Jonathan Ramirez’s Updates

Update 1A: Social Justice as a Fourth Goal in Education?

"Social Justice is Now the Fourth Purpose of Public Schools" is an article by Samantha Hedges in which she argues that the new push in American school for social justice to be one of the main goals of public education is creating conflict throughtout the nation.  She shares the primary goals of education as (quoting David Larabbe): 

1. social mobility (schools should prepare students to compete for higher social positions)
2. social efficiency (schools should focus on training workers)
3. democratic equality (schools should mold citizens)

However, she argues that these goals are actually in conflict with each other, in that their aims are often contradictory with the aims of the other goals--one cannot properly attain the goals of social mobility without negatively affecting the goals of social efficiency.

Once you throw in social justice, this gets even more complicated, as social justice requires decisions and actions that go in almost direct opposition to democratic equality.  Therefore, her argument focuses on the need for schools (or their governmental controlling agencies) to determine their primary goal first and then set educational goals and outcomes.  However, until they do, there will be a continual conflict within and outside of schools and districts across the country.

I do feel that the article touches on some critical topics and raises reasonable objections and ideas.  It is becoming increasingly difficult to teach in classrooms without offending or overstepping someone's views or opinions, regardless of the subject matter being taught.  If the primarly goal of the school, as determined by their governing body, is social justice, teachers would adjust their curriculum to meet those goals.  However, if schools determine that democratic equality is the primary goal, then teachers and schools would have dramatically different curriculums and goals.  Until the schools decide which they are, communities will be in constant battle with each other, with no real solution or positive conclusion on the horizon.  Perhaps her argument is a little general and over-simplified (I am sure that some compromises can be reached within the goals in order to make many of them effective regardless of the goals), but there is definitely some truth to this argument.