WITH EYES TO SEE PEACE AND JUSTICE CONCEPT: STRUCTURAL TRANSFORMATION When I give food to the poor they call me a saint. When I ask why the poor have no food, they call me a communist. ideas for teachers who want to integrate social justice concepts into what and how they teach
April 2001
-Dom Helder Camara The Brazilian Bishop Dom Helder Camara’s powerful statement gets to the heart of “Structural Transformation” and our resistance to examine our lives or our societies on such a level. Many of us volunteer at soup kitchens, for example, or support organizations that provide direct hunger relief to millions of people in our country and throughout the world, and for doing so we are seen as good citizens. Such services are vital to a person who lacks sufficient food. However, when we begin to question why in our wealthy society hunger exists, we are branded as radicals, rabble rousers, unpatriotic, communists, and the list goes on. Why does looking at society on a structural level cause such a negative reaction, both from the powers that be and often from ourselves and our own neighbors? Why is it so important? “Feeding” (or any other charitable deed), no matter how necessary it is for the “hungry,” maintains the status quo. Asking Why takes us to the root causes of the problem, and forces us to see the part each of us plays in causing “hunger.” To make a lasting change, therefore, necessitates that each of us change how we live. It means that powerful corporations must change the way they do business. It requires our government to change many of its policies. In short, a complete end to economic poverty and suffering means a radical overhaul of the way we do things, of what seems “normal.” What could be more scary? What could be more necessary? How does this relate to our schools, and where do we start? If a goal of our classrooms is to help build a better society for everyone both inside and outside of the school, and to help students become thoughtful citizens of a participatory democracy, then we must look at the structural level of our schools, the curriculum, how we teach and how we relate with our students, and then move on to our communities and the world. Educator Herb Kohl challenges teachers in this way: “As educators we need to root our struggles for social justice in the work we do on an everyday level in a particular community with a particular group of students.” He continues, “Teaching is fundamentally a moral craft and makes the same demands on our sensibilities, values, and energies that any moral calling does. That means, in a society where there is too much institutionalized inequity and daily suffering, you have to understand the importance of being part of larger struggles. It is not enough to teach well and create a social justice classroom separate from the larger community.” (Kohl, Herbert. “Some Reflections On Teaching for Social Justice.” Teaching for Social Justice. Ed. W. Ayers, J. A. Hunt, and T. Quinn. New York: Teacher College Press, 1998. 286-287)