Understanding Social Justice

Describe how your diverse experience shaped your understanding of social justice. Explain how this will influence your future as an educator.
It was rainy season in the Philippines. The normally parched and dusty riverbed was now flowing with waist-deep water, cutting off a small barrio from the rest of Angeles City in Pampanga. Looking down at the swirling waters below, I wondered if the rickety bridge would carry me safely across. However, my troubled thoughts quickly turned to a group of men traversing the fluid stream. They carried a miniature coffin. This tragic spectacle stirred me to tears; and although this event occurred more than ten years ago, its vision still evokes strong emotions in my heart.
As a Christian missionary in Asia and Micronesia, I witnessed a lack of social justice in ways I never could have imagined. Children and adults suffer and die from curable diseases. People with disabilities are not given fair access, and they are left to beg in the streets. Young girls are sold into the sex trade to support their families. Individuals with darker skin tones are denied the opportunities afforded to those with lighter skin. Poor youngsters go without the opportunity to attend school and make better lives for themselves and their …show more content…
Developing cultural awareness in the classroom breaks down barriers of prejudice and dispels preconceived ideas formed by societal stereotypes and ignorance. Multicultural awareness leads to acceptance of other cultural groups and brings together traditionally divided assembliess. In addition, a nondiscriminatory environment provides the foundation to bolster the success of all students, regardless of their experiences and abilities. As a teacher and an agent of positive change, my desire is to ignite the same passion in students to be the change we want to see in the