AWARENESS –ENGAGEMENT - ACTIVISM
A SOCIAL JUSTICE APPROACH
It is the goal of the Elementary Teachers’Federation of Ontario to work with others tocreate schools, communities, and a societyfree from all forms of individual and systemicdiscrimination. To further this goal, ETFO definesequity as fairness achieved through proactive
measures which result in equality, promotediversity, and foster respect and dignity for all.
Notes to Teachers from the Authors
To facilitate Ontario’s Ministry of Education Equity and Inclusive Education Policy, we have prepareda series of suggested activities for early years to grade eight based on a variety of texts and relatedresources.
Our hope is that we can inspire you to begin class discussions and dialogue around issues of socialjustice. As we build awareness of experiences and realities other than our own, we can motivate ourstudents to become socially engaged and responsible citizens. As part of the dialogue both teachersand students are encouraged to identify, examine, and critically challenge forms of injustice. Often, the starting point of making connections rests on the simple principle and well-used catch phrase, “think globally, act locally.”
An inclusive community promotes a sense of pride and acceptance by minimizing barriers,
acknowledging differences, and fostering empathy, care, and respect. This commitment reflectsa thoughtful, ongoing approach to the integration of equity and social justice in an effort to createinclusive classrooms. Join us in our journey towards awareness, engagement, and activism—in other words, a social justice approach.
Prepared for the:
Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario
by:
Brenda Gallander, Algoma Teacher Local
Alan Heatherington, Thames Valley Teacher Local
Deneen Montour, Grand Erie Teacher Local
Zubeda Patel, Peel Teacher Local
Sumona Roy, Hamilton-Wentworth Teacher Local
Sherry Ramrattan Smith, retired ETFO staff
Graphic Design:
Yu-Ming Matsuura, ETFO staff
Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario
Fédération des enseignanteset des enseignants de l’élémentaire de l’Ontario
136 Isabella Street, Toronto, Ontario M4Y 0B5
Telephone: 416-962-3836 Tollfree: 1-888-838-3836
Fax: 416-642-2424
Website
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction...... 6
Relatedthemes...... 9
Early Years JK/SK
ZOOM!...... 13
Theme: Self-Esteem; True Worth and Beauty
Best BestColor/Los MejoresColores...... 17
Theme: Self-Esteem; Caring
Skin Again...... 19
Theme: Self-Esteem; Untie the Knots of Prejudice
Sparky: He Is Our Pet...... 23
Theme: Sharing Our Lives; Circles and Cycles
Primary Grade 1
It’s a George Thing!...... 27
Theme: Self-Esteem; Sharing Our Lives
Ribbon Rescue...... 31
Theme: Building Supportive Communities; True Worth and Beauty
Talk Peace...... 34
Theme: Peace; Caring
Tusk Tusk...... 37
Theme: Peace; Untie the Knots of Prejudice
Primary Grade 2
Don’t Laugh At Me...... 40
Theme: Peace; Untie the Knots of Prejudice
Yoon and the Jade Bracelet...... 43
Theme: Building Supportive Communities; Untie the Knots of Prejudice
I Can’t Have Bannock But The Beaver Has A Dam...... 46
Theme: Local and Global Citizenship; Circles and Cycles
Those Shoes...... 48
Theme: Rights of a Child; True Worth and Beauty
How to Heal a Broken Wing...... 52
Theme: Building Supportive Communities; True Worth and Beauty
Primary Grade 3
The Tipi...... 57
Theme: Sharing Our Lives; Circles and Cycles
Lily and the Paper Man...... 61
Theme: Caring; True Worth and Beauty
The First Strawberries: A Cherokee Story...... 64
Theme: Building Supportive Communities; Circles and Cycles
A Day’s Work...... 67
Theme: Building Supportive Communities; True Worth and Beauty
Why War Is Never A Good Idea ...... 70
Theme: Peace; Local and Global Citizenship
Junior Grade 4
Get Involved! Environmental Activist ...... 74
Theme: Building Supportive Communities; Circles and Cycles
The Blue Ribbon Day...... 78
Theme: Self-Esteem; Caring
I Like Who I am...... 83
Theme: Self-Esteem; True Worth and Beauty
A Cool Drink of Water...... 86
Theme: Rights of a Child; Local and Global Citizenship
The Milestones Project: Celebrating Childhood around the World....90
Theme: Self-Esteem; Circles and Cycles
The Butterfly...... 93
Theme: Caring; Untie the Knots of Prejudice
Junior Grade 5
Eagle Song...... 99
Theme: Self-Esteem; Peace
Let’s Talk About Race...... 102
Theme: Rights of a Child; Local and Global Citizenship
The Milestones Project: Celebrating Childhood around the World....107
Theme: Sharing Our Lives; Circles and Cycles
Every Human Has Rights...... 110
Theme: Self-Esteem; Rights of a Child
The Carpet Boy’s Gift...... 114
Theme: Rights of a Child; Local and Global Citizenship
Show Way...... 118
Theme: Caring; Circles and Cycles
A SOCIAL JUSTICE APPROACH
Junior Grade 6
Naomi’s Tree...... 124
Theme: Untie the Knots of Prejudice; Circles and Cycles
King & King...... 127
Theme: Sharing Our Lives; Untie the Knots of Prejudice
Rich World, Poor World...... 131
Theme: Rights of a Child; Local and Global Citizenship
Imagine a Place...... 136
Theme: Self-Esteem; Circles and Cycles
How Much? Visiting Markets Around the World...... 139
Theme: Sharing Our Lives; Local and Global Citizenship
Ten Amazing People: And How They Changed the World...... 142
Theme: Sharing Our Lives; Building Supportive Communities
Intermediate Grade 7
A Package of Human Rights Materials...... 147
Theme: Rights of a Child; Untie the Knots of Prejudice
10,000 Dresses...... 150
Theme: Sharing Our Lives; Untie the Knots of Prejudice
Buried Treasure: The Power of Story: Volume 1...... 154
Theme: Building Supportive Communities; Local and Global Citizenship
Peaceful Heroes...... 157
Theme: Peace; Local and Global Citizenship
SOS: Stories of Survival...... 161.
Theme: Building Supportive Communities; Rights of a Child
One Peace: True Stories of Young Activists...... 164
Theme: Peace; Local and Global Citizenship
ESS, ENGAGEMENT, ACTIVISM
Intermediate Grade 8
A Place Where Sunflowers Grow ...... 166
Theme: Caring; Local and Global Citizenship
From the Notebooks of Melanin Sun...... 171
Theme: Untie the Knots of Prejudice; True Worth and Beauty
Give a Goat...... 174
Theme: Caring; Local and Global Citizenship
Healing Our World: Inside Doctors Without Borders...... 178
Theme: Building Supportive Communities; Caring
We Are All Born Free...... 181
Theme: Untie the Knots of Prejudice; Local and Global Citizenship
Appendices
Student Activity Sheets...... 187
ETFO Article...... 191
..
Lesson Plan Template...... 193
Feedback Form...... 194
Glossary...... 196
Acknowledgements...... 198
AWARENESS - ENGAGEMENTACTIVISM
What is social justice?
Gewirtz (2001) offers the following thoughts:
“Social justice has traditionally been understood as referring tothe way in which goods are distributed in society. I want to suggestthat social justice is more usefully understood in an expandedsense to refer to a family of concerns about how everyone shouldbe treated in a society we believe to be good. Broadly conceivedin this way, social justice can be said to encompass two majordimensions—a distributional and a relational dimension.” (p. 49.)
A Social Justice Approach
Introductory comments by Dr. Finney Cherian and Sherry Ramrattan Smith
Gewirtz’s distributional and relational dimensions of social justice reveal the following relationship between tolerance and prosperity: With an increase in economic prosperity we tend to see an increase in our acceptance of cultural, class, gender, and sexual orientation differences. Conversely, with decreased economic prosperity we tend to see a decrease in our tolerance of others. At the level of the street corner, these prosperity and relational trends can express themselves in unsavory comments like: “These immigrants and refugees are taking all our jobs.” and “I wish those people would stop being so lazy and get off welfare.” These types of comments are crude and painful. But their vulgarity should not distract from the potential that in the hands of socially conscious and pedagogically-skilled educators these comments offer opportunities to develop in their students’ awareness, engagement, and a desire to take action on biased opinions and unjust social conditions.
Teaching for social change is complex work and not for the faint of heart. It is a praxis that demands much of teachers and students. Its complexity and necessity become even more profound in a time where the accumulated effects of wars, global economic despair, terrorism, and the associated fears have frayed the threads of human relations. We live, teach, and learn in chaotic and uncertain times.
Gewirtz’s definition provides us with clarity on what social justice is and its relevancy in socially tense times. But how does one teach from such a paradigm? What resources exist to support teaching from a social justice framework? The authors of this resource have made answering such questions a central priority in their work.
Social justice is not an approach solely grounded in personal desires for benevolence and altruism.
The conceptual framework of social justice and its pedagogical expression draws upon scholarship that includes critical theory, anti-racist education, and multiculturalism. Each of these three traditions are different in their ideological distinctions, but together foster and sustain democratic education.
A social justice approach involves teaching in order to become aware through learning about issues,engaging in learning by making personal connections or building understanding of experiences outside of our own, and practicing skills through inquiry and critical conversations that lead to actions for negotiating change. Social justice pedagogy nurtures classroom ecologies in which teachers and students negotiate and decide: what to learn, when to learn, how to learn, and how to assess learning.
Philosopher,Trappist monk, and social activist Thomas Merton reminds us that beliefs are those things we tend to hold tightly to our chests. We can only examine the value and integrity of our beliefs when we are willing to stop clenching and extend them out from ourselves for examination. Social justice teaching is meant to expose students to new ideas, which can lead to challenging
pre-existing beliefs. If we are to help students value others, we must first help them to value themselves. Once this self-affirmation is firmly developed, we can guide students to go beyond themselves, their needs, and learn to value others. This is the very spirit of what it means to teach through social and cultural lenses. When educators teach from a sociocultural framework, they are influenced by a compelling desire to understand how identities, experiences, and relationships mediate learning.
The scope of social justice is broad and as complex as the social ills it interrogates. Social justice teachers grapple with many issues like: distribution of resources, relationships, power and privilege, race, gender, sexual orientation, ability, policies, and responsibilities. From a social justice perspective classrooms are merely labs in which students capture glimpses of a just world. Voyeuristic glimpses are not enough. Students need to take the knowledge and skills distilled from classroom curriculum and critique the existing social order. Students need to be taught to ask: Who makes decisions and who is left out? Do some of societal decision makers look like me, and reflect my identity? Are the historical accounts and information I am taught accurately and authentically reflect my personal journey and those of my people? When is a social practice fair and unfair? What is required of me to make social change? What alternatives and solutions can I think of to address social inequalities? To address these questions fully, students need to be exposed to real world issues and problems within classrooms. They can then move beyond the walls of schools to approximate and test possible solutions to various forms of oppression. Brazilian educator Paulo Freire reminds us that a good education is only partially lived out within the context of classrooms.
South African expression of Ubuntu:
“I am because of the way we are.” Meaning, our lives are shaped bythe attitudes and noble virtues weexchange with those around us.
Giese (2008) states in her study, “Powerful Stories, Powerful Conversations: Using Literature To Teach For Social Justice,” that teachers view literature as “a powerful vehicle for social justice education” because it requires “emotional and cognitive engagement with themes and provides multiple entry points to engage diverse learners.” (p. iii.)
When educators assist students to enter multiple entry points of intellectual and social engagement, they work towards living out the South African expression of Ubuntu: “I am because of the way we are.” Meaning, our lives are shaped by the attitudes and noble virtues we exchange with those around us—or the lack thereof. The notion of Ubuntu describes the ethos of this resource.
This online support resource connects ministry mandates to equity and inclusive education by highlighting a variety of culturally relevant texts, posing critical questions, and including a variety of lived experiences. The intent of the resource is to provide a series of starting points for beginning conversations about social issues and to provide some strategies that support teachers and students in their ongoing work. This includes questioning existing practices that may be unjust. Social justice work is never complete, instead it is always evolving.
The resource is designed to be cumulative and modifiable over time by encouraging users to contribute new books, activities, and comments or suggestions. It is the hope of the writers that the resource, “Awareness, Engagement, Activism: A Social Justice Approach,” will provide viable strategies to integrate social issues into the elementary curriculum and support the Ontario Ministry of Education’s equity and inclusion vision for students. We invite teachers, students, and community members to provide us with feedback so we can continue to improve the resource. A feedback form and lesson plan template is included in the appendices to facilitate this process.
Giese, C. (2008). Powerful Stories, PowerfulConversations: Using Literature To Teach ForSocial Justice. Doctoral Dissertation. Toronto:OISE, University of Toronto. Gewirtz, S. (2001). “Rethinking Social Justice: AConceptual Analysis” in Sociology of EducationToday, Jack Demaine (Ed.) p. 49-64.
Dr. Cherian is an associate professor with the faculty of education at the University of Windsor. His research interests are in the areas of critical literacy, as well as, leadership and its associated complexities in relation to professional learning communities (schools and corporate contexts).
Dr. Cherian holds a Ph.D. from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, the University of Toronto.
Sherry Ramrattan Smith is the former coordinator of Equity and Women’s Services at the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario. She is now retired.
RELATED THEMES
The ten monthly themes are based on the themes from the school-wide kit, Social Justice Begins with Me.
September
Theme:Self-Esteem
Self-esteem develops over time; education and social interaction play a critical role in its process. Kindness, positive attention, and care are required to build a child’s sense of self-worth.
Self-esteem can be nurtured or neglected. Neglect can lead to lack of self-respect or isolation, whereas nurturing can ensure a growing sense of confidence and independence.
October
Theme:Sharing Our Lives
It is important for all students to see themselves, theirfamilies, and cultures reflected across the curriculum.It is equally important that students recognize that theirexperiences may be different from those of others.
By introducing a variety of perspectives, the teacherprovides a forum which can harmonize and validatethe wealth of their shared experiences. Far too often,many students are only given the opportunity to readand study from a predominantly middle-class, able-bodied,male, heterosexual, Eurocentric perspective.That view of life is the main one taught and those arethe experiences which are frequently described as thenorm.
For this theme, students are encouraged to explore themyriad ways our lives can be shared.
November
Theme: Peace
What does peace mean to you? This theme is intendedto address several concepts of peace:
Inner Peace: As individuals, it is how we use ourreflective side. This comes from decisions and
consequences. Inner peace allows escape fromstress and deadlines by finding respite in our hearts. Itprompts us to behave in generous, humanitarian ways.
Peaceful Peoples and Nations: This avenue ofexploration looks at issues associated with war, humanrights, and social justice.
Environmental Peace and Places of Peace: This isthe peace that comes to us from the beauty and gifts ofnature.Use the resources presented with these interpretationsin mind.
December
Theme:Building Supportive Communities
We can flourish as individuals when we feel supported.We feel supported when we learn how to respect andshow kindness to one another. This sometimes meansfinding ways to do things even when we are not asked,by acts of service.
Qualities like empathy can connect us to one anothereven when experiences are outside of our own. Anymovement toward change begins with an individual’sdecision to listen with a motive to understand.
When we work co-operatively to solve problems,correct misinformation, or create safe spaces to beourselves, we demonstrate our support for one another.
January
Theme:Rights of a Child
This theme builds on the “Declaration of the Rights ofthe Child.” These books and lessons were chosen toassist students in developing an understanding of theglobal rights that all children should have, while at thesame time recognizing that not all children around theworld are treated the same way.
February
Theme:Caring
This theme is about how we connect to one another bybeing caring, loving, respectful, and supportive humanbeings. Books with these themes are grouped togetherto explore these qualities in a variety of settings andsituations. If students are to develop these qualities,then teachers need to model them.
March
Theme:Unite the Knots of Prejudice
The theme for March is developed to complimentInternational Day for the Elimination of Racial
Discrimination and enlarge it to anti-bias concepts forall “isms.” These books have been selected to helpteachers address individual differences and similaritiesand also to help us build bridges to address racism andother forms of discrimination in our lives. As the worldbecomes smaller and our citizens are more connected,we need to develop an acceptance of our diversebackgrounds. Martin Luther King Junior said, “I have adream.”