Social Justice Issues

The social justice issue that I chose to write about is that of the education gap. There are huge discrepancies in the learning experiences among students who are supposed to be getting “equal” education. By this, I mean to say that depending on where an individual resides, the schooling provided might be completely unbalanced. I have seen this firsthand because I have gone to a number of different schools. One of the biggest problems surrounding this issue is that it continually perpetuates a cycle between those with affluence and those without, ultimately lengthening the gap.
The first time I noticed this issue was in the fifth grade. I made a transition from public school to private school at that time. It was a small school, possessing …show more content…
The conflict theorist’s point of view states that “social behavior is best understood in terms of tension between groups over power or the allocation of resources…” In terms of my topic, the resource is education and the tension is between a couple sets of groups poor and the rich, and Caucasians and minorities. This point of view forms the understanding that the best way to further the standing of a social justice issue is by some form of conflict. The struggles between two parties helps the parties to better understand each other. When people fight, it can lead one to the viewpoint of another, by causing them to wonder about the other persons point of view and why they might be so passionate about said point of view. Sometimes conflict is needed in order for opposing sides to think enough about the other side’s perspective to realize that their opinion might not be correct or maybe they are going about things the wrong way. The Schott Foundation has practiced conflict theory when they have staged protests. Also they have teamed up with other like-minded organizations in an effort to build allegiances, bring more attention to their cause, as well as having different viewpoints on how to further their causes. While looking over the Schott Foundation website, it became apparent that the foundations puts a lot of thought into the issues …show more content…
Marketing the children who, from the very start, were dealt a bad hand. I would work with organizations like Schott Foundation that work to show that these children are the most underutilized viable resource in the country. With the proper nurturance the kids who typically slip through the cracks could be productive and successful. So as an activist my goal would be to bring attention to this fact both in the school system and in the media. My grandmother always used the quote “You get more bees with honey than with vinegar”. I have always seen this as a metaphor that says positive reinforcement will get better result that negative reinforcement. So I have a belief that generally speaking schools should practice at least as many instances of positive reinforcement as the amount of negative reinforcement. Starting off on a small scale, working with the at-risk kids in my community, I would provide an active positive force in their lives. Through this process, I could show examples of the potential that at-risk minority children and LGBT youth can reach if their talents are properly nurtured. The goal is to show that positivity begets positivity just as negativity begets negativity. I would attempt to create a group, perhaps filled with parents, older siblings, and even people who wished that they had that sort of help as children; the people affected by the