Paul Gorski, currently preparing a revised edition of Reaching and Teaching Students in Poverty: Strategies for Erasing the Opportunity Gap, has initiated #FixInjusticeNotKids on social media, a hashtag that captures perfectly the primary fracture between mainstream education reformers and social justice education reformers.
As some examples, here are Tweets of mine addressing this powerful message:
Why I reject grade retention #FixInjusticeNotKids https://t.co/ResvmrgLyn @pgorski
— Paul Thomas (@plthomasEdD) July 25, 2017
Why I reject “no excuses” #FixInjusticeNotKids https://t.co/Er2YWu0pLD @pgorski
— Paul Thomas (@plthomasEdD) July 25, 2017
Why I reject “growth mindset” #FixInjusticeNotKids https://t.co/Cnh3ZjcadQ @pgorski
— Paul Thomas (@plthomasEdD) July 25, 2017
Why I reject “grit” #FixInjusticeNotKidshttps://t.co/SfMfmDJHbb@pgorski
— Paul Thomas (@plthomasEdD) July 25, 2017
Many elements of mainstream reform embrace a deficit view of children and students, specifically black and brown students as well as students living in poverty. This ideology blames the victims of social inequity, racism, classism, and sexism; it creates a laser focus on the individual and blinds us to systemic injustice.
Support #FixInjusticeNotKids in word and action to seek ways to reject deficit ideology and to end inequity and injustice so that the potential of all children can be achieved among a people who genuinely believe all children matter,