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Justice-Centered Teaching
Tips and Practices from Ten
Successful Urban Educators
Also referred to as critical, social justice, liberatory, antioppressive, anti-biased, transformative, culturally relevant,
problem-based, or action research teaching and learning
(see list below for other associated frameworks)
At dozens of workshops facilitated by CGCT, we ask the question: What
challenges are urban youth and families facing today – especially in a city
like Chicago? The responses are both eye-popping and consistent: rising
poverty, unemployment, underemployment, violence, drugs, parents
working multiple jobs, criminalization, police profiling, school-to-prison
pipeline, families surviving off one income, pollution, transportation costs,
environmental racism, various forms of abuse, political disengagement,
numerous health crises (e.g., diabetes, obesity, asthma), food deserts,
homelessness, displacement, foreclosures, teen pregnancy, media-driven
consumerism, media violence, sexism, gender discrimination, immigrants
living in the shadows, deportations, lack of youth programs, school
closings, lack of mentors, institutional racism, and the list goes on (see
Element Two)!
Photo by Matt Tuteur
What is our response? These are all very real problems. And they are precisely the problems that should help drive urban
curriculum. Content should start with the real lives of students and communities. Projects should be built around students
being able to address these problems through a process centered in hope. Skills should be aligned in ways that students
can apply them to investigate and resolve these challenges. Assessments should be built so students are evaluated around
taking on real world learning and action. The ten educators interviewed below emphasize these and other goals as the
purpose of education in an urban setting. They testify that justice-centered teaching inspires greater student interest in and
engagement of critical academic skills. With this intentional skill alignment (see Element Four), students understand the
purpose of their academic achievement when they learn from a construct of justice. Yet, to be clear in moving forward, what
is meant by the term, justice-centered teaching?
David Stovall, Ph.D., Educational Policy Studies, and urban educator, in speaking about his framing of the term, “justicecentered teaching,” sought to “delineate from the generalities around the term social justice”. Stovall says justice-centered
teaching (paraphrased here), is the practice and pedagogy that states the importance of engaging issues and concerns that
impact the very communities we’re teaching within. Practice and pedagogy must match what those students and
communities know, feel, experience, and are seeking to learn as they are encouraged to resolve the injustices they face.
It is often the case that some teachers have not experienced the challenges listed above, nor have many been able to
thoroughly study these issues in a critical manner. Additionally, few youth from these communities have been challenged to
address these issues in a meaningful way. With this in mind, how can people who enter urban schools, especially schools in
disinvested and marginalized communities, more effectively teach towards justice-centered principles, content, skills, and
action? This question becomes even more poignant when urban educators are faced with both real and perceived pressures
to adhere to dumbed-down, test-driven, and mostly irrelevant curriculum (see descriptions of “irrelevant curriculum” below).
The answers lie in tapping into proven practices. The following tips and practices were compiled from a series of discussions
with ten successful urban educators. They are meant to shed light on critical aspects of justice-centered teaching in urban
classrooms. Those interviewed include Kay Fujiyoshi (taught language arts, seven years, CPS and charter schools),
Miguel Guevara (teaches Spanish, social sciences, and media arts, ten years, alternative high school), J. Cyriac Mathew
(teaches social sciences, 9th through 12th grades, nine years, CPS), Gregory Michie (teaches language arts and media
studies, 7th and 8th grades, ten years, CPS), Anton Miglietta (taught social sciences, 9th through 12th grades, ten years,
alternative schools), Cecily Relucio Hensler (taught primary grades, five years, CPS), Yamali Rodriguez (teaches social
sciences, 9th through 12th grads, six years, CPS), Lindsay Smith (taught first and third grades, twelve years, District 97, Oak
Park, Illinois), David Stovall (teaches 11th and 12th grade social sciences, high school, also taught grade 5, ten years, CPS),
and Karen Zaccor (teaches mathematics and science, 9th grade, also taught 3rd through 8th grades, seventeen years, CPS).
Their reflections are organized into three parts: beginning-of-year prep; critical curricular strands throughout; and relevant
skill-based projects applied. While only the tip of the iceberg, these tips and practices can serve as a foundation for more
successful justice-centered teaching teeming with love, respect, relevance, and challenge. They have done so for the above
teachers and their students - and if worked through - they can impact what you’ll do with students as well. In this process,
we see as most important our children, youth, families, elders and communities. The school, and most importantly looking at
what’s learned, how it’s learned, and why, then becomes extremely important community-shaping factors in building towards
student success, real knowledge, and shared principles. Here are ten tips, eleven threads, and seven projects to foster that
work.
Begin the Year with Preparations, Understandings and Practices
to Quickly Set Tones of Justice, Respect, Purpose and Challenge
It all starts the moment you know your course assignment with thorough curricular planning and preparation before classes
begin - while leaving meaningful ways for student voice, inquiry, and content shaping. Successful urban educators who care
deeply about their students immediately establish patterns of justice, respect, purpose and challenge by engaging in the
following practices and processes right away. Sure, it might not all get done, but most of these should be non-negotiables:
1) Understand that teaching is not a neutral undertaking. “We teach for some things and against others (whether
we acknowledge it or not)”, Michie makes clear. Life, with all its economies, systems, governments, authorities,
cultural constructs, ideologies, and unjust “isms” (e.g., racism, sexism, classism), is not neutral. This is especially
true in regards to knowledge and curriculum formulated for U.S. schools. Texts, especially social studies texts (see
James Loewen), have been and continue to be Eurocentric. Traditional course frameworks (i.e., course topics,
reading lists, and other recommended resources) are not neutral. Life in the United States for young people of color,
especially those from lower-income families in urban centers, is not neutral. Justice-centered teachers must
recognize the injustices, inequalities, and biases our children, youth and families face. We, therefore, must decide
to either uphold systems of injustice and unfairness, or support our students in the critical work of justice. Neutrality
does not exist.
2) Engage students and families before classes begin IF attendance lists are made available ahead of time.
Review your class attendance list and seek to learn about your students’ names, interests, skills, cultures, realworld challenges, and communities. You may tap into their families, other teachers, and the students themselves (if
possible). This may include conducting an informal community ethnography (see Element Two for community
engagement tools), surveying families, evaluating prior student work and/or skill levels, making door to door visits
or phone calls, sending a personalized letter/postcard, and engaging pop culture trends for the age group you’re
accountable to (see Element Two for pop culture guide). Be weary of deficit-based thinking that others may share
about incoming students - while still listening intently to the issues folks may raise. Says Smith, “all students have
great gifts, special skills, untapped interests, and a desire to learn and succeed. Some have serious challenges
they’re going through of which no adult may fully realize at this point.”
3) Generate a handy, organized, and justice-centered syllabus that involves students in activities to review,
enhance and critique it. Stovall emphasizes, “our documentation of the practices and learning processes are
critical. The goals and objectives must be clear to both the teachers and students - as well as the practices folks
will work together on to complete these goals and objectives.” A good syllabus does this – and should be provided
at ALL GRADE LEVELS. For younger grades, families become the primary audience. Additionally, as Rodriguez
points out, the syllabi should not only frame the work and provide clear scholarly expectations, it should present
justice-centered values and principles for the student, teacher, and family. Says Rodriguez, “our syllabi lists the
school’s Essential Seven Values (see below) and students interact with these values through activities connected
to the syllabus. It moves the dialogue from teacher-directed rules to engaging a set of values that will help students
be successful. At the same time, the teacher keeps in mind the values we uphold as we create the syllabus – and
we think about how we must model these.” If the school has not established relevant values and principles (not
condescending rules), and/or if the students would like to add to these, this becomes a great exercise for the entire
class.
4) Be serious about preparing a justice-based, inclusive, inviting, and organized classroom. Too many
classrooms are more dreadful than inviting - and this falls squarely on the teacher (then the students). Other than
rare school situations where there are NO POSSIBILITIES to decorate walls, arrange stations, bring plants and
other inviting items, or even rearrange chairs for practical inclusiveness, there is little excuse to bring students into
uninviting, boring, and sometimes even sloppy classrooms! Multi-colors, imagery (related to the subject area,
justice, and relevant culture), green life, stations, seating, and organization are ALL critical aspects to motivate and
enhance learning. Says Mathew, whose room resembles these aspects, “make social justice clear in the
visuals around the classroom (i.e., posters, quotes, former student work, items of cultural relevance) and create a
desk layout that is as circular, inclusive, and democratic as possible.” As the authority over space (which should be
shared with students), do not allow yourself to place any excuses in the way. Even if you were given the keys to
your room only five minutes before you enter it, bring these things on that day and engage students in their own
learning environment design. If you must rotate to various classrooms, work things out with the other teachers.
They’re likely to welcome anything you’ll do - and may help with time, money, and/or by bringing their own
academically stimulating items. Be sure to stay away from Eurocentrism, patronizing quotes, patriotic hoopla,
teacher-centered seating, and cluttered, useless space. Everyone, upon entering, should be able to say, “this is a
room where we’re going to be thinking about critical questions and figuring out how to change the world”, says
Zaccor. In a crazy world where the “concrete jungle” and disinvested spaces often beat down our spirits, every
classroom should also feel, look and smell good.
5) Get to know more about your students and build community. Once classes begin, and before subject-area
curricula kicks into full gear, take some time to build relationships and humanize things, especially inside urban
school systems that often feel like factories, or worse, prisons! Fujiyoshi describes a clear look at ‘beginning of
year’ work here, “Setting up a classroom at the beginning of the school year is mainly a period of getting to know
students, where they are at academically, emotionally, developmentally, and proceeding by creating an
environment of mutual trust. Before engaging in any work, I like to spend time just getting to know my students and
having them get to know me. Establishing a foundation of who’s in the room and what knowledge and experiences
we bring has been key to any critical work. It is vital to “counter the traditional school structures and systems” (also
see points 8 and 9 below), Zaccor stresses. By emphasizing sitting in pairs, small groups, and half circles, Zaccor
repeatedly tells her students, “Lets work together and not compete against each other.” In addition to seating, there
are many ways to build community. She says to consider passing out a survey for students to describe their
interests, habits, community realities, skills, hopes, dreams, fears, etc. You might “circle-up” and hold a welcoming
discussion around questions designed to elicit sharing - yet be ready for some quiet stares. Another approach is to
craft an assignment such as a “Where I’m From” collage or guided poem, enabling students to creatively share
about themselves. As Michie states, “see each student as a person of promise and possibility, and affirm and value
each student’s unique background. Build strong and mutually respectful relationships with students, and serve as
their advocate.” (See Element One for more on classroom community building).
6) Building community is a two-way street. Do you remember feeling like many teachers were unknown
authoritative adults - even after being together for many months? This is often the case in fast-paced, crowded, and
punitive-based urban schools. We’ve got to change this construct. While you’re seeking to learn more about your
students, they have a right to learn some things about you as well, especially since you will serve as a vital adult in
their lives. Fujiyoshi describes her beginning of year cycle as one that clearly evolves with her students, “In the
progression of the class, I usually gage our 'productivity' by looking at how we challenge one another, work
together, and build mutual respect for intellectual and personal growth.” Fujiyoshi, and many of the other teachers
interviewed, value approaches that humanize the relationship. It helps to share some things about ourselves.
Consider including a few things you enjoy doing, struggles you’ve experienced, beliefs you hold, and justice-based
work you’ve done. Be careful not to go overboard by sharing, if this is the case, “middle class experiences” that
may be out-of-reach or in contrast to lower-income family realities. Emphasize stories that build connections, peak
curiosities, and/or shape a mutual respect between you and students - and, as much as possible, anecdotes that
have academic connections to the content being studied.
7) Seriously, have a little fun! Break the ice with a few fun games that build respect, camaraderie and community.
There are dozens, if not hundreds of simple “ice breakers” to help us learn each others’ names (very important),
work together, let our guards down, and have a little fun early on. Many games include underlying principles that
can be identified and analyzed afterwards. Be prepared, however, for students who may not want to engage. Use
your best motivational approach to engage them - then consider leaving it, and them, alone. Maybe they’ll engage
next time. Many games can be designed around course content for continual usage throughout the year.
8) Realize that some (or many) urban students may have a negative relationship with schools and/or teachers.
Justice-centered teachers have a clearer understanding of the historic impacts of oppressive urban educational
systems on their students over the years (e.g., resource and teaching inequalities, overly authoritative and zero
tolerance driven, mass sorting/tracking, dumbed-down curriculum, factory or prison-like conditions, mass
segregation, racial profiling, patronizing, derogatory, and/or negative comments, testing drill-and-kill, Eurocentric
and/or irrelevant content, and more). While schools often perpetuate some or many of these conditions, the urban
teacher is often perceived as an outsider, especially those from white middle class, rural, and/or suburban
constructs. Many students, often unknowingly, are more resistant to both schools and teachers who represent any
of the above constructs. This may place “social walls” between students and teachers - walls that must be
dismantled step by step by the teacher. For some, this can be a great challenge, resulting in teacher-centered
reactions of control and authority. Ms. Zaccor, a white teacher in Chicago says, “I state my role as an educator and
a learner - emphasizing that I will learn from the students.” She continues, “its important to let the students say
what they want and need from the teacher so they can be more successful and engaged.” On the path to building
stronger relations with every student, recognize and even openly discuss your positionality and the historical
purposes of schooling for children of color and lower-income students (see Spring, Shor, Woodson, Giroux, Gatto,
Watkins, Duncan-Andrade). Engage in critical dialogue and activities designed to allow students to express their
observations, experiences, feelings, and opinions on schools and teachers. Then, with help from this guide, shape
a vision of justice, respect, and dignity for everyone in the classroom.
9) Realize that some (or many) urban students have a negative relationship with the subject you’re about to
present. Many students enter courses thinking they’re “not good at”, “confused”, or “bored” with a particular
subject. Some may say they “hate” the subject at hand. On a certain level, most all of us have experienced this,
whether it was in math, science, social studies, reading or writing. Why then do we launch straight into subject area
content knowing that some students harbor deep-seated anxieties or frustrations? Not only is unpacking necessary
here, but a reframing of the purposes, uses, and powers of the subject area is vital. This is especially true where
subject area content has been high-jacked by Eurocentric canons and dumbed-down, drill-and-kill textbooks.
Before introducing formal content, spend a few class sessions to rigorously deconstruct and unpack students’
feelings about, thinking on, uses of, originators of, and fears harbored toward the subject area. Some questions to
engage might be: Who originally developed this scholarly discipline (most disciplines originated in ancient societies
from Africa, Asia, Middle East, and the Americas - yet students often assume Europeans launched scholarship)?
What cultures/peoples do you think of in regards to this discipline today? Why are those the cultures/peoples that
come to mind? Ultimately, what are the real reasons for learning this discipline? How can this discipline help me
grow intellectually and better prepare us to challenge injustice? In the first weeks, says Mathew, “lessons address
the question, ‘Why do we need to understand the world?’ to establish a purpose for learning larger than individual
academic achievement.” Stovall emphasizes the question, “What do students want and need to learn about in [the
subject area]? By engaging students in these meta-cognitive and context-building questions, we help them move
beyond their fears and worries to gain a re-energized and more meaningful lens towards the subject area at hand.
Let’s just call it a deconstructive orientation for constructive learning.
10) Engage in a brainstorm to identify particular topics and skills of high relevance and interest to study. Every
teacher interviewed here emphasized the need to include student voice in curriculum. This can take many forms.
Smith describes her role as emphasizing “the facilitation of inquiry, discovery, and the construction of knowledge.”
One way to accomplish this, while sending the message early on that student inquiry is highly regarded, is to
engage in a critical topic and skills brainstorm. Topics should relate, directly or indirectly, to the subject area at
hand. Yet, students can still emphasize any topic, issue, or problem of concern. If the teacher is able to creatively
weave these into lessons, they should be rewarded with greater student engagement in the learning. (See
Elements Two and Three for activities to engage students). In regards to skills, construct activities that allow
students to familiarize themselves with and prioritize the skills they think are most necessary to concentrate on. In
the process, students can be surveyed for proficiency in key skills while being able to help determine what and how
they learn. It’s similar to a sports coach who involves the players in the construction of practices and game plans.
When this happens, more often than not, there is a greater commitment by those players to engage the challenges
at hand.
While the above points speak to both the practical and intellectual work needed in the beginning of the year, paving the way
for greater levels of justice, respect, purpose and challenge, the following section emphasizes “critical strands” or threads at
the core of justice-centered teaching and curriculum. These aspects were repeatedly identified by those interviewed, and are
stand-out principles in critical pedagogy. They are meant to be struggled with, internalized, and integrated into any and all
subject areas and grade levels throughout the entire year.
Some Critical Strands in Justice-Centered Urban Teaching and Curriculum
Cultural relevance is the foundation. Michie emphasizes, “seek to gain a greater awareness of your own racial,
cultural, gender, and class identities, and develop your own multicultural competence.” In developing this competence,
justice-centered teachers also find out about their students by asking: Who are my students? What are their histories
(both family/community and as a people/culture over time)? What cultural constructs (e.g., language, family traditions,
arts, spiritual foundations, historical struggles) shape their daily lives? What urban realities (see list in introductory
paragraph) impact their living conditions and learning processes? How do students define themselves culturally? In
teaching children from immigrant communities, Relucio Hensler iterates, “if we don’t share the same cultural
background, the onus is on us to bridge cultural gaps and send messages that the teacher needs to get involved in the
community and not push those students and families to simply embrace the dominant culture. Be creative and
respectful about bridging boundaries with families even when language barriers exist. We have a responsibility to work
with the communities we’re teaching in, rather than sending the message that students have to lose their language and
culture.” In essence, we must know the situations and communities our students come from. Emphasizes Stovall, “We
cannot do anything relevant if we do not know the lives of our students.”
Maintain high expectations - with no “permission to fail”. High expectations are paramount in justice-centered
teaching. This includes everything from expecting students to be organized and prepared every day, taking on
challenging assignments (with supports), respecting the classroom/school community, upholding any agreed-upon
principles, and being fully engaged. Obviously, this does not mean extreme rigidness with regards to students facing
serious life challenges or obstacles (e.g., homelessness or working long hours afterschool). Michie shares his
approach, “I challenge students academically and refuse to grant them ‘permission to fail’. This means maintaining high
expectations - which aren’t measured by standardized test scores - and helping students find ways to meet them.”
Student knowledge and inquiry should continue to drive their studies. Guevara explains, “get them involved in the
learning decisions by asking questions and supporting students when they need it. Engage them with lots of primary
sources and different medias.” Although from a teacher of social studies and media, social studies can be integrated
often as a subject that interprets geographies, histories, and realties. It’s a continual approach to encourage (and
provide space for) students’ voices - their questions, concerns, opinions, wonderings. Mathew states, “students bring
expert knowledge about their lives, and that knowledge must be acknowledged, drawn upon in class, and used to shape
curriculum.” Enact a critical, multicultural, anti-bias, pro-justice curriculum that is both a “window” and a “mirror” for your
students. Seek to bring students’ lives and experiences into the classroom, and to connect students’ learning to the
world(s) outside. Adds Relucio Hensler, “Children naturally have a curiosity to want to learn more about critical issues
and injustices.”
Help students see academic work as a “cycle of critical praxis” - not just another mandatory assignment for a
grade. Jeff Duncan-Andrade and Ernest Morrell, both regarded as highly effective urban educators and scholars, see
academic work as a cycle of critical praxis that includes the following steps: identify, research, plan, implement, and
evaluate. While similar to the scientific method and action research, this cycle encourages comparative analysis,
research skills, and critical engagement of content with an action component. Regarding this type of evaluation,
something often missing from urban classrooms since it usually takes the form of standardized tests, Andrade and
Morrell emphasize that students’ strengths, weaknesses, and suggested improvements should be reviewed by students
and fellow teachers. Stovall explains, “Whatever analysis students are making, we want them to make comparisons to
their own lives.” Michie adds that we must “engage in education, not indoctrination. Teach students to weigh evidence,
to consider multiple perspectives critically, and to think for themselves - not to simply parrot back what the teacher
thinks.”
Continually gather resources that are multicultural, justice-centered, thematic, critical, and differentiated.
Teachers who care about justice, literacy, and differentiation seek out a variety of learning resources. Says Relucio
Hensler, “We’ve got to critically examine our school and classroom libraries for critical multicultural titles.” Collect,
organize, and make available various resources (trade books, magazines, popular education materials, music, art,
photographs, etc.). Write grants to entities such as Boundless Readers, http://www.boundlessreaders.org/ and Chicago
Foundation for Education, http://www.cfegrants.org/. Seek out used and justice-centered book sellers (e.g., Powell’s,
Open Books, Half.com, The Book Source, Rethinking Schools). Draw upon the resources of the community. Continually
be on the lookout for critical, age appropriate materials while being willing to spend your own funds if your school faces
a budget crunch. A few hundred dollars per year makes a huge difference.
Critical literacy should span the entire curriculum. Relucio Hensler stresses, “Literacy is a tool for voice and
empowerment - especially through writing.” Literature should help students see themselves in the world. Through
writing, students should be engaged in meaningful writing where they have a chance to write about what’s real and
relevant to their lives. They should have opportunities to reach meaningful audiences through their writing. Writing
should be encouraged across all subject areas and grade levels - including math, science, and the arts. Regarding the
learning standards, she adds, “We’ve got to critically analyze the standards, know them, and meet them through
relevant content and instruction.” This is exactly what Guevara spoke upon with an approach he shared about doing
critical reading with primary and secondary sources, non-fiction, historical fiction, and other genres (see Element Four).
Guevara asks us to consider the meaning of his lesson plan’s goal for that week, “Read multiple perspectives to
conduct a historical study of issues to re-conceptualize knowledge” (see project under Guevara in the table below).
Systemic analysis leads to critical connection-making and contextual understandings. Continually encourage
students to form their own critical contextualization of the world. This includes placing an emphasis on learning about
social structures and systems over memorization of people/dates/events, math formulas, and the onslaught of
grammatical rules. Says Miglietta, “I encourage students to find relationships and connections between the topics at
hand and socio-economic systems (e.g., capitalism, poverty, racism, classism, gender discrimination, xenophobia, the
“English-only” movement, inequitable school funding, gentrification, globalization, criminalization, etc.) that impact local
communities. These learning processes help students construct meaning and gain clarity in their own lives by
identifying relationships between local happenings and global constructs.” He continues, “Students begin to make
greater sense of the world, of the problems facing their own communities, and of issues affecting their own families.” In
this work, higher order thinking skills are applied through these processes - especially inferring, cause and effect,
connection-making, and information synthesis. As they make connections, issues such as gangs, drugs, violence,
police abuse, and homelessness (five issues often identified by urban youth) are understood as by-products and effects
of greater systems. This results in a vital shift in thinking. Instead of urban youth blaming themselves, their own
communities, and their own people, they see the multiple layers and causes involved. This leads to a more honest and
meaningful dialogue - which can generate ideas for solutions with a greater social impact (see Elements Two and Four).
Progress occurs only through struggle. Frederick Douglass, the abolitionist and seeker of justice, famously said,
“Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will… If there is no struggle, there is no progress.”
This becomes a key point to continually reiterate in justice-centered curriculum. Says Mathew, justice centered
curriculum “is grounded in students' lived realities and their experiences of oppression and resistance. Subject area
content comes second, and is used as a lens to help understand and resolve current realities.” Michie helps students
“question the status quo by employing the “two-eyed” theory”: one eye on the school/world as it is, and one on the
school/world as it could be--a place of equity and justice.” Mathew emphasizes to “explicitly teach key social justice
vocabulary, including words like justice, injustice, oppression, exploitation, exclusion, resistance, organize.” Zaccor cites
a quote from Rudy Lozano that guides her teaching, “There are no great men and women in the world, only great
challenges that ordinary people must take on.” She continues, “once you know something, its your responsibility to take
action - even if its just talking to other people about it. Being involved in an action is really what changes a person and
helps them internalize social justice. Our subject areas need to be looked at as being utilized ‘in service of the people.’”
We learn best by doing. The research is clear - students learn best by doing (Dewey, Sousa). Active learning is at the
core of justice-centered teaching, especially when it includes opportunities for students to teach others. This begins with
us as the modelers of taking action. Michie says, “see yourself as an agent of change in your school, the broader
community of educators, and the world--and encourage your students to see themselves as “doers” in their
communities” (see Element Four for “doing math” and for general project tips; also see next page for some successful
projects).
Justice-centered learning must leave the classroom. Guevara paints a picture of his classroom where students are
constantly learning, engaging, dialoguing, investigating, and preparing to take their learning OUTSIDE OF THE
CLASSROOM. Once students understand that their learning will leave the classroom and be presented (in various
forms) to others, the learning comes to life while a greater sense of accountability and pride in one’s work kicks in with
students. Rodriguez stresses the need for students to communicate their knowledge to/with others. She stresses, “What
are your parents’ opinions on this – and bring to the table? Students are not only learners – they are teachers. “I’m
gonna tell my little brother or sister about this.” Including family in the learning and dialogue – “as scholars they have the
responsibility to teach others in their family and/or community.” When they learn, for example about the social
construction of race, they say, “I want to shout this from the rooftops.”
Justice-centered teaching includes critical self-reflection. Commit to continual growth as a student of teaching, a
student of your students, and a student of the world. Because justice centered teaching is so opposite from “by the book”
teaching approaches, there’s so many moments of spontaneity. As teachers, we’ve got to look at what worked, what
didn’t, and how can we own the things that didn’t work. Instead of blaming students, its crucial to look inward, even
publicly acknowledging one’s own mistakes or ineptitudes in the lesson planning or materials.
Some Projects That Build Skills and Foster
Justice-Centered Learning and Action
The following chart presents a sampling of projects successfully implemented in local classrooms by some of the
teachers interviewed. Other projects can be found in the Grassroots Curriculum Toolkit, 4.0. For a listing of other
projects, see Project Ideas in Element Five. For math projects, see Theodore Chao’s piece in Element Four. For art
projects, see the piece from Chicago Artery in Element Six. For more developed curriculum on project-based learning,
see Element Four. If you’re interested in interdisciplinary teaching, see Interdisciplinary Curriculum in Element Four.
Project Title,
Subject, Grades
Another Test?
Why?
Literacy, Social
Studies, and Math,
3rd to 12th grades
Relevant Cultural
Investigations:
Honoring
Biculturalism
Literacy and Social
Studies, 3rd to 6th
grades
Questioning
Military
Recruitment
Social Studies and
Literacy, 3rd to 12th
Project
Description
Critical Skills
Involved
Within the Participatory Action Research (PAR) framework,
3rd grade students analyzed their own standardized tests
(The Pearson PA Series) and the educational policies that
drive these tests. They conducted an investigation, drew
conclusions, pushed to present at their district school
board mtg, and advocated for less testing.
interviewing
Students were naturally curious about culture, race, and
ethnic backgrounds. As a teacher of color, we looked at the
shared colonial heritage of our countries of origin. I
modeled inquiry into my culture. Students engaged in
family and cultural history investigations - looking at their
own heritages. Students saw their countries and ethnic
groups and family knowledge as worthy of being studied.
historical analysis
Students compiled an informative multimedia packet,
complete with ‘opt-out’ form, for students and teachers
about military recruitment. Developed by 5th graders after
participating in Kelly High School’s student workshop. The
group was interested to find that the access to public
schools was written into the No Child Left Behind law.
close reading
Source
Lindsay Smith
surveying
data analysis
effective presentations
political structures research
Cecily Relucio
Hensler
credibility of sources
synthesizing information
communicate information.
author’s purpose
author’s bias organization
and presentation of
information
Lindsay Smith
Grassroots
Community Tours
Literacy and Social
Studies, 5th to 12th
grades
What is a Living
Wage?
Math, 8th grade
Historical
Monologues:
Perspectives in
Time
Social Studies and
Literacy, 6th to 12th
grades
The Fire Project:
Senior graduation
requirement
Literacy and Social
Studies
The GCT program helps students generate critical local
tours of their school community. Once completed, the
student-designed tour will serve three important purposes:
1) students will host tours for their own school community especially for teachers and families; 2) students will
exchange tours with other youth groups across Chicago;
and, 3) the knowledge generated by student research will
be disseminated in future curricular publications.
ethnographic research
What is a living wage? Students would come to their own
conclusions about what it takes to have a fair and decent
lifestyle. By using mathematical formulas and percent
calculations, students came to the conclusion that it would
be $15 an hour.
percent calculations
Students started by looking through a more traditional
history text. They compared that text with more inclusive,
multicultural texts by focusing on an historical character or
event. They found their character of interest through other
texts, studied the character through primary sources (said
aloud or written), and built a monologue performance for
an organized event for others. There, the monologues of
characters left out of textbooks were read/acted out by
students, including in dress/costume. Students’ research
embodied critical historical figures or current community
leaders - especially those who embody justice.
engage primary sources
Students conduct extensive research and investigation on
a critical injustice (e.g., dangers behind chemical-based
cosmetics, women caught in the prison industrial complex,
immigration, deportations, separation of families), present
at a conference,. They set up the problem, establish their
own theories, and generate an action plan for resolving the
injustice.
historical research
interviewing and surveying
writing and editing
Chicago
Grassroots
Curriculum
Taskforce
photography
videography, graphic and
web design
Karen Zaccor
use of formulas
Miguel Guevara
text comparisons
connection making
research and inquiry
oral communication
persuasive writing
speaking and effective
presentation
Greater
Lawndale
School of Social
Justice, 12th
grade
Concluding Points Concerning Justice-Centered Teaching
DON’T GIVE UP! Most often, the kids come in never having experienced justice-centered learning. It is not an easy
way to think. They often see the negative. But don’t give up. The correct answer is not, “this didn’t work, so I’m not
going to do it again.” It takes many tries at creating curriculum that generates student actions around justice-centered
work. Look for partners and identify collective structures to do this work together. Modifying the curriculum is always
needed. It takes a lot to counter the traditional narrative of schooling and knowledge that our students have been
provided.
As summarized by Fujiyoshi, “In any justice minded work, it’s important to understand ourselves in the context of our
reality. Justice minded classrooms to me, are spaces where students feel safe in exploring their identities and how they
see themselves in the larger construct of the world. Giving them critical tools and lenses to see the world is important to
the work, but allowing them the opportunity to reflect and grow as individuals has been my main focus as a classroom
leader.”
RELEVANCE IS URGENT! Justice-centered teaching, says Mathew, “addresses and legitimizes the experiences of
students as working-class, urban, youth of color, and therefore makes curriculum instantly meaningful and relevant. He
continues, justice-centered teaching “gives an urgency to learning that is often missing from traditional classrooms
by studying resistance to oppression both past and present. This gives students a sense of hope that change is
possible and gives me as a teacher a sense of urgency, because teaching/learning is about more than getting students
to college, but has as its goal the ending of oppression and the liberation of humanity, which is no small task.”
Essential Seven Expectations: An example of justice-centered principles
guiding the Greater Lawndale School of Social Justice (a Chicago public school)
Unity
We must struggle together as brothers and sisters or perish together as fools.
Respect
True strength is always based on love, care and respect.
Disrespect is a weak person's imitation of strength.
Self Discipline
If you discipline yourself, no one else will have to.
Excellence
We will make an extraordinary effort so that we will become extraordinary
students, extraordinary teachers, and an extraordinary school.
Service
We make ourselves better people by working to
make life better for other human beings.
Honesty & Ownership
We will not make excuses; we will make improvements.
Being Prompt & Prepared
We must come prompt and prepared.
We can't make our shield & sword in the middle of the battlefield.
Some Associated Frameworks, Fields, and Methods
in Support of Justice-Centered Teaching/Learning
Although justice-centered teaching does not seek to be an umbrella, the following frameworks, methods, fields and
work, in the view of CGCT, should be looked at more closely. Many have a direct connection and application to each
other. Authors of these constructs often cross-pollinate and synthesize their works.
Action Research
Alternative Education
Applied Learning
Arts Integration (especially culturally relevant)
Authentic / Portfolio Assessment
Anti-Racist, Anti-Oppressive
Brain Based Learning
Collaborative Learning
Community Ethnography
Comparative Analysis
Conceptual Learning
Constructionism
Constructivism
Critical Literacy
Critical Media Literacy
Critical Pedagogy
Critical Multiculturalism
Critical Race Theory
Critical Thinking
Cultural Anthropology (not Eurocentric)
Cultural Relevance
Cycle of Critical Praxis
Democratic Classrooms
Differentiated Instruction
Ethnic Studies
Experiential Learning
Generative Theme Building
Grassroots Curriculum Movement Building
Higher Order Thinking Skills
Inquiry Based Learning
Intergenerational Learning/Teaching
Integrated / Interdisciplinary Learning
Learner (Student) Centered
Learning Taxonomies
Liberatory
Modeling
Participatory Action Research
Professional Learning Communities
Problem Based Learning
Project Based Learning
Public Pedagogy
Real World Learning
Relationship Building (with students, families,
communities, colleagues)
Skills-Based Learning
Social Justice
Systemic Analysis
Tech and Media Integration
Transformative
Understanding By Design
For More Toolkit Supports
See Elements One and Three for a closer look at CGCT’s pedagogical foundations and brain-based
learning
See Element Two for further resources on engaging community and students with critical needs
See Element Four for key instructional approaches and Element Five for assessment approaches
A Few Theoretical-Minded Guiding Lights
For more on justice-based teachings (and its many related fields, as mentioned above), see works by Paulo Freire,
Gloria Ladsen-Billings, Jeff Duncan-Andrade, Pauline Lipman, Angela Valenzuela, Jawanza Kunjufu, Janice HaleBenson, Bill Bigelow, Patrick Camangian, Antonia Darder, Henry Giroux, Kevin Kumashiro, bell hooks, Greg Michie,
Linda Christensen, Ericka Miners, Carter G. Woodson, Ernest Morrell, Sonia Nieto, Bob Peterson, Wayne Au, Ira Shor,
Christine Sleeter, Bill Ayers, Rethinking Schools, CReATE, NAME, and many others.
By Anton Miglietta, Isaura Pulido, Ann Aviles de Bradley, and David Stovall