Even after you have decided to tackle a problem like racial equity, it may seem daunting to broach the subject in a physics classroom. After all, the idea of a (typically White) instructor in power tackling a sensitive topic such as social justice can be scary in any (mostly White) classroom. Not only that, but physics is typically viewed as a…

In social justice education a tension sometimes emerges between the complex ideas we want participants to grapple with and the relatively straightforward activities we use to communicate those ideas. We adapt learning activities to meet participants' evolving needs and to communicate emerging theories and analyses, but sometimes adjusting an…

On August 9, Michael Brown, a college-bound black male, was fatally shot by a white police officer in the streets of Ferguson, Missouri. For several days, jarring images of tear gas, militarized police, and unrest in Ferguson flickered on screens across the world. Undoubtedly, what brought Ferguson to the national consciousness--the death of a…

With the hope of inspiring readers to reimagine the centrality of general education in constituting young adult capacities to create and sustain collective self-governance, this essay describes two courses and one activity built around public problems. General education viewed as a human right as well as a shared responsibility can thus serve as a…

This article investigates how affluent students made sense of social justice issues that were embedded in mathematics learning activities. I present 2 case studies of such activities at the intermediate and secondary levels in 2 different schools. The analysis draws on video records and classroom artifacts and applies the theoretical framework of…

Does the person become the name or does the name become the person? This question was asked by a participant of my culture jam entitled, "What's my name?" In this culture jam, I asked people to discern the name of a person based solely on their appearance and a list of possible names below their picture. This article aims to show how culture jams…

Nowadays mass media shape the perception of social values and roles. Thus, aspects of media education that deal with various kinds of inequalities influence general sensitivity to diversity and its consequences. In this respect media and intercultural competences interrelate. Not only minorities' rights have to be secured, but also majorities…

In this article, we provide three examples of the use of socioscientific issues (SSI) in a 5th-grade classroom. Taken from Earth science (beach sand replacement), life science (the Canadian seal hunt), and physical science (speed limits), the examples show how teachers can embed scientific content in controversial social issues that engage younger…