The article, Social Justice and Art Education by Elizabeth Garber chronicles a multitude of artists and educators in their effort to engage with Social Justice in the classroom. Upon reading these varied accounts of lessons, inquiries, museum visits, projects and activities, I kept going back to the thought “wow, what a strong and noble effort these educators are making, but some of this sounds risky.” I was especially interested in the discussion lead by K. Tavin with elementary school children regrading reevaluating Disney movies. I was moved and excited to read some of these questions he was taking on with the students. I immediately thought of a scenario where a child might report their enlightened findings to their parents and having to defend oneself to accusatory parents. I was pleased that the author addressed this issue:
“Teachers can be retaliated against or fired from their jobs for encouraging critique of and change in the status quo. Art educators in higher education, who are preparing future teachers to undertake social justice pedagogies, need to understand and convey a sophisticated understanding of the contexts in which teachers work.” (Garber 13)
I thought about whether this scenario might not be as much of an issue with high school students regarding their parents. I question what defending a lesson in a high school setting would look like and I also thought about how to dig even deeper with older students on this subject matter.
As Educators we must of course be prepared to defend our lessons and perspectives, and refine our delivery to prepare for this possibility. It is important work to reevaluate and interject social justice topics and inquiries in classroom, and it is a challenge I think we all have a duty to engage with.
