that the young children can understand better (Lee 2014 pg. 6). This is the reason the author has used case studies to convey his information. According to Lee, a teacher should actively engage all the children in the classroom so that none of them can feel left out. This resource is helpful in planning a class lesson because it clearly outlines examples and guidelines. The information provided is up-to-date and can be used for all ages especially the aspect of teacher student engagement (Lee 2014 pg. 10).
Neil, P. (2015). Going from me to we: Social studies in preschool. highscope. Available at: http://www.highscope.org/file/NewsandInformation/Extensions/Extensions_Vol29No1_web-SocialStudies.pdf [Accessed 10 Apr. 2015].
Going from me to we: Social studies in preschool gives a methodology that a teacher can use to teach social justice in the classroom. According to Neil, social studies help the child live in harmony with his or her classmates, family, neighbors, and the entire community Neil 2015 pg.1). It also helps the child learn more about the world since from the child perspective it is something they are just getting to know about. In the classroom children interact with children and adults who are different from them hence it is the best place to study about social justice. This is because at home there are few people who are more likely to have less difference compares to the child Neil 2015 pg.5). The author outlines different methods that a teacher can use, for example, using photos that include family members, the children can also visit each other’s home. The teacher can talk about the roles of different people in the community, for instance the police, beautician, and the driver to teach the children about the different types of jobs in the community. The teacher can also allow each student to make decisions hence allowing him or her the right to speak and be heard (Neil 2015 pg.6). The information is up-to-date and can be used for all age groups of children.
References
‘10 Social Justice Activities for Students’. (n.d). Educationworld. Available at: http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/social-justice-activities-students.shtml [Accessed 10 Apr. 2015].
British Columbia, (2008). Making Space. Available at: https://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/irp/pdfs/making_space/mkg_spc_intr.pdf [Accessed 10 Apr. 2015].
Hyland, N. (2010). Social justice in early childhood classroom. ececompast. Available at: http://ececompsat.org/docs/dld-socialjustice.pdf [Accessed 10 Apr. 2015].
Lee, Y. (2014). Three cases of students teaching practice for social studies in early childhood. Redfame.com. Available at: http://redfame.com/journal/index.php/jets/article/viewFile/489/401 [Accessed 10 Apr. 2015].
National Pro Bono Resource Centre, (2011). What is social justice?Available at: https://wic041u.server-secure.com/vs155205_secure/CMS/files_cms/Occ_1_What%20is%20Social%20Justice_FINAL.pdf [Accessed 10 Apr. 2015].
Neil, P. (2015). Going from me to we: Social studies in preschool. highscope. Available at: http://www.highscope.org/file/NewsandInformation/Extensions/Extensions_Vol29No1_web-SocialStudies.pdf [Accessed 10 Apr. 2015].
Vigliante, T. (n.d.). Social education with very young children. sceaa. Available at: http://sceaa.org.au/media/vigliante%20SEAA.pdf [Accessed 10 Apr. 2015].